Altered Dreams...: Living with Gender Disappointment

Hearing "It's a BOY!" should have brought me great joy, but instead, it brought me months of anger and denial as well as a lot of sadness and shame at times. I wanted to experience raising a daughter as well as my sons. What did I do so wrong that I was not allowed to parent both genders? Why was I denied this life experience? How did I suddenly become the brunt of many jokes and strange looks just because I had the privilege to be raising only sons? Altered Dreams is an inspirational writing for parents who may be experiencing disappointment in the gender of their unborn child. Through my years both as a mother and a psychologist, this issue of gender disappointment has come up over and over. Yet, no one wants to write or talk about it where we can all come together on even ground. Gender disappointment has psychological impact on all facets of one's life. As I share my journey, and those of others, from despair to acceptance after the birth of my third son, you will realize that you are not alone in this way of thinking or feeling. What you feel is real, and there are ways to handle your disappointment effectively. Most importantly, you will realize you no longer have to suffer alone.