Daddy's Little Girl

My little Aysia has her daddy wrapped right around her precious little finger. No doubt about it!

As you know, we didn't find out the gender until she was born. And DH always said he would be so happy either way, but I guess I always thought that deep down, he probably preferred a boy, just a little. He's a typical man in a lot of ways - very handy around the house, likes sports, plays golf. But he's also pretty modern - well groomed, fashionable, and handles the role reversal we have where I'm the breadwinner and he does more of the cooking and cleaning than I do. I guess I figured he would want a little boy to teach things like golf, building/fixing things, someone to play sports with, etc. And I think I was subconsciously leaning towards a boy because of that.

Well, when Aysia was born and the nurse told us she was a girl, we both cried tears of joy. There was a tiny part of me that was afraid he might be disappointed, but I was so happy that I had a little girl. I feel like I have a lot to offer a girl as far as showing her there are many paths that a woman can take, and the traditional gender roles are not the only way to go, or the only way to be happy. So when I asked DH how he felt (later, when we had calmed down from all the excitement a bit), I was so happy to hear what he had to say. He said he couldn't be happier with a girl, because he will still play sports with her, teach her golf, show her how to build and fix things. PLUS he gets the cuddles and charm and preciousness of a little girl on top of all that. He said he realized that with a girl, he can have it all.

And since then, he grows more and more in love with her. At least 4 or 5 times, I've seen him crying, and when I asked why, he says that he's just so happy we have her. That sometimes, he gets choked up just thinking about her and how lucky we are, especially when for a while, we thought we might not ever have a baby. He said there have been a few times when someone asks about how Aysia is, that he has a hard time holding back his tears. That is so touching to me.

And I have to say, I'm so lucky to have him. He wants to be completely involved with her. He even likes doing the diapers! He says that in the beginning, since she was breastfeeding and sleeping most of the time, that the diaper changings were the longest moments he would have with her some days. And now, she loves to "talk" and "play" when she's on the changing table (I think she likes being up high and being able to look around), so those are nice moments for him to interact with her. He's very good at getting her cleaned up properly after an "explosion", and he's very, very good at getting her dressed, even with the "foolish" outfits that I sometimes buy with lots of buttons and stuff. One day, he came home with a sly smile on his face, and broke out a huge BRU bag with a ton of cute little outfits for her. Really nice stuff, too! And in the 6-9 month size, since we already had so much 0-6m sizes as gifts - very smart of him.

He's also very calm with her when they're alone together. If she gets fussy, he runs through his head - diaper, food, burp, sleep - and as long as those main things are taken care of, then he knows she's fine and he just needs to distract her, hold her, walk her, etc. and she'll calm down.

But the best is to see the smiles she gives him. Without a doubt, he gets the biggest grins and even laughs from her, it's just adorable. And while maybe I'm a little jealous, as she looks at me like I'm lunch (she stares at my boobs, not my eyes sometimes!!), I'm so glad that she's just as in love with him as he is with her.