Last Thursday I was shocked to find out that the child I am currently carrying is a boy. Now, I’m not sure why exactly I was surprised. There was an approximately 50% chance of having a boy, but for some reason for husband and I both assumed we’d be having another girl. So since that day we’ve both been trying to adjust to the idea of having a little boy. I’m not upset or even disappointed, just stunned.
I don’t feel like I know much about boys. When I worked in daycare during high school and college I took care of little boys all the time, from toddler through preschool age, but it wasn’t the same as raising my own. My two little boy cousins lived with us for a while growing up and then next door for another few years. I mostly remember them being smelly, dirty and enjoying rude bodily noises. One of the reasons I felt more confident with having a second child was that everything wouldn’t be new. I would have a clue what I was doing this time and hopefully things would go more smoothly. Now I feel a bit as though I’m starting over again as new mom.
Perhaps the biggest struggle has been trying to pick a name. We have been arguing about boys’ names since I got pregnant but agreed to hold off making a decision in case we didn’t need to pick a boys name. I’ve read close to 5,000 boys names from all over the world and we’ve narrowed it down to a small lost, most of which neither of us is really happy with. I think it will help the adjustment a lot once this child has a name.
I knew in my heart that my second one was a boy, long before he was born, and I wasn’t quite sure I’d know how to raise him. Here’s the beauty of it. I figured it out, and I realized that he was exactly the baby I was meant to have. And we get a grace period. An infant is an infant, with variations on individual personality (which has nothing to do with gender) and the trajectory of their pee. By the time you hit the “Bob the Builder” stage, you’ll be a pro. Best wishes!
You guys will do great! God gives you what you, and they, need! Boys are a lot different (the biggest thing for me is that they take longer to understand the “if you do this, this happens” of being disciplined), but they are great. God will give you wisdom (and I’m sure that you have friends with boys close by) that you need. Can’t wait to see him someday in person 🙂
And one little tip for the early days … have a dry washcloth handy when you’re changing him. As soon as you remove the diaper, put that little cloth on until you’re ready to close. It soaks up the pee and keeps you from getting it in your eye 😉 Congratulations!