Intermission // Van McCann

29. Hurry Up and Come Out Already

Van was the absolute sweetest. He did his homework, reading up on what it's like to be pregnant so he could have a better understanding of what I was going through, and reading books on what it's like to have a baby. He knew I was scared; all of this was new to me and he made it clear he was by my side. If I was craving anything, he'd buy it for me. He also insisted that I not do any strenuous activity, telling me that he'd do it. He joined me for whatever appointments I had even though he couldn't make all of it because of work. And he was trying his best to quit smoking because he wanted the baby to be healthy.

I was suddenly taking time off work, and Bondy, Iván, and Steve were becoming increasingly suspicious so I finally gave in and told them I was pregnant. I was 12 weeks pregnant at the time and figured I was far enough into the pregnancy. As soon as they found out I was pregnant, they forbid me from using the time machine since they weren't sure how that would affect the baby. I admit I was a bit upset but I understood.

Before I told them I was pregnant, Van and I told my parents and his parents. We told my parents and brother the news in person when we stopped by for dinner. My family has since learned that when the whole family is together, there's big news. First it was the engagement, then it was talk about the wedding, and now I'm pregnant. They were loving it, though, excited to see us and to hear what we've been up to. We FaceTimed Van's parents and they were over the moon. We talked for hours and they could've honestly gone on longer if Van hadn't told them we had work the next day and that we had to go to bed. His mom had a lot to tell me about her pregnancy and she was giving me tips.

Over time, I could feel my body changing. I felt huge even though I wasn't showing just yet and I was easily tired and moody. I felt terrible for snapping at Van when he wouldn't listen. My waistline was growing so I couldn't fit into jeans I used to wear so I had to buy stretchy pants. And I was running to the bathroom more often and I was forgetful.

I bought a lot of stuff to make life easier. I bought a pregnancy pillow and began buying items for the baby. The pregnancy and baby consumed my life—that was all I thought about that I'd neglect other things in my life that I had to focus on.

Finally, 18 weeks rolled around and it was time to find out the gender of our baby. Van took time off work so we could find out together. I laid on the bed with my stomach exposed as they ran the gun over my belly until they found the sweet spot. We watched the screen not believing how big our baby was getting.

"Do you see that over there?" the technician asked, pointing to the screen. "You're having a baby boy."

Van instantly held my hand, smiling. I already had a hunch I was having a boy due to the mission I went on to the future but I kept it to myself just in case.

"How sure are you that we're having a boy?" I asked.

"I'm a hundred percent sure. There's no doubt about it. I can print a photo for the both of you to remember this moment," the technician answered.

"We'd like that. Thank you," I replied. The technician excused himself and walked out, promising to give us our photo.

"So we're gonna have a little lad," Van said as soon as the door closed. "We're gonna have to think of names. That's all I'm gonna think about!"

I laughed at how excited he was and then we talked about how we were going to break the news. Were we going to have a little celebration or skip it? We decided on having a small gathering of our closest family and friends. We weren't big on making a big deal out of it. We were just excited to pick out names and to start buying things for our baby boy.

A few days later, Van came to me with the research he had done on names. His list of names was surprisingly short. He told me after dinner one day.