Introducing Baby McNamara!

Last Friday we took our little selves down to the Italian hospital for my five month ultrasound. Excited doesn't quite describe how we felt, but we both managed to stay calm. I made the appointment. I decided who would drive and what time we would leave.  We followed the plan, stayed on course and that was it.

The fun part was a few months ago when we first found out I was pregnant. I thought we were having a girl because my emotions were all over the place. Ryan agreed just because. Then the meat fest started. All I was interested in for weeks was red meat. My dad said this was a sure sign that I was carrying a boy. Still I went on calling the bump a she.

Then one night I had the most extraordinary dream. I was in a hospital room, waking from a nap post labor. The first thing I saw were my feet. Ryan came into focus and I asked where's the baby. He cradled a little baby boy wearing a blue newborn cap. He was swaddled in a blanket..swaddle. He had Ryan's very distinct features. I was amazed. I had never seen a baby quite like him. He seemed very self aware. I stared into his eyes and he SPOKE to me in my mind. Yes, kind of like Renesme in Twilight. He said, "I am a BOY. Look at me and see me for who I am. I am a boy ok? Stop calling me a girl." His words were slow and his tone was very mellow. I woke from the dream with a start. Ryan slept soundly next to me. I nudged him,"Ryan, it's boy! The baby is a boy." He had a very typical response,"Oh good." He went back to his sweet slumber without hesitation.

In the morning I reminded him about my dream. I informed him of the indisputable facts of the matter. I had a dream. In the dream I saw the baby. He was wearing blue, and when this newborn spoke to me he clearly articulated that he is a boy. Ryan's response: "What happens next week when you have a dream that it's a girl?"

Unconvinced, he insisted we find out the sex at the ultrasound. At first I protested, saying I wanted to be surprised, but then I realized I already knew I was having a boy. The ultrasound was the confirmation Ryan needed. As the doctor lubed up my belly, she asked if we wanted to know. We both said yes. She warned that sometimes it's hard to tell, but halfway through her sentence the first image popped up on screen. "It's a boy without a doubt." I looked over at Ryan and he was nodding and beaming yes.

We chose a unisex name, Kennedy, but looking at his fuzzy picture we realized that we needed a much more masculine name name for this guy. Back to the drawing board we go. One friend told me not to worry because I would probably have a dream where he tells me what his name is in a few weeks!