In the Beginning.
To truly understand this new dad’s perspective on parenthood, it’s necessary to go back almost a year. You need to understand how my wife and I went from planning for a child to being the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl.
The first time I was awakened at 3 a.m. by the beeping of a thermometer was a clear sign that life was about to get very different for my wife and me. Bleary eyed, I looked over and gave my wife a quizzical look. “I’m charting,” she said. I groaned and drifted back to sleep.
Like most men, the idea of conceiving a child was exciting – who doesn’t get excited about the idea of sex. Foolish me, I thought it was that simple. That was until my wife began reading every book, magazine and Internet article on conception. Soon my wife was punctuating my days with all sorts of facts on just how difficult it is to get pregnant – thus the charting exercise.
Fortunately for us, we apparently managed to defy all odds and within a month my wife was pregnant. Hooray! No more daily facts on the fine and delicate art of insemination. No more charting. All we had to do now was get through the next nine months and, presto, we would have a child. Yes, I can hear all the parents, especially the moms, out there laughing at my naivety.
In all seriousness, the first three months of my wife’s pregnancy were fraught with angst and anxiety. I won’t go into the details, but our OB/GYN told us that he had some serious concerns and my wife was put on bed rest for six weeks. It was only after my wife was in her second trimester that the doctor told us he hadn’t expected the fetus to make it that far.
Speed up the clock to the due date, go time. Due date comes and goes with no baby. The next day it’s the same thing. Wash, rinse and repeat for two more weeks.
By this time, my wife is freaking out. Her daily mantra has become, “When is this baby going to come out?” My daily reaction: roll eyes, groan inwardly and bite tongue. Wash, rinse and repeat.
Mothers, I can hear you screaming at me, and I’m sure your words are none to kind. Before you start gathering up the pitchforks and torches, understand that my outward reaction and my inward reaction were completely opposite. During my wife’s pregnancy, while inwardly I was going crazy, outwardly I was doing everything I could to make sure my wife was as comfortable as possible. I digress.
Suddenly, the big day finally arrived! Actually, the big day took two days full of labour pains to finally arrive. But when it did and our baby girl came into this world, wow! I like to think of myself as a manly man. I eat red meat. I use power tools. I sometimes grunt to communicate. That veneer washed away in a sea of joyful tears the very moment I set eyes on my daughter.
It didn’t take long for me to recover my emotions and start thinking of the new reality I was facing. Dear Lord, I have a daughter. One day she’ll be a teenager. One day she’ll be dating. One day she might date a guy like me. Time to start stockpiling the guns and ammunition.
Photo Credit:
From Parenting Advice for New Mom and Dad
Guest Author Bio
Glen Plummer
Glen Plummer is an extraordinary civil servant for the Province of British Columbia. But, more than that he is devoted husband to our Guest Author Lara Perzoff and shell-shocked father to the lovely 7-month old Hannah. Glen is not fazed by much, is the person you want at your side when you’ve had terrible customer service and need to give someone a piece of your mind and he has the muscular physique of a stoic warrior. But, Hannah at 17lbs soaking wet reduces him to a puddle of mush. When he’s not working or hanging with his family, he can be found in only good coffee shops or in his kitchen cooking up something marvellous.
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