Oh, Baby!

So it seems that I have no maternal instinct. None.
The absolute cutest baby in the world was cooing and crawling all over our place last night, and while I think she’s adorable, I am not feeling that rush of baby-fever that everyone else my age seems to be having. Am I just being selfish? Scared? Tim seems to be a complete natural at being a father. It was totally effortless. When I called him out on it, he says no, it’s just that he gets distracted by new things. A baby could just as easily be a cat or something shiny. Hmm. This sounds doubtful. I think he’s trying to make me feel better about this womanly gene I seem to be missing.
And that’s the big question, isn’t it? If, for some reason, as a woman you choose not to have a child, are you less of a woman? Society appears to say yes. And while I have never been one to choose the traditional path, I too feel this pressure to getting married, have kids, buy a minivan, and go to Disney World on vacation. If I don’t do those things, will I regret it later on? And is that a valid reason for doing anything? Fear that if you don’t, you’ll just regret it later on?
And why don’t men struggle with these issues? I can tell you for a fact that Tim isn’t up nights trying to decide if fatherhood is in his future. And he’s certainly not questioning himself as a MAN in relation to being a father.
And even if he were, apparently, he would be quickly be distracted by something shiny.