Honey, We’re Pregnant!

It takes two to tango, so news of your pregnancy is equally exciting and earth-shattering to your husband. While you get to experience all the joys which come with this most interesting of stages, your husband can only watch with bated breath as your belly blooms with every passing month.
So how exactly did your husband feel when given the good news? We asked three fathers.

Jerry Rapes, father of three, was only 27 years old when he first found out that he was going to be a father. He recalls, “Since we more or less planned to have a baby, it was not a surprise. The feeling was generally mixed: excited at the thought and unsure about being really ready for the responsibility.”

Jerry remembers being very excited about their baby’s gender. He wanted to know whether they were going to have a boy or a girl the soonest. He and his wife Linnor eventually ended up having three sons, Matthew, Andrew, and Jake.

But as much as Jerry was ecstatic over the thought of seeing his firstborn, he also had fears. He reveals, “I was most afraid of not knowing what to do: how to care for Linnor and the baby, how to teach him/her (baby), how to be their dad and their friend. Surprisingly, when Matt was born, instinct kicked in.”

For Weng Traspe, it was all about the waiting. He says, “It took more than a year for us to be blessed with our firstborn. At first it seemed unreal for us. Both of us came from big families so the long delay made us nervous. I was 33 when we got married so our firstborn came when I was 35.”

And so when the good news finally came, Weng and his wife Rachelle were absolutely thrilled! He says, “I was particularly excited about how my son and I would do different outdoor stuff and play different sports since I’m into a lot of those things. Then I thought I would be 55 when he turns 20! I’m just doing my best to keep myself fit enough so we can still do stuff together when I’m 55… and beyond.”

When Martin Angala’s wife Tess first became pregnant more than 14 years ago, he remembers getting all giddy and excited, and telling everybody he knew about it. There wasn’t any Facebook back then, so Martin had to do it the old school way, with phone calls and actual face-to-face encounters.

He says, “I was excited about the prospect of being a father and of starting a family. Also, the images of caring for them, playing with them, and raising them played in my mind quite a lot.”

However, Martin was most afraid of this one nagging question: Was I going to be a good father?

Well, Martin is now father to two adorable kids, and living a good life in their adopted country. He’s one good dad indeed!