Jude and I decided to find out the gender of the baby at our second trimester ultrasound today. It has less to do with the blog poll (although we'd like to thank everyone who did vote- either way) and more to do with the fact that we know our parents really wanted to find out. And being so far away, this was our way of allowing them to feel closer to the baby :)
So now that we know the gender of the baby, it's like a whole new phase of the pregnancy has kicked in although essentially, nothing has changed from yesterday. Now I'm wondering more concretely who she'll (OMG, she!!) look like, whether we'll keep her hair long, how she'll look like in blue instead of pink, what part of her will be like me, and which parts will be like Jude. Or maybe she'll inherit something from her grandparents, aunts, or uncle :) With the knowledge of her gender, it's like she's gained a real identity now- there's a little girl growing in me, a person who will have traits of her dad, her mom, bits of their family, and a whole lot of her. Like this GORGEOUS song by Marc Cohn and Art Garfunkel says, our girl is going to be the sum of all the things handed down and then some. It's off one of my favorite soundtracks ever-- the TV series Mad About You-- and it truly captures everything we're feeling right now about this person who we feel like we've suddenly come to know. I'll let the song speak for itself. Listen to it and read the lyrics- I've heard it so many times but only today did I truly, truly *get* it. It moves me in such a tremendously profound way, I can't even quite articulate it. Just listen, and you'll know why I started crying buckets the moment he sings the first line...
The Things Weve Handed Down - Marc Cohn
Don't know much about you
Don't know who you are
We've been doing fine without you
But, we could only go so far
Don't know why you chose us
Were you watching from above
Is there someone there that knows us
Said we'd give you all our love
Will you laugh just like your mother
Will you sigh like your old man
Will some things skip a generation
Like I've heard they often can
Are you a poet or a dancer
A devil or a clown
Or a strange new combination of
The things we've handed down
I wonder who you'll look like
Will your hair fall down and curl
Will you be a mama's boy
Or daddy's little girl
Will you be a sad reminder
Of what's been lost along the way
Maybe you can help me find her
In the things you do and say
And these things that we have given you
They are not so easily found
But you can thank us later
For the things we've handed down
You may not always be so grateful
For the way that you were made
Maybe some feature of your father's
That you'd gladly sell or trade
And one day you may look at us
And say that you were cursed
But over time that line has been
Extremely well rehearsed
By our fathers, and their fathers
In some old and distant town
From places no one here remembers
Come the things we've handed down
- Marc Cohn & Art Garfunkel, "Things We've Handed Down"
16 comments:
Oh the journey you'll have ahead of you both. SO HAPPY FOR YOU! Trust me, it's exciting. Can Ruby and her be penpals? Or food pals?
Of course! :)
Oh, I love the idea of penpals! So quaint and lovely!! :)
awww the song has definitely touched me too.my first tears for my niece..who knows the next time might be when she calls my name(: (: (: maybe she'll inherit my lack of ankles. oh no. lets pray against that.
AUNTY SAM.
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing this beautiful experience with the world and with Baby Yew when she learns to read! Wishing you many more beautiful moments, Mommy and Daddy! :) OK, out to make and cherish more memories with the kiddos!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVam-fshUgw
@Sam- chets will be happy if she inherits anything at all from you, even your ankles :)
@Liz- I saw recent pics of Hannah and Divya on Dan's Flickr page- they're adorable!
@srah- Thanks for that video... *sniff* :)
SHE will appreciate paunchy even more OMG I FEEL SO HAPPY.
-jilly
Congratulations! I am very happy for you. As Molly will tell you, I believe that the family dynamic is wonderful when the first=born is a girl. It has been my observation that men with an older sister are nicer!! Not 100% of course, nothing is, but it gives them a different perspective on women.
And I think you made the right decision finding out the sex of the baby. There are plenty of other mysteries, it's one less thing to obsess about.
so that settles it. you cant call the tot gusvan! hurhur. maybe her chinese name can be 'siew' something too! CONGRADULASIONS BOTHHHHH!
@Barbara- Thank you for your wishes! I had no idea you read our blog :) And yes, we had a similar thought about girls as first-borns and what that might mean for sons who come after. It's wonderful to hear it from someone who's been there.
@Jilly & Terri (who for a moment, I didn't realize was you- I was like TMC Youth Ministry??? Then the gusvan gave you away...)- we're bringing the baby home for Christmas! did you hear? we will do the official paunchy introductions then- drool and groping and all... ;)
yeah i heard! nvm, i will conquer USA another time. I feel so excited for you hehehe! so have you thought of any names for the baby? no wait. young lady! WHAT DROOL AND GROPING!! ESCUE ME HOR.
jilly
hmmmm....you sure the little one is not hiding the bird bird? ;)
hahah, just kidding..congrats once again, having girls nowadays are better than having boys ;)
chek
Awww that's so precious. At least it cuts the name list down by 50%, right? Thanks for keeping your friends updated, it makes me feel like I am right there, getting updates from you.
@chek: Yeah - you don't know how relieved I was to hear that our first child is a girl! :) But then again, as your comment suggests, there is an error rate for ultrasounds. We're definitely scheduling another ultrasound to be sure.
@syl: That's why we keep up with the blog - it seems like most people have stopped blogging these days and have moved on to twitter or facebook (or whatever hot new social media app :) )
jude
Congrats! Can The Kid and K2 be Baby Yew's jie-jie friends?
As usual, I have only caught up with your postings, having missed over a month's worth. When you blogged on whether to know Baby's gender (I read from where I last stopped), and I was secretly wishing you would. Glad you did :)- knowing Baby's gender helps you bond with Baby in a more special way. No matter what books say about gender equality, you will love your Baby girl in a way that is unique from anything else.
YEA!!! Baby girls... Thrilled!!!
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