A friend of my mother’s, a mother herself of three boys, looked at my daughter when she was young and said, “a woman who has no daughter is a woman who is not loved by God”. I smiled. My God was apparently in love and gifted me with two. Captivating, smart and great. So great I wanted more. Only one more. And if this God loves me so much, let Him treat me to a boy. And then he treated me big-time. I remember I called everyone to make the announcement. My other half was less enthusiastic. He was a bit let down and wanted another girl.
For the first three months, the young one and me were inseparable, as close as it possibly gets. I felt he needed me and I was in love, feeling whole and satisfied. This new man in my life, I thought, will be the strongest, most impressive and a true heartbreaker. I did not stop looking at him and my heart overflowed.
As the months passed, I could not help but notice that my little man, this sweet creature I loved and adored so much, does not show real interest in his toys and is a bit slow compared to his sisters, who at that stage were already crawling. In babies’ swimming class he was the only one flirting with the instructor and constantly smiling at her, but indifferent to her instructions. She too could not resist his charm but felt that what should happen does not happen.
The ‘experts’ of the Mother and Baby Health Clinique did not understand what I want. “He is a boy, girls develop faster”. So we moved on with our lives and tried to remain optimistic. Starting each day with a smile, today he will be different. We will get him different toys, maybe his sisters’ toys don’t interest him. He is different and it’s OK. Delaying a bit but he will catch up and everything will be fine.
We continued our normal conduct on the outside, but inside our stomachs began to turn. Something is not right.
