I would definitely say the initial hospital visits. Coming from a very different healthcare / medical culture in Costa Rica (my dad and brother are both doctors, so I have a lot of interaction and knowledge around healthcare), these initial visits have been an experience for me. There is always a certain level of anxiety that comes with these visits and going through with the ultrasound at the 12 week mark was an important one. We used this milestone as the moment to tell the rest of our family and friends that we were pregnant.

A lot is going to change, there is no denying that. Once again, the experience of raising a child in Costa Rica is quite different. Here in the US the role of early child care is much more important, whereas back home, people rely more heavily on family. My family is back home and my wife’s parents live in Boulder, so even though we expect them to be there for support, we are going to have to find the right balance between our professional careers and child-care. I want to be as involved as possible, but I’ll have to find the right balance with work. My wife also has a full-time job that involves quite a bit of travel, so we’ll have to see how this all plays out.

I think the aspect that has caught me off guard the most has been the “waitlist” culture, in particular with childcare. We’re already in the process of looking for childcare options and the first thing that is mentioned is the long waitlists that are prevalent across the board. I’m confident that we’ll find the right option for us, but the pressure to sign up and get in line as soon as possible has been a little overwhelming. It doesn’t seem like the system is setup to have parents take their time and make thoughtful and well planned decisions. It can seem like parents are rushed into these very important decisions.

I think the most appealing aspect of The Den for us as a couple is to be around other families who are in the same stage of life as we are. My wife and I have only lived here for a year and we’re always looking to meet new friends or find opportunities to become more involved in our community. I see The Den as a place that can definitely help facilitate this for us.