Lucas at 24 weeks

Which one is the real baby?

I am beginning to notice that only having a male child is affecting me in interesting ways.  This is a picture of Lucas with the doll I bought him.  Yes, I bought my little man child a doll.  I have never been one of those "children-belong-to-the-universe-and-therefore-shouldn't-be-immediately-engendered" parents who dresses their child in only unisex clothing and doesn't believe in giving kids haircuts until age 3.  But lately I'm feeling the testosterone overload in my household and find myself reaching for more femininity.  So I bought my male child a doll. 

In my defense, Lucas somewhat chose the doll for himself.  So maybe I'm the one who took it from the shelf in the store, held it in his face, discovered that the doll laughs when you push on his belly, and made a fool of myself in public to get Lucas to enjoy the doll even more.  But, hey, Lucas laughs when the baby doll laughs and that's pretty cute.  Other than that, Lucas just chews on the baby's hands and feet.  So maybe the doll is more for me than Lucas little more than Lucas's favorite teething toy, but the laughter and comfort of a child are priceless, right?

Lucas's Godmother recently told me about an article she read.  Apparently male children who grow up playing with baby dolls make better fathers.  This means that I made the right choice in buying my son a baby doll.  Also, forcing it on him for my joy because I don't have a daughter ensuring that he engages in play situations involving the expression of care for a more helpless human being will make him a better adult.  So there.  There is research and it is proven.