I guess it's undeniable that pregnancy is, to a large extent, felt more by the woman than the man. Probably something to do with that whole baby-in-her-belly thing. So, in some respects, it's a bit of a spectator sport for Dad. Oh yes, we try to be helpful and we mean very well, and we'll even occasionally anticipate something that's needed and pull that off (kudos on that day!), but a lot of the time we can be slightly removed from things.
But that's not to say that we don't have our stuff that we're thinking about or that we are emotionally detached from it all.
So we find out it's a boy. Wow. For having spent weeks each silently convinced that we were having a girl, that was a bit of a surprise. However, I've quickly gotten used to the reality that I'm going to have a son. Which is really great. I mean, I have more GI Joe in my parents house than this boy will ever be able to play with, and he already has a ready-built library of original Hardy Boys books to read (even if I have to re-read them myself for any potential 50s-60s racial insensitivity). But then there's the other stuff like doing more than just playing with him and getting him interested in sports. Stuff like raising a man and making sure he understands the value of doing the right thing.
Is it normal to get a bit overwhelmed by that kind of stuff when baby is still months away?
I'm not what I'd consider old (despite what my younger wife says), but in my mid-30s I'm 8 years older than my father was when he had me, his first child. I wonder if he felt the same way about some of these things. I'll have to ask him sometime. My younger brother had his first child last year and he seemingly transformed from a bit of a goof to a kind of super-dad (much to the disbelief of many), so perhaps it sort of just happens when the time comes. I guess we'll find out.
In the meantime, I'll have to start thinking like Dad and not just like my son's play-friend. Thankfully, Jerry is ready and willing to help me out with that. "Settle down!"
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