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I remember when I found out I was pregnant with baby #3. I cried. Tears of joy, tears of longing and tears of peace. I had wanted this baby for so long, had begged for him, and it was finally going to happen!
As we began announcing our pregnancy, I heard it over, and over again.
“Are you hoping for a boy?”
“Oh, I hope it’s a boy”
“Kept trying for a boy huh?”
I would smile, and say no, just a baby.
The truth was, I wasn’t prepared for raising a boy.
Boys were different. I knew girls, but boys, not so much.
When we found out that baby # 3 was in fact a boy, the cheers ensued. Our family was “complete” in many eyes because, we had gotten a boy!
But, I wasn’t prepared for raising a boy.
That first diaper change in the hospital, oh my! There was SO much more equipment to clean around!
The first time he “peed” on me, even after I covered the weapon was NOT the highlight of my baby raising years.
He was different than my girls. Required different care, different clothes (boy clothes are NOT as cute now are they?), and there were no hair bows.
Instead we had matching shirts with daddy, cowboy boots, and sport themed onesies.
He wanted mama, all the time. His world revolved around me, my hugs, my care, and no one else could give him what I had.
In so many ways, I wasn’t prepared for raising a boy.
Soon came the toddler years, and a frenzy of activity. He climbed on everything; we finally really had to childproof the house. He experienced our family’s first broken bone and first head injury.
He proved “experts” wrong and instead of being a late potty trainer (as many moms of boys told me to expect) he was ready for the potty before I wanted him to be.
I wasn’t prepared for raising a boy.
Preschool years are here, and he keeps me on my toes. School is a blur. He doesn’t want to learn like the girls did. He wants to be on the move ALL. THE. TIME. Anything I thought I learned from homeschooling through the years has been thrown out the window.
Also, instead of hearing mama all the time, I began hearing daddy. He wants to follow daddy everywhere he goes. My heart aches. When did this little boy begin wanting what I couldn’t give him?
Our home has slowly been taken over by cars, monster trucks, and trains. And surprisingly they fit right in with the Barbie house and American girls. I don’t remember what it was like NOT having to step over 20 cars and tractors on the floor.
I wasn’t prepared for raising a boy.
The dirt.
The messes.
The peeing outside….
The energy.
The cars.
The worry knowing I am raising this boy that will someday be a man.
The fact that one day he will be leading his home weighs on me.
The knowing that some day he will be bigger and stronger than me.
The realization of how much I LOVE having a boy in the house.
I wasn’t prepared for raising a boy.
But, I am learning and loving it as I go!
If you’re a boy mom what has been your biggest realization?
Yes! Boys are awesome 🙂 Loud and Busy… but awesome!!!
I have three boys. I expereinced the same thing that you did when you were pregnant, except everyone was asking me about having a girl. We absolutely love all our boy house and wouldn’t trade it for the world. We have lots of energy, cars, trucks, trains, sports equipment, and excitement. Thanks for reminding me how much fun boys are!
I grew up in a home full of women no men. So you can imagine my dismay at raising my 2 sons. I have learned that boy fights are so different then girl fights. They can all out brawl, argue and wrestle in anger . Next day all is fine like nothing ever happened. If I knew back in Jr. high how clueless boys are to the opposite sex I would have saved lots of time primping and preening for them. My boys are 21 and 17 and I am still learning everyday. Oh and boys relentlessly pick on each other and have horrible nicknames for each other within the group that are just horrible. From what I gather the biggest feature, personality trait or social guffaw that stands out is what is incorporated into the nickname. These seem to be very private and only used between each other and heaven help anyone using the name that is not within the circle. My boys have been friends with their closest buddies since preschool. They know everything about each other. Lastly, the wonderful world of boys has been an amazing ride for me. I love it and I love their friends. They have made a boy mom out of me and a boy teacher.
I was in our garden with a couple of other boy moms. All of us had first born sons in the 4.5-5 year old range. We tossed them a soccer ball so they could play. Within minutes, bedlam broke out. They were shirt pulling, tackling, shoving–not in any mean way. They were just playing rough, rougher than we moms had seen to that point. It just sort of happened. We tried to settle them. It didn’t work. We sat there, a bit stunned, trying to let them be boys and realizing that they were gonna need to do playdates with their dads more because we were a little undone by the whole spectacle. That night a few of us independently found information about testosterone spikes. One occurs around then. The only thing weird about our play in the park was that we saw it happen as a group.
Thanks for stopping by!
Yes, yes, and yes! I wasn’t prepared, but I adore raising my boy! Lovely post. Thank you for sharing!