I get it now

I was trying to explain to the Jackal why new parents seems so boringly obsessed with their babies, and I think I've got it pegged. Having a new baby is like: -- Getting a new job with huge responsiblities, for which your past training, education and experience are absolutely useless and you won't know if you're doing any good at it until you get your first review some 20 years later -- Starting a relationship with a fascinating person who doesn't speak English and is utterly helpless -- Diving into a new hobby that is alternately extremely rewarding and totally frustrating You're doing all of this at the same time, on very little sleep and with very few breaks to clear your head. And, if you're a mom, your body is doing somersaults while reconstructing itself into a reasonable facsimile of your pre-pregnancy body. If you're a dad, you're trying to figure it all out without the help of mommy hormones. If you're a mom, well, there are those hormones... yeesh. Who needs mood-altering chemicals when you've got estrogen?