The New York Times has an article regarding the ambivalence that many mothers face in actually having a baby. Seeing much of this first hand and feeling sorry for my wife as she tries to get past the fact that perfection is not the story in the baby raising books, but instead being willing to be frustrated and confused really brings this home. Maybe Lamaze class needs a section on the fourth trimester and feeling lost. As both my wife and I are type-A personalities, it has taken time to realize that sometimes the crying can't be fixed...

Don't get me wrong however. My daughter is amazingly beautiful and we wouldn't give her up for the world. We just weren't prepared for the downsides and they are not the downsides we worried about while my wife was pregnant. Except for Sleep...