An expectant couple in California announced the sex of their baby to their friends and family with inspiration from “Stranger Things” ― just in time for the hit Netflix show’s impending return.
Krystal Jugarap is expecting her first child with her partner, Daniel Vongnakhone. At the end of September, the Bay Area couple set up string lights in their home, a nod to the scenes in “Stranger Things” in which mom Joyce Byers uses the lights to communicate with her son lost in the Upside Down.
Jugarap told HuffPost they are both fans of the Netflix show, but Vongnakhone was the one who came up with the idea.
“He claims the idea just came to him, but I’m sure someone from the Upside Down had flickered some street lights on Daniel’s way home to spark the idea,” she said.
Using a tutorial they found online, tools they bought from Amazon and a bit of intuition to tweak some of the instructions, the couple coded the lights to spell out, “It’s a girl.”
Jugarap explained that after Vongnakhone posted the announcement on Reddit, many people thought that the beginning ― in which he carries a sleeping Jugarap to bed from their couch ― was weird. That part is actually routine for the couple.
“I know the beginning was a little odd to some people, but we wanted to make it seem like a typical day in a life for us,” she said. “Daniel is always carrying me to bed after I’ve fallen asleep on the couch!”
Jugarap, who is due in February, told HuffPost she and her partner are also big fans of “Star Wars.” They plan on naming their daughter Leila Rey, a slightly modified nod to the franchise’s Princess Leia and Rey.
For now, the couple will wait (probably impatiently) for “Stranger Things” to return on October 27.
“We have to save Eleven!” Jugarap said. “And Dustin is just the cutest little kid.”
