Days after Dale Jr. and Amy Earnhardt celebrated the gender reveal for their second child due in a few months, the retired NASCAR driver opened up about having another baby and what that means to him and for his family.
On the latest episode of his podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt explained not only why he’s ecstatic to have another girl but also why he said he “was a little nervous” about the idea of having a boy. He said he’d assume there would be astronomical expectations in life for a boy, presumably to have a career in racing that would draw constant comparisons to Dale Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Sr.
(Podcast co-host Mike Davis asks Earnhardt about their gender reveal at the 13:50 mark in the video below.)
Earnhardt said on the podcast:
“You go through a lot of emotions about, you know, I know a lot of people were hoping that we were going to have a boy. So you think about those things. And I’ll be honest with you, and I don’t know how people will receive this. I was worried — I’ve gotta choose my words wisely here — I was super worried about having a son.
“The expectations and people’s hopes of who he would become or might become were gonna be just really unrealistic and challenging and, at times, even unfair maybe. And so there was a part of me that was a little nervous about that, about having a son and being the focus of how I raised him and who he was and who he was going to be. And I’m sure I’m overthinking the hell out of that.”
But his tone quickly shifted.
After detailing why he had some nerves about a hypothetical son, he touchingly explained why he’s overjoyed that they’re having another daughter. Fans of the podcast recently got a taste of Earnhardt’s life as a dad when Isla joined the show a few weeks ago for a predictably adorable appearance.
More from the Dale Jr. Download:
“There is a love and a feeling about being the father of a daughter that I can’t even hardly put it into words. Isla is now, just in the last probably several weeks, is constantly saying how much she loves me. She loves her daddy and loves to be up against her dad and wants her dad to tuck her in at night.
“It’s just the most amazing thing, and to have another dose of that ingredient in the household, I’m all about it. So Amy’s great, Isla’s great, and we’re going to add to that. We’re going to bring more of that into our home, and I just can’t wait.”
More good news: They already have a name picked out after struggling to decide on Isla the first time around.
“We have a name. It took us forever to figure out Isla’s name. It was like the very last few weeks of Amy’s pregnancy is when we finally decided on a name. But now we have a name, and it came really easy, and I feel great about that.”
Of course, he didn’t share what that name is yet. He and Amy also haven’t mentioned what their due date is, but considering they announced they’re expecting back in March, we’re guessing the baby will be born in September or October.
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