The TriDad Life

Dear Beanpod,

The days are flying by. We are now 38 days away from your due date.

It’s been funny observing people interact with us recently. As your mother has become more visibly pregnant, people have become more and more bold.

Strangers at the grocery store are congratulating us. We are receiving a countless amount of unsolicited advice. People are even reaching out to touch your mom’s belly. It’s all very nice, but at times it really does make you laugh. I mean really, what the heck is happening?!?!?

I’ve talked to you in previous letters about how I’ve been in awe of the biological mechanics of pregnancy, how you are able to come into being into this world. Now I want to give you some more details about what I view as the central figure of the beginning of your life – that would be your host, a.k.a. your Mom.

While it does “take two” to make a life, the fundamental design of human biology requires that the mother is the carrier for about 9 months. When your Mom and I found out that we were going to be parents about 8 months ago now, we were ecstatic. We knew that our lives were going to change forever. But at that moment, there was also a divergence between us. In the grand scheme of our lives, it will have been brief, but also very real.

The last 8 months for me and your Mom have been very different. While I’ve had the bandwidth to wax philosophical about my impending fatherhood, your mother has been experiencing radical changes to her body. The effects of your existence have already become real to her, and it has often not been very pleasant.

Your mother is very special. As we got to know each other at the beginning of our relationship, a multitude of wonderful qualities came to the surface to demonstrate to me the amazing character of this person. She was strong and independent, but also kind and understanding. She cared very deeply about her friends and family. More than that, she committed herself to caring for complete strangers through her work as a child therapist. She also had a great sense of humor and knew how to have a good time.

She is also one of the mostly physically strong people I have ever known. For years before you or even I were on her radar, your Mom has been dedicated to bettering herself through the rigorous discipline of CrossFit. Even up until now, while carrying you, she is toughing it out a few days a week at the gym.

It has been an amazing journey for your Dad to be your Mom’s partner. The other night we had some fun together up at her gym where a special workout was being held in our honor. The format required that your Dad and the other non-pregnant people strap a weight ball on their bellies to simulate pregnancy while completing a rigorous 30 minute set of lifts, jumps and runs. I survived, your mother thrived.

Beyond the workout, there was something else going on. Many of the gym members had brought gifts for us to celebrate and prepare for you. I looked around at this community of people, and then I looked at your Mom. More than just being a physically strong person, she is someone that invests in people. The reward of this approach to life is the constant joy of having people to spend it with. I love being her partner, and I’m honored to share with her the life that she’s built, to share what used to be separate lives and merge them into the one that we are now building together. Of course, we are thrilled to have the chance to soon share it with you.

We are almost there. I know the next month will be tough on your Mom. But as I’ve tried to impart on you in the last several paragraphs, she is an amazingly strong person inside and out. She will finish strong because she knows what’s waiting at the end. It’s you, our child. This is the most important race she’ll have competed in her life, and I am so grateful and stand in awe. We are sure blessed to have her!

See you soon, our beanpod

Love,

Your Dad