Sonogram #3

Due to my "Advanced Maternal Age", I'm getting more medical attention than I'm used to. What makes that difficult is scheduling all of the appointments without taking days off. But so far, so good. I'm saving my sick days for April & May.

The doctor asked whether we wanted to know the gender and David answered him almost before the question was out: "Yes!"

I did not have my hopes set on finding out what it was, however, since two attempts with Carmen resulted in no information. We knew early with Gabriel and late with Paloma (the one time I didn't have my mind or heart set on one gender or the other--looking back it seems so silly that I was convinced that each baby "should" be a girl or a boy).

During dinner:
David: "Mommy went to the doctor today, and they gave us a picture of the baby."
Gabriel: "I think it's a boy because that's what we all want it to be."
At first Carmen agreed with Gabe, then changed her mind: "No, I want it to be a girl because I want the girls to keep winning."

We haven't even discussed names yet... no use squabbling over two sets! Except the kids have asked if they can help pick a name. And I did buy the Baby Name Wizard when I bought Mom her here's-when-the-baby's-due calendar.

If you've never seen the Name Voyager, you should check it out. It shows the popularity of names through the decade. I also enjoy reading the blog by the Baby Name Wizard's author, Laura Wattenburg.

Anyway someone asks me every day what I'm having (a baby!) or if we want to find out. (I should keep a tally of which question I get more: was this a surprise or an accident, was I planning this, am I "done" now, and do I know what "it" is . . . )

With each pregnancy, I've wanted to find out. It's not that I don't like surprises, but I am a planner. On one hand, it shouldn't/ doesn't matter. After all, a healthy baby is what we pray for. On the other hand, it just does. In our world, gender matters for so many reasons, I can't begin to enumerate. Luckily for my children, the ways it matters here are less critical than in some places.

But people have always offered their opinions on what the gender will be based on old wives' tales, hunches, etc., or what is better to have and when. Before Carmen was born, I remember a conversation in which someone tried to persuade me that it was better to have a boy first. Then, soon after, one coworker explained how it was better to have all girls. As if we have any control over such things. Anyway the main reason I disagree with the first person is that David and Carmen are so close. They did their best bonding once Gabriel was born, and I question whether that would have happened and to what extent if we'd had a boy first.

Two sets of friends in our Sunday school class just had their third child--the ones with two boys had another boy, and the ones with two girls had another girl. I told David before, I don't remember it ever occuring to me as a child that Mom & Dad had a third child because they wanted a boy. And even if this is true, Mom probably wouldn't admit it or remember it if she did. But anyway, as an adult, I realize that most parents want to have a son and a daughter. (Perhaps this is why so many people stop at two once they get them--he gets his, she gets hers?)

I've done a writing assignment with my sophomores for the past 3 years that goes with a King Arthur story (actually a novel excerpt) in our textbook called Mists of Avalon. It's a story told from Arthur's older stepsister Morgaine's point of view. I have students discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each gender and then have them explain why, if they were going to become a parent, which gender would they prefer for their child/ children and also what order. 15 and 16 year olds are almost unanimous in their opinion that it's better to have a boy first so he can look out for / take care of his younger sister/sibling(s). I wonder if this belief is universal in our culture, or if there is any substance to the belief.

If you've read this far, you are very patient!

So if it's a boy or a girl, we're pretty much covered. We have a nursery, Gabe's room, and Carmen's room. Both of the kids' rooms are ready for another sibling (well, bed-wise, if not drawer- and closet-space wise). And we just barely have room for another car seat in each car, but those have never been gender-specific anyway.

And we don't need much stuff--I've been saving the kids' clothes for 7 years (yes, the attic is getting pretty full!). So we won't be buying much other than diapers. However, our co-sleeper is going to need replacing since Carmen and Gabriel broke it using it as a puppet theatre when it was attached to our bed. And we finally let our broken down high chair go. . . I hated to because its colors matched our house. Oh, and I did lose both the Baby Bjorn and the New Native Baby sling on our DART rail trip to the zoo this summer.

So without much further ado, I've decided to make the announcement with my first purchase for the new baby. I know, this is a little materialistic. I'm sorry. But the item only cost $9. I couldn't think of a better way to reveal the news, though I've been trying to decide for days.

And just in case that decision makes you think it's one or the other, here's Paloma modeling what we bought before we were pregnant with Carmen in Spain:


It's a Newcastle United football (soccer) kit.

So here it is the purchase I bought on a whim yesterday as I was shopping for kids' coats and raincoats:


She's a girl! Our Amy, our Lety, our Bethany. We are certain to be blessed by whatever she brings to our family.

I figured David would say I'd buried the lead, but all he said when he read this post was #1, it was long and #2, I had too many exclamation points. Not exactly the feedback I had in mind, but that's what I get for having a husband in PR.

OK, so now my request is that if you're going to pass along this news, please refer people to this post (copy this URL: http://eachdayisalittlelife.blogspot.com/2007/11/sonogram-3.html )
Some people stole our thunder with the pregnancy news, and I'd like to prevent that happening again this time. After all, it's not often I actually have big news to report here on the blog. Thanks!