Baby FAQ
1) Boy or girl?Girl. I'm looking forward to catching up on all the tea parties and Barbie play I missed out on as a little boy. (I did actually switch the heads on my sister's Ken and Barbie dolls. Inexplicably, she was not amused.)
2) Have you guys picked out a name?
Not yet. There is one strong front runner for a first name right now. Recently, a dark horse has also emerged.
3) Will her name be Japanese or English?
The first name will be Judaically derived. The middle name will be Japanese. One name that I liked, but that we won't be using, is Sara(h). That's my grandma's Hebrew name, and Ashkenazic Jews don't name babies after living relatives. (The Angel of Death shouldn't come for the namesake, and mistakenly carry off the child instead.)
4) Are you going to teach her Japanese, too?
Our intention (or at least hope) is to raise a fully bilingual child, with a strong affinity for all three of her cultural heritages: Jewish, American, and Japanese.
5) In what religion will you raise her?
By halachic (Torah-based) law, she's not a Jew because her mother isn't. I intend, however, that she will grow up thoroughly exposed to Judaism. When she gets to be old enough, she can decide for herself what relationship she wants with the religion.
For her part, my wife, like most Japanese, isn't real hung up on religion one way or the other.
6) What will SiliMommy do about work?
SiliMommy is going on maternity leave from late December to mid-April. We are deeply reluctant to put the little one into childcare until she's at least a year, so hopefully we'll figure something out. (That something looks like it will be a combination of telecommuting and maternity/paternity leave, as possible.)
We are lucky, at least, to live in the only state in the Union that offers dads paid (disability insurance) paternity leave, up to 12 weeks.
7) What does the pug think about all of this?
He loves little kids, and he seems to like infants, too. (We've introduced him to a couple, and he gently gave them little puggy kisses.) Still, when a baby appears on his own turf, he may be a little less excited.
We're not concerned about his turning vicious or anything like that. If he does get resentful, we are much more likely to see the phenomenon manifest itself in the form of "political statements" left around the house or destructive behavior. (He's been iron-clad housebroken since he was a baby, so I'm really hoping he's not going to regress along that track.)
The vet did give us a handout, detailing a procedure for introducing an infant into the home in a way to minimize the trauma on the pre-existing dog. So I guess we'll try and follow that, at least.
posted by SiliDaddy @ 2:17 AM
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