February 12, 2007

WELCOME TO THE RISING DAUGHTER BLOG

This blog is written mostly for my family and close friends in Canada and the US to keep them up to date and bridge the distance. Since I'm in the communications business, it's about time I used the emerging tools of the trade. Anyway, this blog is not just about my new daughter, but will also have random thoughts along with some semi-coherent descriptions and cultural asides based on our life and times in Hiroshima.


Oct-Dec2006: PRENATAL LUDDITES?
One thing I find interesting about the advent of new technologies and how they impact on our lives was the near-universal reaction to our decision not to know the sex of our child prior to his or her birth, via ultrasound. After a few months of Naomi's prenatal checkups, people began to ask if the baby would be a boy or a girl. By that time we'd already made the decision that, if possible, we'd request the doctor to not inform us of the sex of our baby until the day it was born. This provoked all kinds of incredulous reactions from our acquaintances and co-workers: why don't you want to know? Can't you save money for clothes and baby toys? etc. Our view was that just because the technology was there did not mean we had to use it.

You see, Naomi has a charming inability to resist the lure of opening presents. I'm also curious about what kind of gifts people will give me, as are most people, I assume("what’s under that wrapping?") But I convinced her a few years ago that waiting until Christmas to open our gifts was more rewarding because a large part of the fun and virtue is derived from the delayed gratification. We took the same principles and applied them to her pregnancy. We'd be happy with either a boy or girl --honest!-- and only prayed that the baby be healthy. Since the dawn of human civilization people have not known the sex of their child until it popped out into the world. Even though I'm usually a big fan of technical innovation, in this case, I thought: "It's cool to be old school."

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