Dads Only

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This is a Lemmy group for Dads Only. A place for Dads to post about their lives, wives & kids. All are welcome but you must respect the rules.

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my wife is pregnant and all I feel is worried (lemmy.world)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hello dads,

I'll be a dad myself shortly, and it's entirely planned, we discussed the idea and then worked towards making it happen. My wife is over the moon and loving the whole process and I'm struggling to see it as a positive change. All I'm seeing is more bills and tasks.

I want to be excited and enthusiastic during the pregnancy (and of course afterwards) but I'm struggling to see this as a positive change for our next - at least - 5 years.

It's causing some stress between my wife and I, when really I'd much prefer we were bonding now in preparation for the stress our relationship is going to need to endure after the baby arrives.

I guess this is partly just venting, I feel like anyone I know that I might say this to, would think I'm a bad person considering it was entirely planned and now I'm not feeling it after its too late to undo, but if anyone has some ideas on how I can focus more on the positives (I do see them... watching their personality growing, seeing the world from their fresh perspective, a sense of investment in the future, etc. I just struggle to focus on them) of this and less on the incoming bills and sleepless night and relationship stress, so my wife and I can bond, it'd mean a lot to me.

I'm also concerned that I'm seeing the baby as a problem instead of a... Source of joy? and that this might mean I don't really have a natural parental instinct, so I won't love it like I should, but instead see it as a series of chores and costs and problems.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

The only natural parental instinct is wanting to reproduce, and some basic desire to cuddle and care for offspring at a base level. Most people who gush and act ridiculously over positive about kids are exaggerating their joy because other people expect it, you know, the same reason people only post positive stuff on social media.

It is 100% fine to have conflicted feelings about having a kid. They are a ton of work, expensive, and also incredibly fun to teach and play with. It is a complete roller coaster of emotions, and hopefully you get to bond early and get to see the positives to balance out the negatives.