[ficbot]

I'm 20 weeks pregnant and just found out the baby is a boy. I'm happy, but surprised. I am a teacher, and have lots of experience with boys. But somehow when I thought about myself as a mom, I never thought about it being with a boy. I feel like I am still trying to wrap my head around that a little and just get used to this important (but happy) revelation.

I also have an almost six-year-old stepson whom I adore, who is with us part-time. One of the surprisingly sweetest moments of this whole thing has been his reaction. He is thrilled about the baby. He wanted to have a little brother and is happy to get his wish. I know there is an age gap here, but I am hopeful they can still have a bond together. I am a child of divorce myself and am very aware of potential jealousy issues and so on, and I think I know how to mitigate that. What I want to do is focus instead on the 'yay, a brother!' feeling he has right now hopefully build a home where this feeling is nurtured and where, age difference notwithstanding, they both feel loved, supported and part of a family. I'd love for them to be friends someday. I'd love for them to really feel like good brothers to each other.

I have some time off this summer to catch up on my reading. I'd love some book recommendations for both fiction and non-fiction relating to these topics:

- parenting, with a focus on raising boys in particular
- anything that will be useful to me as a new mother with a boy
- fiction or memoir to inspire me on the theme of mothers and sons
- or same, on the theme of brothers and brotherly bonds

Thank you!