At 11 weeks our doctor told us not to go paint the nursery cowboy blue, but his hunch was that we were having a boy. I thought there was no way, from that grainy picture, he could tell. But I got used to the idea that we might be having a boy, while still thinking it could be a girl. So on Thursday, when we went in for our ultrasound, I was prepared for anything. Well, our little BOY made his presence very clear. Our ultrasound technician kept commenting on how calm and chill the baby was and we’re definitely okay with the idea of a mellow, easy-going baby. It made her job pretty easy because he held still and let her take all the pictures she needed. We watched as the technician looked at the four chambers of the heart, while it was beating. She measured the femur and the brain. I was too fascinated by what I was seeing to get emotional. It made us laugh because we even got to witness the baby sucking his thumb. Words like perfect and normal were music to our ears, because everything (heartbeat, cerebellum, etc.) measured exactly as it should. We left the appointment feeling excited to know that the next part of this journey could begin. We can start to prepare the nursery and buy clothes. You know, the fun stuff!!
When we first found out we were going to have a baby, we went made a list of boy names and girl names. We had veto power over the other person’s list, eliminating any name on the list we couldn’t stand. So what we were left with were 4 fairly sizable lists with names we liked. Of course, we both had our favorites. But we decided not to discuss it in depth until we knew if we were having a boy or girl. We had a few passing conversations about the meaning of a couple of names but nothing serious. Amazingly, when we left the ultrasound appointment and turned to each other to talk about his name, we came up with the same name. CARTER. We knew his name was Carter. But when we made the lists, while Carter was on both of them, it certainly wasn’t either of our original favorite names. I feel pretty confident that given the circumstances it’s the right name.
Here’s the meaning behind Carter’s name for us:
During a rough patch in our marriage, a friend of mine gave me the first few seasons of ER on DVD. When I was in middle school, I had watched the show faithfully and had always liked it. I had crush on Noah Wyle and George Clooney. But when I went to college, I stopped watching. I was excited to pick it up again from the beginning and had planned to watch it at night after Shelby had fallen asleep. (When I was working on my Master’s, I only worked part time so my sleep schedule was very different than Shelby’s.) He informed me that was fine because he really had no interest in a medical drama. So I put in the two hour pilot episode and Shelby stayed up and watched the whole thing. I was never allowed to watch an episode without him after that. During a snow storm, we watched at least 12 episodes while snuggling on the couch and eating soup and cornbread. It’s a treasured memory and was a healing weekend for our relationship.
Our favorite character on the show is Dr. John Carter. Over the seasons, Carter had lots of different story lines but always maintained characteristics I admired- kindness, generosity, patience, and determination. Often in the middle or at the end of an episode, Shelby and I would look at each other and one of us utter, “Man, I love Carter”. Earlier in summer, we finished watching season 15 of ER so I suppose Carter was still fresh in both our minds. During one of our off hand conversations when we were talking about the meanings behind names, I mentioned Carter. I had said that the meaning behind it was kind of boring, a cart driver, but Shelby said he liked the meaning. He said something about carts being able to carry heavy loads. I liked the idea that no matter what life piled on a Carter might be able to carry it all. And being the Beatles’ fans we are we were reminded of the song Carry That Weight. The lyrics, while simple, always make me feel better when you listen to them in relation to the song that comes before it in the medley, Golden Slumbers. Here are the lyrics to those two songs…
Golden Slumbers
Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Golden slumbers fill your eyes
Smiles awake you when you rise
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Carry That Weight
Boy, you're gonna carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Boy, you're gonna carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Carter sits at number 54 on the list of popular baby names. Shelby informed me that this was low enough not to be too trendy. I was relieved. We still haven’t decided on a middle name. Of course, that one wouldn’t come as easily as the first name! But we figure we have plenty of time to choose one! As soon as we know it, we’ll share it!
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