Another break
—indefinitely, until I can get some health-related issues sorted out. It’s been a rough week and I just don’t feel like blogging with this going on. Baby is fine, so no worries where he’s concerned.
Grrrrr…
G has lost one of my earrings. I’m pissed! And he’s in trouble. He has a real problem with accepting responsibility when he loses or breaks things (and he does both of these things often). Today I’ve decided he needs a crash-course in respecting others’ belongings and taking responsibility for his actions. Wish me luck.
The Name Game
We’re still trying to name Hermano. I’ve searched through baby name books, the Atlas, our family tree, and a book of Southern history (the last three are all good sources for unique Southern names). I have a good list made up that contains all the names I liked that Philip also liked. It’s hard to get his approval on most names; his usual answer when I suggested a name was, “That’s too gay” or “That’ll get him beat up”.
Our criteria for a good name is most importantly that it be one that is not common or popular; it has to be unusual. I absolutely loathe popular, trendy, or common names, especially the ones that are so popular right now. Everyone seems to want to use the same names, and in the event that they are actually good names, it ceases to even matter anymore, because everyone else is using it. I want my kid’s name to stand out, not be something a bunch of other kids are named. This has started happening ever so slightly with G’s name, and it irks me. It’s the main reason I use “G” to refer to him (aside from laziness)—I don’t want anyone to see his name and want to use it for their kid.
The Social Security administration runs a baby name popularity website, using information from all the SS applications for babies from each year. You can view the entire list of the top few hundred names for any given year, or you can plug in a particular name, and it will give you that name’s rank for the past X years, so that you can see if a name is gaining popularity or losing it. This has been such a great tool. We also used it back when we were naming G. If a name is in the top 10 for the previous year, it’s a guarantee that I think it’s lame. (Oh dear, no offense please, if your name or your kid’s name is on here!). If it’s in the top 100 for the previous year, it’s still probably not a name I’d want to use anyway. 
If it’s in the top 200, I still won’t use it, even if I like it. Anything that ranks 300 or higher is up for consideration. So, with that in mind, here are our choices, and they are in order based on how much we like each one, from the most favorite to the least.
Desmond - This is a favorite of both of us; it’s Philip’s very favorite name of all. It would easily be our first choice, IF I didn’t see that it’s becoming more popular. It’s #464 from last year, rising from #473 the year before. I worry that the popularity of Lost and of that particular character is the reason for the rise, and that means it’ll keep going up & up in popularity. It already worries me that when we mention it, people’s first reaction is “Oh, you got that from Lost!” We both just really love the name, as well as its nicknames: Desi or even just Des. It also goes really well with G’s name. It’s a beautiful Gaelic name that comes from the name of an old region of Ireland. And, Desi by itself means “desired one”.
Peregrine - This one is actually my favorite, but Philip doesn’t like it at all. It’s the only name that Philip doesn’t like that I left on the list, because I love it that much. It means “wanderer” and has the most amazing feel to it when I say it. It’s a beautiful name, a strong name. I keep trying to persuade Philip to use it, but he keeps saying he doesn’t like it. If I can’t change his mind, I’ll have to drop it because I feel it’s important to use a name we both like. He said he also thinks people will just call him Perry, which I admit, would tick me off. LOL! And yes, I did come up with it from the LOTR movies, and I do think that Pip or Pippin would be really cool nicknames.
Ephraim - Philip’s 2nd favorite, and my 3rd. Cool name. It’s Hebrew.
Lucien - means “light” and is just a really beautiful name. It’s Latin.
Tully - Philip likes this one more than I do, but I do like it a lot. It means “devoted to God’s will”, which I like, and I also like the Gaelic sound.
Those are the top runners, but I’ll just list the others on the list that we like, although we feel pretty strongly that it’ll be one of the five listed above. The others are:
Paxton
Seamus
Anslo
Lachlan
Deacon
Holden
Lionel
Dorian
Ensley
Galen
For a middle name, in most cases we’d probably use Wayne because it has a heavy family tie: It’s Philip’s middle name, as well as his dad’s middle name. It’s also the middle name of my dad (a Sr), my brother (a Jr), and my nephew (a III). So even though we don’t love the name, it sure seems to fit and it would have a nice connection to family.
Other middle names that we may use, depending on how each one sounds with the 1st name we end up choosing, are Blue and Jude. I love the name Blue, but Philip reminded me recently that he’d be wary of using it because it was the color of “the other side”, if you KWIM. He has a good point, especially since one of the reasons we so loved the name Grayson was because of the nickname Gray, and what it means to us as proud Southerners.
So, I’m not sure how we’re going to decide what to name him. We’ve been stuck at this point for a few weeks now, and haven’t been able to move forward. If you’d like to actually vote on a particular name, you can leave a comment and I’ll give you a link to a page that has all the names listed in a vote-able format. The reason I won’t list it outright here is because the site pairs each name with our last name. It’s really good though, because it helps show what the full name would sound like, which is very important to consider!
