Baby Girls

There's actually a good op-ed piece on CNN, about a mother of two boys who's dreading her 3rd kid being a girl. My comments:

Hey, thanks for writing this article. When my wife and I found out we were pregnant, I immediately assumed it was a boy, because in my family the past two generations had only boys. Before we found out the baby's sex, I said I didn't care which, just as long as he/she was born healthy. When we found out the baby was a girl, I felt a pang of disappointment in not having a son first, then panic in "I don't know how to deal with a girl!" The anxiety persisted until well after our daughter was born. Once she started developing her personality and reacting to me, though, I came to the realization that she's just as much of a blessing as a son, if not more. Actually, seeing friends' boys run about and smash stuff, I'm kind of glad I have a princess to ease me into fatherhood. Odds are she'll be a tomboy like her mother, but even if she's not, she'll still be my little girl. In the end, you'll enjoy having your girl -- she'll push your envelope just like I'm sure your boys did!

Of course, I object to the part about her not allowing toy weapons in the house. My kid will be shooting real guns as soon as she's strong enough to handle the recoil.