abbababy

Okay, so where was I? Oh yes, the full moon brought in the tide and suddenly it's 1:05 in the morning and we're staring at our sons. At this point, the boys were only known as Baby A and Baby B to everyone -- including us. We had chosen names two years ago, but had agreed to wait until the babies were born to decide which one got which name. I had worried a lot about this. How would I know which one would be Daniel? Would I know Rowan when I saw him? How could a newborn, without a personality or even definite physical features, be saddled with something as monumental and permanent as a name? And don't all newborns look alike, anyway?

Well, our twin newborns looked nothing alike. And even in the first moments of life, they did not act alike. After his initial bout of crying, Baby A (first born) calmed down and started looking around with interest at all the commotion going on around him. The neonatal team was a bit concerned about him because he looked a little pale, so they waved an oxygen mask over him and kept him toasty under a heat lamp. He had lots of dark hair on his head and even had patches of dark hair on his arms and shoulders. Baby B, in contrast, had not as much hair on his head and none at all on his body. His coloring was fairer. We couldn't really tell if his hair was light brown or even auburn. His complexion was ruddy -- bright red, in fact. Unlike his brother, Baby B was not pleased at all about being born. He was yelling his head off and had turned bright scarlet in the face.

The staff let Morley hold Baby A. Morley looked at me, smiled, and said, "That's Rowan. This is Daniel." I said, "I'm so glad you said that. That's exactly what I was thinking." It was so obvious. The name Daniel fit Baby A perfectly somehow -- and as for Baby B, "Rowan" means "red oak," a fitting name for a little man who was robust and rather autumnal.

We went back to check on Becki, to thank her and see how she was doing. She looked exhausted but beatific.

(to be continued.)