A Silly (Failed) Experiment to See My Daughter’s Face

I had a silly idea for a post today. Originally, I meant to finish a post I (sort of) started on about picking a rug for my bedroom, but I haven’t quite figured out yet what the actual “story” is there. Maybe there is no story, and more a journey through my mind as I tried to pick a rug for my room and why I ended up where I did. Okay…that sounds alright. Maybe I’ll crank that out for this week if that sounds interesting to anyone here. So when I didn’t finish that, I picked up my phone to scroll through Instagram as a diversion tactic. Being that the algorithm already knows I will 100% stop and look at a very cute video of a baby, it tends to show me A LOT of very cute babies these days.

Anytime I see a little baby girl that looks remotely in line with how I envision my little nena looking (curly hair, darker tan skin, sweet round face), I send it to Charles with a note that reads something along the lines of “can you even imagine?!? What will you do if this is what nena looks like?” Usually, he responds with a similar sentiment…he’d be done. Dead. In big trouble. I’ve already resolved myself to being the third wheel in this family. I know that little girl and her daddy will be a love story for the ages. She’s already obsessed with him. Me? She rarely pays any attention to me when I talk to her, likely because she hears me blabbing all day. She’ll respond when I rub her and when I tell her it’s time to go to sleep (she’s a nighttime party animal in there lately), but she doesn’t do much when I specifically speak to her. Charles, though? When he presses his face up to my belly and chats with her, she almost always responds. Swirling, twirling, kicking around. It’s adorable (and infuriating).

So, after I sent the most recent video of someone else’s child on the internet to Charles (now that I write that, it’s VERY weird in theory), I had that silly idea I mentioned earlier. Once upon a time, back in the very early stages of our relationship but deep enough into it that fantasizing about our future babies would not have made his pulse skyrocket, I stumbled upon a website that morphed two faces together, letting you see what your child would “look like.” I remember doing it and the result was…a bit freakish. Then I changed the photos I was using and it got a bit better. So I wondered if things like that still existed (for free) on the web today.

A quick Google search would tell me that yes, yes it exists and I was about to have some ridiculous, meaningless fun. But then the free website I found just said “please wait…” while processing my face for no less than 30 minutes. Even after refreshing numerous times, clicking out and restarting, trying Charles’ face first…it’s just a dud. So I went and hunted down another website, only to find that for the low, low price of $2.99, I could see “my” baby. Eh…not worth it.

Several quick more scrolls through a search engine results page and I gave up, coming back to a blanket post here for Monday. No “baby” picture to share, too mindful of the time of night to delve into writing about rugs in any meaningful way. So instead, I’m just telling you about the (failed) experience. Aren’t you glad you stopped by today? 😉

Of course, no stupid, janky website is going to come even remotely close to what little lady will look like. No amount of guessing will tell me and, of course, it doesn’t matter. But a first-time mom gets excited about these things. Will she have my squishy nose? Will she have Charles’ sleepy eyes? Maybe she won’t look like either of us, picking up attributes from her aunts, uncles, cousins (I look just like my uncle, for instance, and almost nothing like my mother or father). Genetics are funny that way. When I was a baby, my mom claims strangers would always ask her where she adopted me from; I was *that* different looking than she was (she’s fair-skinned, has lighter dyed hair and much more European features, while I was tan, had a head full of nearly black stick-straight hair and almond-y eyes). For all I know, nena could come out with the blonde hair and hazel eyes of some of my cousins, or the tight curly locks and chocolate skin of Charles’ side of the family.

Either way, she’ll be beyond perfect, and I’m so excited to see her sweet face in a little over three months from now.

See you tomorrow, FOAS!