Thursday, August 25, 2011

Explanation

I know.  I know.  We shared the baby's name.  We said we weren't going to.

So why did we?
Well, when I was pregnant with Spencer it was very important to us that we keep his name a surprise.  We told no one his name until after he was born.  No one.
Maybe you have noticed (maybe you have not) that I am very much a fan of familiarity and tradition.  I don't know why I take a picture of Spencer in a flag suit every summer other than I did it last summer and the summer before. 

I like the status quo.
We planned on keeping Elliott's name a secret too.  But a little doubt had crept in even before the ultrasound.  Should we do things the same just because of how we did it before?

I hate to admit that things will be different with the second child, but really, things will be different.  That's just the nature of the second child.
The ultrasound technician placed the transducer on my belly. Elliott was right there- legs up, kicking.  It was plainly obvious who he was.  The tech said, "it's a boy".  Spencer waited 4.3 seconds to ask what his name was.  Then he asked again.  Then he asked again.  Then he started offering suggestions for names.  They included Spencer, Nicholas and Ice Cream.
But still we didn't say anything.  Because we like to do things the same.

  Then we came home and told our parents the news.  Then my mom said it was silly to not share if Elliott was the only name we had.
I also felt like it would help with the brotherly bonding. So, we shared. 
This was Spencer's reaction: "Oh.  Elliott.  That's a good name.  I don't have any Elliotts at school."

 We picked the name Elliott a year ago.  It's not in honor of anyone. We just really, really like it.  We think it sounds good with Spencer.  They are both English names that are real names but not popular names.  I dare say they are kind of classy sounding. 

Also, in addition to being psychotic about sameness I have OCD about the fact that Michael, Natalie and Spencer all have 7 letters.  That was not intentional when we named Spencer, but once I realized it (when he was about 2 weeks old) it became an obsession. 

I'll share our girl name too.  We're like 99.7% certain that there will be no more children, but there could be a miracle situation.  You never know.

Jillian Michaela
I picked this name when Spencer was 4 months old.  Jillian was a contestant on Project Runway. I just thought it was a great name.  I would hold Spencer and nurse him and lament that I would never be able to use the name because I was NEVER GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY AS LONG AS I LIVED.

I'll share our twin names too.

Twin Boys:
Cooper Stephen
Oliver James

Twin Boy and Girl:
Cooper Stephen
Harper Annemarie

Twin Girls:
Jillian Michaela
Madison Annemarie

I nearly had to take prozac and breathe in a paper bag to come to terms with the 6 letter names for fictional twins that never existed.  I figured at least there would be two of them so they could stick together when they were depressed that the number of letters in their names didn't match the rest of the family.

I'll tell you this though.  If I could figure out how to get an extra letter in to Cooper, Elliott would be Cooper.

And there you have it. 

An in-depth look at the neuroses of my brain.

8 comments:

Krista said...

I love it! Elliott is a great name. In fact, they all are. Oliver, Harper, Jillian, Elliott - they are all on my list! Ok, so my list is super duper long & I'm a painfully terrible decision maker - I may have to consult you when the time comes.....can you even image how I will stress over the decision? I bet you can. Congratulations to your and your 7 letter family!

k and j said...

okay i love all of your names! i have the name jillian on my list but i can't get jillian michaels out of my head!!!

i love that you are doing things different :) that's how i do it with every pregnancy!

if i have another, i will most likely find out the sex :)

i deserve it, i have done the surprise gender thing twice! and that's plenty!

also....i would love to see you have 3 kids!!

Maryellen said...

Now people can get you baby gifts with Elliott's name on it! I almost wrote a very crass joke about monogrammed breast feeding gear. I'll tell you in person.

Kendra Forgacs said...

Elliott is a GREAT name!

I totally understand the 7 letter thing...I was obsessed with the first name begin 2 syllables and the middle name being 1 syllable: Stevie Joe, Kendra Ann, Shyla May, and Harper Ann.

And, I refused to give Harper a name that started with the letter "S" because then I would be the only non-S in the family and that is simply not okay!

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

The GVZs said...

I realized after reading this post that everyone in my little family has a 5 letter name. That was done totally accidentally. We're just that cool.

I really love the name Elliott.

Megan said...

Just want to prove that I read your blog still...just have no comments since I made them in person last week :-) Love seeing you so much these days! PS - Haddie asked if she could play with Spencer today!

Cat said...

Oh, Natalie, you crack me up (in a good way). Congrats!

Cat said...

P.S. Ice-Cream huh? You didn't think that would sound good with his last name? lol