and the upcoming alfar is...

Yes, a healthy baby girl is on her way to us! Nikki and Sage called from the hospital right after the ultrasound.

While my bid for the family name to live on comes to an end (cue violins), the quest for the perfect name for the littlest Alfar begins in earnest. So do we continue with the flora-inspired nomenclature (there are lovely names like Rowan) or go with something else? Our preference is for a short single first name (like Sage) - which means it is time to hit the baby books as well as scour the internet.

I admit that I secretly hoped for a boy but am perfectly happy to have a healthy girl coming my way. Every child is a gift, and I am stoked at the prospect of discovering who this little person is, what she'll be like, how she'll talk and think and act.

It's still around 4 months away from her arrival, but I am already a bundle of nerves. I am aghast at the upcoming expenses (caesarian section for Nikki plus hospital bills can go up to 100k, plus milk, diapers, medicine, nanny, etc.) but somehow I know we'll pull through for this littlest Alfar. Anxiety, I've come to accept, is part and parcel of being a parent, which means worrying about everything, most of the time, ahead of time (Sage starts big school this school year, which means tuition and uniform and books).

The important thing for me, as I deal with all these challenges (not just financial, because I also worry if I'm being the best dad I can be in all other aspects), is not to lose sight of why I am anxious in the first place: to give the best of myself for my two little girls; one on her way, the other holding my hand and her mother's as we wait.

Oh, and now that I know her gender, I can proceed to assemble her layette and other stuff!