I’ll have to be honest. When I saw the card that said “It’s a boy,” (see gender reveal here) I immediately said “Oh s***t.” The thoughts that swept through my head probably should not be repeated and have certainly kept me up at night with fear, nerves, and too much future thinking for one brain to handle at 3am.

What is it about a boy that has got me in such a hissy? It’s funny, really, the things people say to you. I’ve heard ALL sorts of boy stories! It’s like those damn traumatic birth stories that you don’t want to hear that people tell you that freak the ish out of you, ya, those type of boy stories. They’re FREAKING THE S**T OUT OF ME.

The majority = Boys hit, wrestle, fight, burp, fart, throw things, push, and oh, the best one, “get ready to get peed on!!!” This is what wakes me up at 3am. The fear of an uncontrollable boy. Ivy has been so easy and sweet, and then to have a boy like that?! I’m so nervous. (Hold me). I am actually going to have to start parenting. I have barely had to with Ivy! And I can tell that this is going to be one active boy. He moves around ALL OF THE TIME. Way more than Ivy did… humph : /

But then, you have some parents that say, boys are so much easier than girls and they’re so sweet and LOVE to cuddle! That sounds more like it, that sounds like a boy I can manage raising. A little Mama’s boy. PLEASE, oh please.

Now, it’s really getting real. This 2 kid thing. I’m nervous. Boys have so many more stereotypes than girls at BIRTH. I didn’t get any sort of scary things said to me when we found out Ivy was a girl. Why is that? Are boys that much scarier than girls? Goodness. It sure feels like it.

And then. Don’t even get me started on BOY STUFF. I am REALLY struggling with boy EVERYTHING. I didn’t realize how I had such a narrow vision with girls. I had a girl’s name picked out, the nursery decorated in my head, and this parenting thing down with another girl coming. And then. It was a boy. Whiplash. We barely have a boy’s name picked out, I have NO idea about nursery decor (I have bought one blue blanket at least!) , and HOW THE HELL DO YOU RAISE A BOY?!

This is what keeps waking me up at 3am.

I was never this anxiety filled with Ivy. And now, I’m completely thrown for a loop. I learned my lesson. BE MORE OPEN-MINDED. Next time, next time. (Ugh. Isn’t it always, “Next time.” Damn it).

So, what do I do? Google it.

Google “difference between a girl and boy baby.”

Bad Idea at 3am. (But isn’t everything at 3am?)

Really bad idea when the first sentence of the article titled “Boys vs Girls: Who’s harder to raise?” that you read from Parenting magazine reads, “I often say that I spend more time and energy on my one boy than on my three girls.”

Shit. Just, shit.

The gist of the article on “Who’s harder? Boys or girls”

Discipline – boys

Physical safety – boys

Communication – first boys, then girls

Self-esteem – girls

School – mostly boys

After the initial shocking sentence, the article was really worthwhile. Even though there are more answers that say boys are harder than girls, I felt a teeny bit more at ease after reading it, that I CAN DO THIS. I can raise a boy with manners. It offered many helpful tips to understanding this (insert adjective of your choice) boy brain.

Overall, time to dive into this challenge and accept my fate. Our boys’ innate personality will shape how his life unfolds, meanwhile, I’ll be hoping to sleep past that 3am wake-up call.