I think most guys my age have a similar thought when it comes to having kids – it’d be nice to be a dad one day, but whatever we can do to put it off until later, we’ll do it! I was the same when Elissa told me she wanted to have a baby earlier this year. However, this time I couldn’t think of a valid reason to wait any longer. As they say, there’s never a good time to have kids…
I was a late child, born to a 38 year old mum and 45 year old dad. I’m an only child, and I remember growing up that both my parents lied to me about their age! I only found out my dad’s real age when I was 16, and I was heart broken! In my mind, old age equaled closer to the end, so finding out my mum and dad were 15 years older than I’d thought was devastating for me! 🙁
Of course, the age didn’t make any difference. My mum still looks a good 20 years younger than she is, and is much healthier than other ladies her age. My dad sadly passed away to prostate cancer in 2005 on his 70th birthday. Growing up, I never really did anything physical with him (aside from the odd game of golf), which could have been due to his being much older than my friends’ dads. I didn’t feel like I was missing out, but in retrospect, I’m sure he would have wished he had had a younger body to keep up with me back then. So, I decided that whilst it’s great to be young, free and DINKY, it would also be great to be a young(isn) dad too! Hence our decision in December 2013 to try for a baby.
Fast forward a few days and some super-potent swimmers later… Elissa’s pregnant!!
With ’40 Weeks’, I wanted to keep a visual diary of Elissa during the pregnancy. I also realised that I’d taken hardly any photos of her since we’d been together, so thought it was a good chance to practice – she’s a harsh critic, and doesn’t much like a camera pointed at her, so I was in for a challenge.
As I look back over the photos, I realise that aside from her morning sickness at the start, there wasn’t actually much change in her, aside from the physical aspects of course. Elissa worked, exercised, cleaned, cooked… did everything she normally does all the way up until her labour started, and didn’t complain once. Even during the 46 hour labour, she didn’t complain, despite having only a couple of hours of sleep and enduring the most pain I’ve seen anyone put through. I’m sure she’s not the only mother out there who handled their pregnancy this well, but to me, I saw her in a totally new light, and it really moved me.
This post is dedicated to Elissa and our new son Harry. Here’s to many happy years together as a family.