Dreaming in Color (Pink...or Blue?)

Mark and I don't plan on finding out the gender of our baby.  This might be hard for some to believe, but while it's not the easy choice, we definitely feel it's the right one for us.  I mean, how many true (and good) surprises can you really get in life these days?  I count getting engaged as one such surprise and I also count that day as one of the best of my life.  Whenever I get anxious to know more about the baby inside me, I think about the "It's a ____!" experience we have to look forward to on Birth Day and am comforted that it will vastly add to what is sure to be another amazing and favorite day in our lives.

I'm not one to subscribe to the "Girls rule; Boys drool" theory.  When I think about having a boy, I feel just as content as I would if we were blessed with a girl.  Plus, if you knew me as a mouthy teenage girl, you would understand how I might be nervous about the possibility of that coming back at me twofold if we do have a girl (soooo sorry for putting you through that, mom)!

That brings me to the dreams I've had thus far.  Early in our pregnancy, I had a dream that involved two baby girls.  One was a bit older than the other, but they were both blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauties.  I'm not sure if they were mine in the dream or if I even felt like they were mine, but they were certainly in my possession.  Last night, however, I had a very graphic dream in which I went into labor and could actually feel the stomach contractions pulsating - though they didn't hurt - and could feel the pressure and excitement I imagine going into labor creates.  It was all very real and at the end of it, the doctors yelled out, "It's a boy!" and handed me the baby.  Later as we were showing him to people, I said his name out loud.  The name I said is one that is near the top of our boy-name list.  I have no doubt that if we do have a boy in September, that will be his name now that I've had this dream.  Although...in it, Mark wasn't so accepting of the middle name we've already talked about, so I might have to work on him in real life a little more just in case.  And no, I'm not telling you what it (or the first name) is. ;o)

I'm not sure I believe Chickpea is a boy just from this dream intuition, but I do know that I was extremely proud and content with the way things ended up in the dream.  One thing to add is that my sister has four boys - four happy, sweet, well-behaved boys!  I love them as much as one is able to love a child that isn't their own.  You can imagine, though, that my mom is totally 'Team Girl' this time around...she wants and deserves a granddaughter (but will obviously be happy no matter how things end up).  Obviously we have no control over this, but if we did have a girl, it would be pretty amazing.

I just want this baby to come into our lives happy and healthy.  I want us to be able to help him or her to achieve their dreams - no matter what gender they end up being, Mark and I will teach them that nothing is impossible, that whether they are a girl or a boy, anything they want is within their right and their grasp.  And isn't that the most important thing of all?