The Name Game

From the moment our doctor gave us the 'go ahead' to start trying to have a baby I had been making lists of names and by the time we found out we were pregnant I had hundreds.  We picked out and agreed on boy names but could not agree on any girl names- but I was sure we were having a boy- ha.  Throughout the entire pregnancy that was the big question, "What are you going to name her?" Uhhh- we had no idea.  Ben denied my entire list and kept coming up with names like Gertrude, Shanikwa and Evon.  It frustrated me because I wanted a name, I didn't feel like Ben cared and because I was sick of people asking me and us now knowing.  

So we finally just started saying that we were going to decide when we saw her (which still did not stop people from adding their two cents every time we entered a room).  We had a short list (of about 4 names) that we were going to decide once we saw her.  

A couple hours after she was born I turned to Ben and asked, "So, what does she look like? What is her name?" and he proclaimed, "Elizabeth!"  WHAT? You must understand that Elizabeth was not on our short list.  (It turns out that my Mom thought of the name Elizabeth when she first saw her also- but she did not tell us until later.)

Being the stubborn person that I was I rejected Ben's instinct and began calling her the other names on our list, to see if any of them 'felt right.'  It was a small blessing that she was in the NICU because it extended the time we had to pick the name (we had to have it by the time we left the hospital), although that bothered the nurses who wanted a name (and family who continued to give us ideas).  On Wednesday when they said we could take her home a day early I started to panic because we still had not decided. That entire day I thought about it and called her all different names (the poor child must have had an identity crisis her first week of life).

That night when Ben came to pick us up I handed him the form and said, "Look, she's named."  Yes, I filled out the form and named her without him even there.  He chuckled, smiled and just like that, she was named.  So at 5 days old we took home our own little baby girl, Elizabeth Marie Newson!

Our lists: ("Short List" is Bold)

Margaret- Maggie

Grace

Annie- Annabel

Isabelle

Nancy

Lucy

Rosalie- Rose- Rosie

Emilie/ Emily

Lillian- Lilly

Jane

Abigail

Claire

Mackenzie

Elizabeth

Laura

Jessica

Megan

Makayla

Sydney

Eleanore/Nora

Katherine- Kate

Marie

Julie/ Julia/ Juliana

Beth

Molly

Megan- Meg

Jill

Sophie Marie

Violet

Ainsley