It's gonna be a soccer player!

The first few times Emily told me to put my hand on her belly to feel the baby kick, I wasn’t able to feel anything. It was pretty disappointing because I was really looking forward to this moment throughout the pregnancy up to that point. I thought I felt it a couple times, but Emily said, if she couldn’t feel it, then it must have been in my head. That quickly changed, however, recently when for the first time, I felt the nudge of my yet to be born offspring, saying hello from within.

Whether you’re religious or not, the word miracle gets thrown around a lot these days like a hooker in Charlie Sheen’s hotel room. In this case though, what’s going on inside my wife’s body truly is a miracle. Every week something new is happening to that child and with each new milestone it reaches, the more excited its parents are about finally meeting it face to face.

I have started to think about the different stages of life this child will eventually go through. It’s amazing that I have witnessed its very first moments it has ever experienced. Before we got pregnant, I didn’t fully understand how a parent feels about their children. I know my parents care about me and always have but I never really knew to what extent those feelings were. To say that you love someone, and that person isn’t even here walking around yet, is astonishing.

I recently began trying to communicate with the baby by talking to Emily’s belly. At first I felt kinda silly, and I’m sure Emily was equally uncomfortable. I mean its not like I had an existing relationship with her belly. I never spoke to it previously, and I think if I had, she would have slapped me away. After a couple times, it felt like I had already established a rapport with my youngling and I’m hopeful when they are born, my voice will be a welcoming and relaxing focal point in the chaotic delivery room.

As a father, you struggle to establish a real connection with the pregnancy that will allow you to feel like an equal partner. It’s easier for the mother because she lives it and feels it every hour of every day. So for the man, your paternal instincts kick into overdrive as a way to show you can be the protector and provider. I think I have managed to warn Emily to “Be careful” almost every hour I am with her. “You’re going to brush your teeth? Be careful you don’t lose your grip and swallow the toothbrush!” It’s a wonder, Emily hasn’t snapped at me yet. By doing this, I’m not trying to nitpick at her. I’m just trying to stay involved in some way. I may never have the connection Emily has and will have, with our baby and I’m ok with that. Motherhood is a whole other experience that I will never fully realize. Us fathers can only hope to be a warm and loving voice.

-AP