Saturday, February 7, 2015

The Name Game

Naming a baby is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. It's not like naming a barbie or a puppy where you can just blurt out any random cute name and it would instantly stick. Since early this year, we have kept a small list of names, hoping one would stand out. Still not knowing the baby's gender, we had two sets of names; for a girl and for a boy. I made some categories to help us ponder; we can name them after a celebrity, an old family/relative, a place or Biblical, mythical or cultural names. None of the names under those categories lingered. 

The day we announced to our families that we're having a baby boy, my mother instantly had a lightbulb moment. Why not name it after Pope Francis? The pope was currently in the Philippines during that day. We all know how he inspired millions of people through his humility, charisma and warmheartedness. It was a beautiful idea. 

During the time that me and my husband were still dating, we fantasized of having our future baby. He said we'll name it Louise or Louis. He just likes that name. I agreed. I like classic names anyway. It'll also be after my favorite book character (next to Lestat), from my all time favorite novel, Interview with the Vampire.

After agreeing on the name Francis, he instantly attached the name Louis and it sounded so right. Francis Louis. It's simple, elegant and classic. But of course we'll still twist it into something cute and local nickname in the future. Hmmmm... Kiko would be a cute monicker ;)

Gender Surprise!

In my last blog entry, which was a week before the most awaited gender determination, I wished for a baby girl. Who could blame me? Every people I encounter, every friend and family member somehow assumed it was a girl. They said I looked, ahem... glowing. I fancied it to be true, of course. Besides, I don't have stretch marks, dark patches on skin and even dark neck and underarms, all tell-tale signs of having a boy. 

Aside from that, I don't have the slightest clue of how to raise a boy. I imagined them to be dirty, loud and rowdy. They'll date girls, they'll do dangerous stunts, hell, they'll even watch porn! While girls like princesses and unicorns, boys delight on frogs and trucks. What do I know about all that? So please understand that it's easier for me to believe and expect that I'll be having a girl. So foolishly, I convinced myself that I have that much control over my baby's gender. I've never been so wrong.

Those are his balls on the first frame apparently.
The moment the sonographer placed the apparatus on my belly, she blurted out the baby's gender. It's a boy! It caught me off-guard. I honestly did not expect that, how stupid can I be to forget about the simplest probability ever? It's still a one is to one chance of having either a boy or girl, regardless what I like and regardless what people predicts.

I spent the next few days reprogramming my mind to think about not having to buy tutu dresses and other girly stuff. I read articles to enlighten myself of the joys of having a baby boy. It's not that I'm disappointed... I'm just mere clueless. And now, weeks have past and I have made peace with the fact that I will indeed be raising a cute little boy. I'm still clueless but with the help of my husband, I believe we can raise a good one. And I am, presently, extremely happy to have a healthy baby inside me. He's been kicking me the whole time I'm writing this. Baby, if at some point of your life you'll be reading this, please don't be a grammar Nazi. I love you!