Baby Naming

Baby naming is a serious job. No sarcasm. Of the millions of names out there in millions of baby naming books & iPhone Apps, only one can be chosen! Talk about pressure. This name will become part of tiny baby's identity. There will be nicknames [potentially] made from this given name, & hopefully only nice ones. It will be potentially announced before sporting events or written on programs for music or theatre performances. This little name will represent a little person & I am feeling some pressure wondering if we've chosen the "right" name!

Maybe I'm being overly dramatic about this whole name thing... Especially since we had names picked out a week after we found out we were pregnant :] [we said we would wait through the first trimester to name this little rascal... that plan lasted a week. Kind of like our plan to wait 4-ish years to have kids & waited 4 months instead on accident] I just don't want to have a daughter who is the butt of jokes based on her name & that it fits who she will become.

So little Otter girl has a name. It's a secret. It's killing me... but I just love that it is our little secret & when she is here & we have met her, everyone else can meet her by her new name as well. [if you try and guess, you won't. if you do guess it, we won't tell you]

Here are some things we considered [or would have if we hadn't thought of the names so quickly] when we were choosing boy & girls names 14 weeks ago.

1. Family names: I won't tell you if we decided to use any family names or not, but remember.. [for example] if you choose to use part of the baby's dad's father's name, prepare to use part of the baby's mother's fathers name... don't wanna play favorites! & don't use family names for the sake of using the family name to please others if you really hate said name...

2. Classic names vs. popular names vs. unique names: Henry, David, Margaret, Nancy, & other names similar to this seem classic to me. Christopher, Michael, Brittany, Sara, & the like seem popular to me. Popular names are usually heard multiple times in the same classroom at school. I don't even want to list names I would consider unique at the risk of offending someone :] but I think it's pretty self explanatory. We narrowed our list of names down by knowing what category of name we wanted it to be in.

3. Make a top five list: Once the names have been narrowed down to personal favorites, each person in the couple make a list. Trade lists & cross off names that are highly disliked [be kind!]. See what names are left & make one list of favorites. If there is one mutual name that is on the list... ding ding ding the baby is named. If not... maybe have a wrestling match & whoever wins, their name is chosen? I'm not really sure after this point since Matt & I decided right away the names that we liked.

Maybe this helps. Maybe not. But regardless, go with what feels right. I kept questioning Otter girl's chosen name because I was afraid I wasn't emotionally connected to it enough - but hearing Matt continually use her name with adoration when we're at home got me hooked. We have our girl &  her name is perfect :]


Today's Menu:
Breakfast - Cheerio's with milk & a banana
Lunch - Salad with cucumber, green peppers, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, & ranch, low-fat vanilla yogurt w/ granola & dried fruit, & two mini Hershey bars w/ peanut butter on them for dessert
Dinner - baked potatoes loaded with green peppers, mushrooms, yellow zucchini, mozzarella cheese, & a little low-fat sour cream

[just a little accountability to continue eating a diet that is high in fruit & veggies, whole wheat, & minimal sugar]

Looking ahead:
-lower back pain
-making a nursery
-pregnancy yoga & workout video reviews