Daydreaming...

The Battle of Wills

We opted not to find out with this pregnancy the gender of the baby. And when I say "we", I actually mean "I". Matt was wholeheartedly against gender non-disclosure. I didn't disagree with him, necessarily. I can and have actually made a very strong case over the years for the belief that parents should learn the gender of their baby prenatally. 

I'll admit my motivation was primarily selfish. I just didn't really want to share my pregnancy this time. Leaving some details known to only Heaven above seemed appropriate.

Maybe I'll blog sometime about why I think, in general parents should learn their baby's gender, and the pros and cons of either decision, but I'm not up to it today. It's a hot-button issue, and one that I'd have to address sensitively. People have very strong views one way or the other on this, for some reason. I just don't feel like mustering that kind of tact right now. 

So, for a variety of reasons, we didn't find out this baby's gender

Are you hoping for a girl?

One advantage is that Matt & I have had the entertainment of naming not one, but two babies this time: a boy and a girl, one of whom, will of course, turn out to be imaginary. I'm sure we'll mourn the loss of which ever imaginary child we don't give birth to, and therein lies the converse disadvantage.

But, assuming this baby is another boy, we may never have another chance to name a daughter, even if she does turn out to have existed only in our imaginations.

We already have two boys, and so many people I talk to assume, and quite naturally so, I suppose, that we are hoping for a girl this time. And, I suppose we are. But we are also wholeheartedly hoping for a boy. Since we know I'm not carrying twins, we'll be disappointed and delighted either way.

Only Heaven Knows

Early on, I hoped sincerely for a girl, and prayed for a girl. Then, I seemed to hear God telling me I needed to make peace with having another boy, and then I started to truly want a third boy. Really, when I look at the two absolutely adorable boys I already have, it's impossible for me not to want a third little boy. And then I look at the mountain of little boy toys in my parlor, their bedroom, my waiting room, and my yard, and I break out in a cold sweat at the thought of adding yet more toys (girl toys: barbies, baby dolls, etc.) to the chaos.

So, I spent several weeks expecting a boy, and now I go back and forth; as I said earlier: only Heaven knows.

So, now for your guessing enjoyment, I'll share with you the babies' names in our daydreams. No, I'm not going to tell you the names we have have settled on. I'm going to give you the lists (in alphabetical order) we've considered and let you guess what we've chosen. Feel free to offer your input, knowing we're firmly resolved and it won't make any difference in our choice. Feel free, also to share your own favorites. It's fun to have imaginary babies, after all.

You'll notice our taste tends toward the traditional, familial, and maybe even obscure. Please don't make fun of the choices...they're our real imaginary children, after all.

Also, I would ask, if you DO know the names we have chosen, please do not spoil our fun by disclosing it here in cyberspace. Thank you.

Imaginary Girl Babies

Adelaide, Caroline, Diane, Grace, Lottie, Lucy, Mabel, Nora, Olive, Ruby, Viola, Violet, Zoe

Imaginary Boy Babies

Allen, Charlie, Daniel, Isidore, Isaac, Luke, Nathan, Noah, Oliver, Perry, Theodore, Timothy, Zeke

John's Picks

Donald & Shirley (after we convinced him that you can't name a baby "Grandma Diane")