Henry Anderson Adams
Born September 13, 2017
How cool is that!
THE MAGIC OF TECHNOLOGY WAS EVIDENCED this week when I received a text message from my youngest son David. Displayed on my iPhone was the 3D ultra-sound photo from his visit to their obstetrician’s office. At the top of the screen-shot in bold letters, “IT’S A BOY.”
Unfortunately, this caused a bit of a stir amongst my kids.
Dave and Liz wanted the gender to be a surprise, as they had done with their first baby. They took the technician’s blunder in stride, calming her down, and are now quite settled with the confirming evidence that they are blessed with a baby boy. He is due Thanksgiving week and will be joining older brother Charlie.
It makes me smile.
My oldest son Rob discovered this past winter that he and his wife Megan were pregnant with their first. She was finishing her medical fellowship as an organ transplant surgeon in Denver. They wanted to know the gender. So, with the help of ultra-sound and genetic tests, they knew almost immediately that they were blessed with a boy. This baby is due in mid-September. It made me smile. I have not asked the baby’s name, but assume they are having such discussions.
In a similar reflection, my Mom was hoping that her fourth child would be another boy. It became family lore of some note; instead she delivered sister Sally two years after me. My thought today about her desire for another boy points to the fact that she already had boy’s clothes in so many sizes and it made financial sense to wish for another boy. Now that I think of it, I recall photos of both Sally, and then Holly, wearing our hand-me-downs. How fun is that. Good Old Mom, survived the Great Depression and rationing in the war, perhaps helping explain her position. Speaking of family lore, Armenian legend has a newly pregnant mother displaying the gender of her baby in her face. If she looks bedraggled and not pretty it was considered a sign that she was carrying a female as her beauty was being transferred to the developing female fetus. If she was radiant and lovely it meant she was having a boy as there was no need to transfer beauty to a male. I note this folklore as I had referenced it to Liz not a week before their obstetric visit. After viewing several of her photo posts on Facebook, I stated to Liz that if she were Armenian there would be little doubt that her unborn baby was a male as she simply looked lovely. She humored me by graciously accepting my compliment. Medical technology, or folklore, whatever you choose, the facts of the case now indicate that by year’s-end two more boys will be in my life. I couldn’t be happier for all of us.