Since we are now within three weeks of the due date of our second child, I've been reminiscing about the day Jonathan, our first-born, came into the world.
Earlier in that pregnancy, when Pearl had an ultra-sound, we had requested that the tecnician NOT tell us the sex of the child. But, of course, I really wanted to know. So I paid close attention as the tecnician measured the babies' legs to see what I could see. I concluded that the coming baby was to be a girl. I wrote down the coming "girl's" name and sealed it in an envelope telling Pearl that I thought I knew the sex and, if she changed her mind, I would tell her.
Pearl's labor was long. I brought the envelope to the delivery so that when the baby was born I could show everyone that I was right. After quite a while in labor, Pearl asked me to unseal the envelope and tell her what the baby was going to be. I unsealed it and read the female name to her. Later, after some 40 hours in labor, the Drs advised us that we should procede with a ceasarean delivery. I was seated beside Pearl during the operation with the view of the surgery hidden from us behind a hanging sheet. When the Dr. got ready to remove the baby she told me that I could stand up to see the delivery. I did and when the Dr. pulled the baby up, she announced "It's a boy!" So much for my ultra-sound reading skill!
For this second child, I have no idea what the sex will be, but we have at the ready, if it is needed, the name that I thought Jonathan was going to get.
