Human Bean

The funniest thing happened a few weeks ago when my daughter Emma had been explaining to Denise how she’d been feeling nauseous for the last few mornings. Denise, being the loving and kind mother she is, stopped by the grocery store to pick up some soup and some ginger ale, which she figured might go well towards easing Emma’s discomfort. While shopping, Denise also picked up a couple pregnancy test kits, thinking that maybe Emma was pregnant. When Denise arrived with the goods, they had a good laugh about the test kits and after a short visit, Denise went on her way. A few minutes later Denise received a call from Emma who informed her that she had tried both test kits and both read positive. After hearing this part of the story, I chuckled at how smart Denise was to think that the sickness Emma was experiencing might be due to pregnancy. Gosh, she’s like the “baby whisperer!”

Counting back, Denise suggested that there must have been some hanky-panky when Emma and Adrian had dropped off their two kids, Olivia and Madelyn, at Adrian’s parent’s farm for a weekend and went camping at a nearby music festival. Of course, parents, like Densie and I, are going to tease their daughter and son-in-law about such things! Emma, in true Emma fashion, said no way, that it was more likely an immaculate conception. Grandpa thinks that highly unlikely. 😊

Although Emma was not trying to get pregnant, she has always said that she and Adrian were not opposed to the idea of having another child, so if it happened it would be welcome. Everyone, including myself, was thrilled with the news of Emma’s pregnancy and, of course, the speculations on what gender it might be began right away. Grandpa, me in other words, would like to see another granddaughter, but I wouldn’t be opposed to a grandson, if only to see what that might be like as a new experience. Whatever the gender, I am sure Emma will ensure that the child is raised in the same free-spirit fashion as Olivia and Madelyn.

Because Emma is 35 years old, her “condition” is considered a “geriatric pregnancy,” meaning she is getting to the age where there are far more concerns with the development of the fetus/baby. As such, Emma was sent for an ultrasound scan at approximately 9 weeks, just to ensure that everything looked as it should. As luck would have it, Emma was informed that everything looked just as it should. Based on available data and measurements taken, she was informed that the little one was 9 weeks 2 days old, was just over ½” long, and weighted about 0.1 ounces, and would arrive on May 15, 2025, or there abouts. Holy smokes, that’s small! Emma texted an image of the scan right after she was finished and I was blown away by the beauty that I saw in that small bean sprout, and I already felt a loving connection to it. Although it is a lovely and heartwarming image, Emma did not want me to share it here for personal reasons, so I must respect that. I must admit though, that the image was the inspiration for this blog post and I am disappointed that I can’t share it. I tried to find another no-name image online that might illustrate the beauty of our little bean, but alas, everything I found was nowhere as special to me as the one Emma had sent. In lieu of Emma’s scan image, I decided to create the feature image that you saw at the top of the blog post article. Of course, my drawing is based more on a fully developed baby, where Emma’s was much more like the beansprout I mentioned earlier.

What a miracle this baby making business is! There is no doubt that even at 9 weeks, the little sprout is most assuredly a human baby, with many identifiable human parts. Although I have no intention of having a pro-life / pro-choice debate here in this blog post, I can sure see why there are such strong views for what constitutes life, when it comes to the fetus.

I have titled this blog post Human Bean as bean was the first thought that came to mind when I saw the ultrasound image. A little bean, just starting to sprout. Did you ever plant a bean in wet tissue within a clear plastic cup as a young student or see your own kids do so when they were in school? I have vague memories of Emma doing this at some point and even it was awe inspiring. Another miracle of life, as clear as one can see in all its glory.

Sprouts – Image from Upsplash (by imsogabriel stock)

The new baby will arrive eight years after the last one, Madelyn, and ten years after the first one, Olivia. Due to the age gap, I suspect that the new baby will get loads of attention from the other girls and will eventually have “built-in” babysitters in them as part of the deal.

I hear Denise and Emma on the phone all hours of the day with Denise continually offering baby names. It is all done in fun and I can assure you that Emma and Adrian will be choosing their own baby’s name. Truth be told, I suspect it is all done to keep the excitement alive and ponder all those baby names, trying to figure out what each and every suggested name means. I think the baby should be a girl and called Ella, the name of Emma’s first hamster. 😊 Nobody thinks that is a keeper, so I don’t see that as the future choice. If it’s a boy, I think he should be called Buddy, or Little Buddy to start. What do you think about that? I haven’t counted, but I am guessing that Denise has offered about six thousand names, both single syllable first and middle names and as many multi-syllable first and second names. When I asked Denise to give me three for each, to include here, she said that she likes Gabriella Marie, Ida-Grace Marie, and Katherine Marie for girls’ names. I can see she has her heart set on Marie for a middle name, which as you might know is her middle name as well. For boys’ names, she said she likes Joseph Michael, Marcus Paul, and James William. I could live with those. 👍

Emma will have another scan in January. It is called the “anatomy scan,” where the gender can be determined if the little one cooperates by being in a revealing position. I guess there are times when a gender reveal is not possible, so that could be the case for us, but I hope not. Just as a side note, note that Olivia was a surprise, gender-wise, as she decided not to reveal herself at the time. Madelyn, on the other hand, provided a view that was undeniably female. As for the new baby, both Emma and Adrian are open to knowing the gender beforehand, and I am sure that both Olivia and Madelyn will want to know too. Denise mentioned that there may be a third scan down the road, just to check progress due to Emma’s age and the risks of a geriatric pregnancy, but so far everything we have heard has been positive. So far there is no reason to believe that anything but a healthy happy baby will be joining the family.

As it is with any impending birth, everyone involved is getting excited and doing their part to get ready. Denise has already knitted a beautiful baby blanket and started shopping for various baby gear. Gifts and loans from friends have started showing up at Emma and Adrian’s home, including many big-ticket items like strollers and cribs and so forth.

Although I will enjoy the whole process of preparing for the baby, and all the thoughts that go along with it, I am really looking forward to meeting the little one in May. A perfect time of year for new birth, as spring is the best reminder of new beginnings, especially new life.

Donald B. Cheke – December 2, 2024