On naming our children:

Dusty and I chose not to share the names we had chosen for our children until after they were born. The main reason for this was because we didn't want more opinions on our choices. This doesn't mean that we didn't respect people's opinions, it was simply because I was extremely stressed out about choosing a name and trying to negotiate a name with one other person was hard enough. Both times we had our children I was never at peace with our name choice.

With Maxwell, Dusty had his mind made up while I insisted we bring our list of names. I went with the belief that our baby would be born, I'd look at him, and instantly I'd know that he was supposed to be a certain name. Man was I in shock when it didn't happen that way! I remember Dusty looking at me with pleading eyes and I looked at the baby, saw the beautiful wrinkly boy in my arms and thinking to myself he just looks like a baby! I turned to Dusty and said, "Fine, you can have Maxwell." A month after he was born I was still looking at him saying to myself, "Is Maxwell the right name for you?"

I don't believe myself to be too indecisive but the thought that my child's name could lead to years of therapy just really threw me for a loop and stressed me out for quite some time after Max was born. (Side note: I did not, nor do I know anyone that has needed therapy for their name, this is just one of those issues I focus my attention on because of media hype instead of real life examples. Yes, I probably could use some therapy myself for this issue!)

I thought I was prepared the second time around with Lorelei. My rules had been made: older name, must have a nickname and the middle name must have some sort of meaning to us. Because we didn't know the sex this time our list and our discussions were much longer but this time my mind was made up while Dusty insisted we wait to see if it seemed right. Neither of us believed we would look at the new baby and just instantly know this time, but I think we both were nervous as we weren't even sure if it was a boy or a girl, so how could we be certain about the name?

When Rory was born I looked at Dusty and I said, "Lorelei, she's going to be Lorelei" and that was it, he didn't get to argue because he picked Max's name. He chose her middle name, May, which is the month Max was born so it's tied to him. (I had chosen Max's middle name, John, after my paternal grandfather.) And then we shared it with the world. The shocking part was, Lorelei wasn't as common as I had expected.

The number of times her name has been mispronounced has surprised me - especially since I did my research to make sure to go with the most common spelling to prevent any issues as opposed to my first choice of Loralei. So instead of having to question my judgement by looking at her and trying to make sure that "Lorelei" is the right name choice for her, I've gone back to my initial concerns that she is going to be upset because people can't pronounce her name by reading it. Which in turn leads to the thought that this issue will lead to therapy down the road, all because strangers mispronounce it! (Another side note: Styx's song is spelt Lorelei too - I did my research!)

Thankfully I have one thought that helps calm me through all of this, there are lots of names out there, and many of them are unique or difficult to read and pronounce. On top of that, gender (Rory is traditionally a boy's name) is completely thrown for a loop. I know 3 Rileys now, two are boys, one is a girl. I know a girl Keegan, and a boy Keagan both born within a year of each other. I also love that some of my friends have incorporated their nicknames into their children's names, Tyler Jett and Zachary Diesel. So when I start to freak out when someone yet again calls out for Lor-e-Lee in a waiting room I just remind myself that she is going to be amongst lots of kids with unique names, and if anything, she can just say "Call me Rory."