Beautiful Boys

No no no. I haven't gone to my ultrasound yet. (It's tomorrow! So there's still time to submit your guess at the Munchkin's parts.)

I'm writing to Julie who, after having 2 girls, is having a little boy.



I have to say that boys are different than girls. It's more than just the working parts below the belt. It's that they need their mommies more. That's how it has worked out in our house.

M is Miss Independent. She'd march off to her ECFE classes without so much as a backward glance. K clung. K cried. He made sure to let me know that he wasn't happy about being left behind. He wanted to hang with the mommies. How was he supposed to nurse if I was in another room for crying out loud?!

He needed me more so as a newborn than he does these days, but he still needs me. It takes more mommy kisses and hugs to make him feel better when he gets hurt. His feelings get hurt easier if you tell him no.

He is active, to say the least. He had me fooled as a baby. I thought I had a more mellow child. But no. He was just storing up the energy. He gets into things that his sister had never thought to get into. He drives me to the breaking point, then sweetly says "I love you soooooo much Mommy!"

But these are when your boy gets older.

As a new parent of a boy, I was overwhelmed. I had no idea what to do with those extra parts down there. I was afraid I'd hurt his already raw-looking member when I tried to change his diaper.

I got peed on. Yep, it's a rite of passage for parents of boys. I'm pretty sure they don't let you take the boy home unless you promise to let him pee on you. K could send a long, yellow stream up without warning. I kept an extra cloth diaper next to the changing area at all times. As soon as the diaper came down, the unit got covered. It stayed covered until the diaper was ready to be replaced over the missile launcher.

He pooped. A lot. (He still does.) More than his sister ever did. I think boys just like to make something they can be proud of. He's getting ready for when he's grown up and can get all of his reading done in his office.

He ate seemingly nonstop. For the mom of a baby that refused to nurse this new being who nursed so voraciously was almost alien. He grew to 20 pounds by the time he was 4 months old. (Considering he's now only 36 pounds at 3 1/2!)

As my son grows, I have visions of him as a man. I see him towering over me but enveloping me in big strong arms. I see him serious, but ready to make his mom laugh. I see him loving, still.

Good luck Julie, although you won't need it. Boys are different, but just like girls, they're worth it.