Well, given that I’m coming to the end of the pre-parent period, I might record some of the weirdness. At least, before it’s eclipsed by the upcoming weirdness of actually being a parent.
The whole process has been a reversal of the “natural order of things”, as I’ve come of think of them since I became a teenager. I guess this is part of the universe preparing me to have everything turned upside down, and rearranged in new ways when our little girl arrives.
However, I wasn’t prepared for how weird some of this stuff felt. For starters, how are you supposed to overcome the years of conditioning on contraception? Enough said on that one.
And I’ve previously commented on the whole period that follows where you lie to your closest friends for months. How strange is that?
Then there’s the sudden interest in female human biology. All those birth classes are a bit of a crash course. Ordinarily this would be a worry, wouldn’t it?
Plus getting all the baby furniture, equipment and accessories in readiness. The technology and terminology turns everyone into geeks. Normally that level of geekiness is considered rather over the top, but in this context, it’s perfectly okay.
But the strangest thing of all is knowing that there’s another organism growing inside Kate. You can see it moving under the skin. That’s the sort of thing that would feature in a horror movie. However, when we go to the doctors about it, they are just very excited for us.
Most of the time I’m excited for us, and looking forward to the future we’re going to have together. But, there are moments when it all seems completely surreal.