By Allison Banfield 
Becoming a mama was life-changing. The feelings I felt the moment I held my baby boy in my arms is almost indescribable. The pure love and the knowledge of knowing I was this little person’s mama. It really was life-changing.
But what I didn’t expect was my son to change my husband’s life so drastically from the second he was born.
It’s been life-changing for all of us.
My husband has always been a kind and thoughtful man. That is what made me fall in love with him. We met at work and he would go out of his way to swing by my desk just to flirt a little and to see how my day was going. If I was having a hard day, he would always manage to bring a smile to my face. He was so genuine and so real.
As the years went by and we became husband and wife, this didn’t change. He would goof around whenever I needed a pick-me-up or give me a caring hug just to let me know it was OK.
Yet, I wasn’t the only love in his life. He loved his job. He was committed to it. And sometimes it came before me.
At times that hurt, but I was understanding. He was building his career. And to be honest, so was I. We made it work. We loved each other and that was all that mattered.
And then, I became pregnant.
My priorities started to change. It wasn’t just about the two of us now. We were going to be a family.
As my son grew inside my tummy, so did the bond I had with him. I felt connected to this little human, both literally and figuratively. But it wasn’t the same for my husband. Don’t get me wrong, he was so excited to be starting our family. So excited to become a dad. But the bond just wasn’t there yet.
It wasn’t until that moment in the delivery room when he held his son for the first time that it hit home: he was a dad. This was his son. And that we needed him—all of him.
Instantly, his priorities changed.
Nothing came before our little family.
And as our family grew, that never changed.
Seeing him interact with our kids is pure magic.
I watch as they climb all over him. As he chases them around the house pretending to be all sorts of characters. I watch as he sits down on the ground with them to play with toy dinosaurs and build brick towers. As he has tea parties with them. I watch as my kids gravitate to him the moment he walks through the door. I watch their little faces light up and listen for the giggles and squeals of joy as they play together.
I watch as he showers them with love. As he cuddles up and reads them bedtime stories. As he lays with them until they fall asleep. As he is there for them just as they need him to be.
I watch with my heart full of love for the man I married.
I watch with my heart full of happiness as my husband continues to grow into the amazing dad he has become.
I watch with my heart full of gratitude for I know just how lucky I really am.
This post originally appeared on the author’s blog
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