Gender disappointment

Gender disappointment is a sensitive topic, and I wished it were discussed more. It came up on a message board last night, and the women who were discussing it felt they had to speak (type?) in very guarded terms, as if expressing disappointment in the child's gender reflected negatively on them as parents. I think it's a healthy to thing to be open about and discuss gender roles, gender identification, and gender expectations as we prepare for parenthood, but somehow the subject remains taboo.

I have a little boy, who is the center of my universe. It would be impossible for me to love anyone or anything more than I love him -- and I'd like to think that's true for most parents. But I will admit that I felt an odd twinge of something when the ultrasound technician told us we were expecting a boy. I have a younger sister. I babysat for girls, not boys. All of our adult friends have daughters, not sons. When I imagined motherhood, I saw myself as the mother of a girl. And the mental picture of a little boy never ever occurred to me. Learning that we were having a boy shook my world, and it took me awhile to come to terms with it.

Ironically... now... the reverse is true. Everything I know of motherhood comes from raising a boy, my little bundle of awesomeness. I honestly don't know how I'd feel if we were to have a daughter this time, since my mental picture has done a 180 in the past few years. I would love for my son to have a brother, for the same reasons I'm so grateful to have had a sister in my life.

And we have so many little boy clothes, it would be great if we could reuse them. :)

Belly photos or, to be more accurate, non-belly photos from week 5...