I've got to say that I think we're giving this baby some pretty good genes. Now, in the looks department, the baby hasn't won the gene lottery like Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, but I don't think our baby's parents are half bad. My man is regularly called cute by the little old ladies in nursing homes who he meets on medical calls, and, while my perfect version of myself would be a few inches taller and a bit thinner, I like my naturally-colored strawberry blonde hair and my eyes. Exhibit A (in which we have jet lag and still look respectable, I think):
Sure, I've got a mess of allergies and there's some history of mental illness in my family (but, with one out of four Americans depressed in their lifetime, I think that's probably true of every family), and Sean's side has history of heart disease and diabetes. That said, if I could conjure up a genie and use a few wishes, there are things I'd like to pass on to this baby, and things I'd rather came from my husband. I'm not talking about the rare and not-so-rare diseases we'd all rather avoid. I'm thinking about shallow things and character traits, like noses and impatience.
From me:
My mother's nose. Not my nose - it's a little too big, but it's still smaller than my husband's, and I can't picture his schnoze or my dad's, for that matter, on a baby.
My eyes. They're big and I like them. My husband's are light blue and are not too shabby either, actually, so I think the kid will be fine either way.
My reading and eating speed. I read quickly, and remember what I've read. I also eat relatively quickly, and then tap my fingers while I wait for others to finish. I get this from my father. We both think that, as soon as we're done and others at the table are almost done, it's time to get the check so that, once even the slow people are done eating, we'll have paid and can get up and leave the table. I hate to sit and stare at dirty dishes and half-eaten food. I know it's not exactly polite and Ms. Manners would scold me if she knew. My husband is neither a fast reader nor a speedy eater - though, to be perfectly honest, he eats about twice as much as I do, so it might cause him severe indegestion if he were to finish eating that quantity at the same time I finish eating. But still, I hope the kid takes after me. If I end up with a bunch of children who are slow eaters, I will have to forgoe nightly family dinners so that I don't go insane while waiting for them all to finish eating. Or, I'll just become one of those mothers who constantly jumps up from the table during dinner to grab a better serving spoon or start the dishes.
My sneezes. When I sneeze, it's usually just once or twice and it's quiet. Sean has a minimum of three huge, explosive sneezes that make your ears ring if you're sitting next to him. I know he can't help it; his mother has the same kind of sneeze. It would be nice for our baby to avoid that.
From my husband:
His athletic skills. He's a much faster runner than I am, and he's great at any snow sport. I'm not so terrible at either, but I'm always just trying to keep up with him on a snowboard or when running. I pedal a bicycle like a first grader, and he's a whiz on a bike. Sure, I've run a few marathons and I can ski and swim better than he can and I can do my fair share of pushups, but he can do pushups with me on his back. Maybe he's just showing off. Still, it would be nice to know that our kid won't be picked last in gym.
His prowress in the kitchen. The man can make anything.
His calm, level-headedness in a crisis. Yeah, that's pretty important in a firefighter or emergency responder. It's nice not to worry that he's going to panic the minute I go in to labor. I like knowing that, when something goes wrong, he can quickly and quietly respond, with a minimum of fuss. I know that no baby or toddler will exhibit that quality, but it would be nice for the kid to grow in to that kind of presence of mind in emergencies.
His lankiness. He's a little taller than average, and he has these nice, long, thin limbs. I'm built more like a curvy fireplug. Some people like that, I suppose, but I've always wanted to be elegant and graceful with long legs.
From both of us:
We are both a tad bit competitive. I have been known to challenge coworkers to push-up contests if I think they're implying that I'm weak. And I still think I could beat 90% of them in a push-up contest, even with this big old pregnant belly in my way. Sean and I get a little rabid at trivia night at bars. We probably get more in to racing go-karts than is healthy. If the kid doesn't have a competitive bone in his/her body, I'm worried about how much his parents might scar him/her.
From neither of us:
Our abnormally large foreheads. My forehead is huge. My husband's is a bit big, probably because his hair is starting to receed, but it's hard to say, since he keeps his head almost bald. I swear my forehead is the same size as the rest of my face from my browline down. We're like mini-coneheads. I don't think the baby has any chance to avoid becoming a conehead, too.
There are lots of other things I could list - my ability to do well on standardized tests, our shared sense of humor and love of books, my hair, my husband's strong stomach - but, I guess, when it comes down to it, if I really had access to the genie, we'd probably skip the whole list and simply wish for our baby to be healthy and happy.
