Category Archives: baby names

Here is a picture of me at 39 weeks and 1 day pregnant with Hannah:

Here I am at 23 weeks and 1 day with the twins:

I am starting to get nervous.  The amount of stretching going on here is unfathomable to me.  And to think that we have (realistically) between 12 and 16 more weeks to go…well, it scares me.  Pants of any kind are starting to get on my nerves.  Walking around for any period of time causes my belly to become uncomfortably tight.  Furthermore, I can barely type around it anymore, which is an issue.

I have a sonogram on Friday, to check growth, and then my regular doctor’s appointment next week.  This starts the rotation of all medical monitoring all the time, to include more blood work, gestational diabetes testing, more sonograms, more appointments and the like.  It is probably close to time for me to stop working, but I’m not mentally there yet.

We’ve made a pretty good dent in our newborn sized clothing, which pleases me.  The new cloth diapers I ordered arrived on Friday, and once I receive the next set of used ones I have coming, we should be set.  The beds will arrive this week too.

It is all happening so fast.

Last week, I had something of an epiphany regarding our girl’s name.  It was a name that was on our list for Eddie, had he been a girl and was one that hat trickled in and out of discussions through the years.  About an hour after this train of thought, Ed sent me a text that was one word: Molly, to which I replied “???” and he said “Your daughter?” and I burst in to tears, because this was the name I had been thinking about earlier.  And just like that, she was named and I felt really good about it.

On Friday, Ed told me he had thought of an equally good boy’s name but he wasn’t going to tell me in the hopes that I would think of it too.  Long story short, I did not think of it, but on Friday night he told me and asked what I thought.  I was kind of shocked, not because I don’t like the name, but because it seems out of the ordinary for something Ed would like.  I was also moderately nervous about the reactions we would get from family and friends if we chose it.  Then, on Saturday while I waited for the girls at gymnastics, I took to Twitter and asked what everyone thought, if it seemed weird with our other names and so on. By this time, I was feeling that the baby WAS this name, but I just needed some help getting there, and help I got.  I came home and told Ed that I was pretty sure it was our baby boy’s name.  The name is Angus, with a nickname of Gus.  And I sort of love it.  Ed decided to try the names out on his family that evening. and of course, the reaction  was not what I wanted.  They thought he was joking.  One person said “Well it’s not important if *I* like it…”, and while it’s not really important, I struggled with knowing that they all went home and probably snickered about it a bit. And again, Twitter helped me through.  And nobody even mentioned the Colonel Angus SNL skits, that my husband thought would be funny to bring up. So many people had such nice and positive and EFF EVERYONE else thoughts. And Temerity Jane even pointed out that MacGyver’s first name was Angus, and is my family too good for MacGyver? (No they are not). Anyway what I’m getting at is that I think we are going to take the punches and move forward with Angus, regardless of the cow references, and regardless of anything or anyone else.

I especially like how Angus coordinates with Edmund, and that neither name has been in the top 1000, um, ever.  Molly coordinates with the girls in the same way–though it is a little less common–it is on par with the popularity of their names.  And I think they all work well together, and nobody shares an initial, and nobody is named Obedient (If you don’t know my last name, you are lost…sorry). I like that they all give off sort of the same vibe.  I am pleased.

Hannah is very upset that we cannot name them Mickey and Minnie.

I have not told my mother either of the names yet.

Of course, the babies need to stay put for quite a while longer, but I finally feel prepared for all of this.  As prepared as one can be anyway.  Babies! With names! And gear! I think I say something like this every week, but this really is happening! Can you believe it?

To be honest, I cannot believe that I have put it off this long.  We don’t know if the babies are boys or girls yet, but with that revelation looming, and my second trimester starting next week, it seems like it is time to at the very least make a preliminary list.  We decided on Hannah’s name maybe a week before we knew she was a girl.  (Her name prompted my favorite post of all time, by the way, here.) Until then, we had kicked a few names around, but nothing was The Name.  If I don’t start making some lists now though, I’m not sure that we will ever come to an agreement.  We’ve had some small discussions, but nothing of any consequence yet.  We have time, but the planner in me needs to have things decided sooner rather than later.

So, without further ado, here is the preliminary list:
Boys

1. Henry- Ed wasn’t completely sold on this one until my mother vehemently opposed it.  If there is a boy in my belly, he will be Henry.  I like the way this fits with our other names as well.
2. Mason- this is Eddie’s middle name, so it’s kind of weird, but we are looking for a way to honor Ed’s dad without using his first name, because he hated his first name with a passion.  Mason was his middle name as well.
3. Carter- we both like it, though it seems a little bit too modern with the rest of the kids’ names.
4. Matthew- this is my brother’s name, Ed doesn’t consider it “naming a baby after my brother”, he just likes the name.  I think it’s weird.

A short list for boys.  I’ve never had to name a boy, as Eddie’s name was a given, so I have no back ups, no would have used, or anything.  I am very open to suggestions.

Girls

1. Georgia- I am so in love with this name, but Ed says it reminds him of a southern stripper, so it is quite unlikely that I will get to use it.
2. Jane (nn Janie)- Love Love Love.  Ed says he will always sing “Janie’s got a gun” and that puts him off.
3. Vivienne- this is my favorite as of today. No, I do not care about the Brad and Angie association.  I think it is a great alternative to Olivia, one of my favorite but unusable names. I like the idea of a little Vivi running around. I have not mentioned this name to Ed yet.
4. Genevieve- I would struggle to not always pronounce this in the beautiful french way.  I would love the nickname Evie.  I have not mentioned this name to Ed yet.
5. Molly- this has been a backup name of ours for years and it has never stuck.  My grandfather always wanted a daughter or granddaughter named Molly.  I’ve…known too many dogs named Molly and I don’t know if I could convert it to a person name at this point.
6. Olivia- this is on Ed’s list. If you know my last name, use O as an initial before it.  No.  Just no. But he is fighting!!
7. Abby- This is another of our backups, Ed’s #1 name.  I have 2 problems, the first being that our good friend has a daughter named Abby.  We see her at least weekly.  Her Abby is 12 though.  The second issue is that just before we were married, one of Ed’s co-workers was writing him sappy emails.  Long story short, I went batshit crazy on her.  Her name was Abby, and I still have a bitter taste in my mouth about her 10 years later.

I just had a thought–wouldn’t Vivienne and Genevieve be fabulous names for 2 girls?  Oh, I think they would!!

So obviously, we will have a much easier time naming girls than naming boys–though maybe not since we haven’t agreed on anything yet. I would like to know the opinions of the masses though.  What do you think of my list? What are your favorite names for me, based on the rest of our kiddos’ names? What are your favorite names for you?