In the regard that I always expected to have kids, I knew that they would “change” my life dramatically, and that this change was “forever”, I would say the sense of “change” really hasn’t been all that strong. I have the kid and the life that I thought I would have when I thought about the future at age 8… 18… 28… so, really, little is different from my expectations. My wife and I always were our own best friends, so our social life didn’t change all that much when Sophia was born.
Caveat: Sophia was planned, there were no surprises (other than how beautiful she is), and she has been a funny, smart, wonderful little girl in exceptional health.