Let's all congratulate Joe on his upcoming little one!

All these countries start running together after awhile.

Here’s the thing about babies.

They are hideous, ugly little monsters (unless they happen to be yours). They constantly leak from every orifice in their bodies, and yes... all that leakage does stink. They all basically look like Winston Churchill at birth. Everyone will be nice and tell that your baby is beautiful, then go home and say all the mean things they noticed, like “The poor thing got the Cuse nose all right. And a double dose at that. He’ll be flying in a month with those ears”.

Maybe it’s because the packaging is so small, but the leakage is often of a projectile sort. They can be laying on their backs, smiling and wriggling, enticing you to play and suddenly erupt with a spew of vomit that will hit you in the face, at the same moment that they explode from the rear because you just removed the diaper and laid the kid on your favorite quilt.

When you want to sleep, they suddenly kick into a nocturnal mode, making you wonder if what you created has somehow acquired a bit of raccoon DNA.

All this interaction somehow creates a bond of love that is unlike any other love you will ever experience. You’re going to have a blast with the little critter.

Now, as for me...I’m a bit like W.C. Fields when he said “I love babies. I had two for breakfast”. But, wait. There’s more. Once they pass that fragile stage when you have to hold them like they make break, supporting the head, lying them just so, they start using the bathroom. The leakage dwindles and they become surprisingly sturdy and they become... a toy for you! You can throw them up into the air as far as you can, bounce them off the bed or sofa, do all the coolest wrestling moves you can think of to them... and they love it and come back for more until you’re exhausted. That’s the stage I enjoy the most.

It really is a blast. Nothing great comes with no effort...you’re going to be fine, and so will that ugly baby. Just like an ugly duckling, he/she will mature into a swan (I know I did. (: ...Besides, as parents, you never get to see the ugly side. It’s invisible to you...

Thanks Gentlemen. I hope so too GF, something I have always wanted and looking forward to it like no other. To think when I joined PP I was an 18 year old argumentative college freshman and now Im 30 year old argumentative married dad to be, haha. How time flies.

Dont worry DoMe I wont have to raise him/her to be a Conservative. They will be smart enough to get there on their own

Hahha DoMe. Boy will be Joseph III. Girl we are still trying to figure out names we both like. Though now that you mention it I do like Reagan but I dont know if that will work with an italian last name.

Its a boy!!! Joseph the 3rd coming in October!

Congrats all over again. You can start buying those Yankee-themed baby clothes!