Magnus Strongbeard is due the 29th of this month. We’ve started counting down the days. If you’re a parent, you know due dates are merely estimates based on data provided by the prospective mother in consultation with her doctor. The doctor in turn conducts a series of examinations, does sonogram screenings, blood and urine tests, fetal heart monitoring, develops a biophysical profile, and may conduct genetic testing. All of these provide data that aligns with the first, second and third trimesters.
Back in the day you got pregnant, the doctor kept track of the mother’s weight, and nine months later you had a baby. Every baby was a surprise so you needed to be prepared for both a girl and a boy. This doubled the time required to agree upon a name. Not so anymore. They can tell all sorts of valuable things long before the baby is born.
As the day draws closer, a few additional names are under review. Two under consideration are Jack and William Robert. Michael has said if they go with William Robert they’re going to call him Billy Bob. I believe that’s in deference to my mom’s side of the family. All her kinfolk hail from Kentucky. If Magnus makes the final cut, I’m calling him Gus.
I’ve been reluctant to offer up Robert Allen II as that may appear to be self serving. If they opted in, I’d call him Deuce. I suggested the option to Lindsay and David when they were expecting Brady, but Lindsay found Deuce to be toilet related. I never made the connection myself but, alas, my suggestion was rejected. As Brady has excelled on the basketball court, a more fitting name would be Trey, as that’s what he shoots most frequently.
The family has begun predicting the date and time of Magnus’s birth. I think Kate would prefer sooner rather than later. When Lindsay was pregnant with Brady I recall her saying, “I can’t wait until he’s born.” My reply was simple, yet direct. “Be careful what you wish for because at least you know where he is. That won’t always be the case.”
Michael is ready. He’s painted the baby’s room, helped Kate with decorating and settling on a “woodland” theme, (Our theme when David was born was yellow. You know, based upon the fact that he could have been a girl or a boy.), and he’s pre-washed the new baby clothes and diapers. They are both excited and anxious, and as all of you parents know, “They ain’t seen nothing yet”.
As for predicting a date and time, if you’d like to get in on my newly formed “Guess Magnus’s Date and Time of Birth” contest, please send me $5.00 along with your prediction. I don’t know anything about Kate and her sister’s birth, but our three were born within a day or two of the guestimate provided by Ruth’s obstetrician. Ruth went into labor for David around noon and he arrived at 10:07 p.m. Elizabeth was a bit more reluctant. Ruth’s water broke at 4:00 p.m. and, after pulling an all-nighter, Elizabeth was born around 7:10 a.m. Michael was anxious to join his brother and sister. He started making his appearance around 9:30 a.m. and was born at 1:15 p.m. I’ve never taken drugs of any sort, but I can’t imagine being any higher than I was when I saw each of them. They were truly miraculous.
If you decide to wager, get those entries in right away. I can tell you our first entrant has selected March 21st at 3:21 a.m., or 3/21 at 3:21 as the star gazers say. It’s part of the countdown.