With every pregnancy there are two separate experiences. By experience I mean the moment that reality hits you, you are about to become a parent! For the woman it starts as soon as she discovers that she’s pregnant. Her body starts changing, she’s cramping, her body hurts, "certain" body parts are sore, and suddenly she can’t keep food down. She can’t drink alcoholic beverages, eat soft cheese,hot dogs or sushi. She’ll often take 14 hour naps and make so many trips to the bathroom that she begins to refuse liquids. In the first trimester the craziness going on in her body serves as a constant reminder that she’s pregnant and a baby is coming. By the time her body returns to some kind of normality, her stomach starts expanding and she gets a baby bump. Being an outside observer, this doesn’t look fun. I felt so bad for Angel because she would come home and sleep from 6pm to 7am and then get up and go to work. One good thing was that I was able to watch NBA playoffs every night uninterrupted. Point being, pregnancy is more real for the woman from the very beginning.
For dads, the experience starts when he discovers that his wife is pregnant. He goes to the first appointment which basically verifies “yep, there’s a little something in there” but it still doesn’t seem that real for the next two to three months, mainly, because she doesn’t look any different and he doesn’t have to change one thing about his eating habits. He might even forget she was pregnant in the first place if there weren't pregnancy magazines lying around the house and if he didn’t have to make constant runs to the store to buy Gatorade and restock the toilet paper. When does it become real for the man? At the 20 week ultrasound.
For dads, the experience starts when he discovers that his wife is pregnant. He goes to the first appointment which basically verifies “yep, there’s a little something in there” but it still doesn’t seem that real for the next two to three months, mainly, because she doesn’t look any different and he doesn’t have to change one thing about his eating habits. He might even forget she was pregnant in the first place if there weren't pregnancy magazines lying around the house and if he didn’t have to make constant runs to the store to buy Gatorade and restock the toilet paper. When does it become real for the man? At the 20 week ultrasound.
Next thing you know you’re sitting in a dark room, staring at a black and white screen, looking at a fully formed baby with a beating heart, legs, hands, feet and a huge head. Then the reality of the situation is hitting you, “there is real baby in there and then on top of that it’s a GIRL”. So not only am I realizing, I’m having a baby, I have to worry about doing her hair, being sensitive, playing with dolls, puberty, and oops, I just realized I’m not writing in third person anymore.
Debuting our beautiful daughter ...
Debuting our beautiful daughter ...
~Brooklyn Jaidah Elzy~
