The Name Game

When I first found out I was pregnant many good friends gave me great advice. Such as look for a daycare now, what kind of clothes to buy, and tips to overcome morning sickness (none of them worked for me as I was nauseous even after my water broke). However, the best advice was to not tell anyone the name of our child until after she was born. This way it would not allow people to give a chance to express their negative opinion of the name.

Eric and I decided very early on that two names we were thinking of were Elizabeth and Julie/Julia. However, Eric liked the name Julie/Julia and I was in love with Elizabeth. So we compromised that we would wait until she got here to see what "she looked like." In the meantime we nicknamed her "Penny."

When the baby arrived Eric immediately told me that I could name her Elizabeth, but in my mind I felt like he was giving me that name and felt that we should consider both. He felt that she did not look like a Julie and it was narrowed down to Elizabeth and Julia.

At this point everyone asked what her name was and we kept stating we did not know. Everyone wanted to know what the choices were and everyone gave their opinion. The only people we didn't tell were our visitors!

Eric and I tried to give ourselves deadlines to name our child but the deadline would come and pass and we would set a new one. I distinctively remember that we would have the name picked out before the visitors came on Monday night. However, as visitors came and went, Eric's grandma came in and held her. She asked about the name and again we told her we did not pick one out yet. She said, "well I was thinking about the name Elizabeth and calling her Lizzie." Eric and I looked at each other and smiled. I guess this was our sign. Eric's grandma had NO idea about the two choices and helped us make the decision.

I found out later that one of Eric's cousins had already chosen that name and has already told me another name that she has dibs on. :0) This same person was also almost named Elizabeth, but according to the story, Eric's grandmother HATED that name and told her daughter (the mother of the cousin) that if she named her Elizabeth she would not call her by that name.

Funny thing is, we can't really rely on either side of that story. :0)