ummer’s here, men! It’s time to get ready for family vacations, cookouts on the beach and that great American Pastime… pregnancy.
I realize that you were probably already running for your glove, but remember — well before we had Abner Doubleday’s great game, there was the Original Nine Inning Game.
Besides the length of the game, baseball shares many other parallels with pregnancy and childbirth. In the spirit of both, here are nine of those similarities:
1. Don’t fall behind in the count.
The Boston Red Sox just paid Daisuke Matsuzaka over a hundred million dollars to pitch strikes for them this year. Good starting pitching can never be underestimated.
Don’t let the worry (about what kind of father you are going to be, how you will financially support your new family, or if you will ever get to play Thursday night hoops with the boys again) ruin these early moments of your impending parenthood.
You will have the rest of your life for those worries, so for now put them aside and CELEBRATE! Enjoy this moment. You are going to be a father and you still get to enjoy a full night’s sleep. For now, anyway.
2. Don’t be afraid to go to your bullpen.
The Fireman of the Year Award is given to the year’s best relief pitcher in baseball. Like any good major league manager, you should start to assemble your bullpen of relief pitchers before it’s too late.
At month three of my wife’s pregnancy, she was suddenly put on complete bed rest by her doctor and couldn’t sit up, walk or drive. With no family here in Los Angeles, and all ten of my sick days used up, we were very fortunate to have members of our church community help with transportation, food shopping, and laundry.
Keep in mind that you will need help before and after your baby arrives.
3. “Buy me some peanuts and Crackerjacks…”
And whatever else she wants to eat. Remember, cravings are not some funny idea but a concrete reality that will hit you like a Roger Clemens fastball as you stumble out of bed at three-thirty in the morning to go buy a jar of kosher dill slices, strawberry milk, and a quart of cappuccino-fudge ice cream.