The birthday & other recaps from the week
Swim class has been great this week. G only cried a bit here & there, and it was less and less each day. On Thursday (the last day of class this week), he didn’t cry AT ALL. Yay, G! Everyone was so proud of him, and most of all he was proud of himself! He’s swimming on his own whenever one of the instructors lets go of him, and on Thursday he got to swim all by himself down to the bottom of the pool, locate & pick up a pool stick, and swim back up with it (with a bit of help from Coach F). He was thrilled to do this and so very proud of himself afterward. Philip took him to the store on the way home and let him pick out any kind of treat he wanted (something we’d promised him he could do if he went through an entire class without crying). He picked out a pack of Hershey’s Kissables. He’s been enjoying them. 
Hopefully he’ll continue the trend next week and will end up gaining some good swimming skills.
Yesterday (Thursday) was my birthday. I’m officially in my mid-30’s now (34 to be exact), which is weird to think of, but I’m okay with it. It was a low-key day, as I like birthdays to be. We went to G’s swim class and afterwards, we went to Cock of the Walk to eat dinner. Oh, it was so good! I had Catfish, but instead of fried as usual, I tried the grilled variety. It was delicious and I saved a nice chunk of calories that way. I had cheese grits on the side, and of course, I ordered a big plate of fried dill pickles—one of the most wonderful concoctions ever, and just another example of the foods that great Southern minds have come up with! We had to stop G from shoving batter-covered pickle after pickle into his mouth, for fear of them giving him a tummy ache. He loves them as much as I do.
After dinner, we drove across the road to Target since it was so close by. I had to check on a couple of things that they ended up not having. I ended up at the clearance rack in the baby/toddler section, and I scored some sweet deals on some cute sleepers & onesies for little Hermano (that’s what we’re calling the little guy until we can decide on a name). They were all marked down to $2.78, which was impossible to pass up. Most of what I got was 6-9 month stuff, since most were onesies, and he’ll likely be in that size by the time warm weather comes next spring. I also got an adorable little long-sleeved sleeper in size 3 months to use this winter. It was fun, but it really creeps me out to buy stuff for a baby who’s not born yet. However, I usually buy most of G’s clothes at consignment stores or off the 2.99 rack at Wal-mart, so to find such cute clothes for an even lower price than I can find at those places was simply irresistible.
I didn’t want a cake, but since I’ve been craving Rice Krispies treats, I caved and let Philip make me some. Yummy stuff. I also got cards from both him & G, and several more cards from friends & other family. My mom told me I have a gift on the way, so I have that to look forward to. I got checks from my IL’s and my Grandmother-IL, and I used those to buy a new stainless-steel garbage can for my freshly-painted kitchen, along with some glass bakeware I’ve been needing. I already got my bathroom tiled, and that is my main gift. Philip said there was no way he could pull off tickets to see Poison tonight, so I didn’t get to do that. But, I’m okay! It really is for the best because he pointed out that since the concert was technically in Alabama, we’d be exposed to tons of 2nd-hand smoke, since it was in a bar and Alabama doesn’t have the smoke-free laws that we have here in FL. So I would NOT have wanted to be around all that smoke anyway, but especially not being pregnant. I do wish it could’ve worked out somehow, though…would’ve been cool to see them live.
It was a good birthday, I’m happy, I have my two favorite people in the world beside me, and I have another little gift growing inside of me. I have much to be thankful for. Speaking of Hermano, he is really moving around a ton lately, or more likely, I’m more able to feel him now since the anterior placenta is becoming less & less of an issue as my uterus gets larger. I love it. LOVE it! It’s hands down the best part of pregnancy to feel another person moving inside my body. I try so hard to memorize each & every movement, because I know how much I’ll miss it when he’s outside of me. Oh, how I love being pregnant! I love it and actually wish I could do this part over & over again—including labor & birth (which I love, also). If only it didn’t result in an actual baby to care for (& be up all night with) each time, I’d choose to be pregnant all the time. Maybe I should look into being a surrogate. If it weren’t for having to conceive by artificial means, I’d seriously consider it.
More stuff of interest
Yesterday, I finished reading The Stranger by Albert Camus. I really enjoyed it, but it was a strange experience all the way through. Philip owns a copy, as it’s been one of his favorite books for years. He’s always told me I should read it, that he knows I’ll like it too. He was right; I just can’t believe it took me so long to do it. It was the oddest book I’ve ever read, and it fits that it’s Philip’s favorite. If you haven’t read it, and you’re just a bit on the offbeat, misanthropic side, then I recommend it!
G has had swim lessons for the past 2 days, and he’s doing great. He did cry, mostly before he went in the water on Monday, but not anywhere near as bad as he did last year. The best thing is that, despite all his apprehension, he did beautifully in the water, the entire time! He held his breath every time he went under, he kicked his feet, he stayed afloat. He’s really retained what he learned last year, and Coach Frank says he’s ready to advance him to learning to swim completely on his own. Yay!
When we returned from the swim class, we came home to some nasty storms that were blowing through. And I really do mean blowing! It was as windy as a tropical storm, which kind of freaked me out a bit. It had been right at 100 degrees all afternoon, which sparked a line of intense thunderstorms to pass through our area. But once they hit, the air actually got chilly and the temperature dropped to 70 in around half an hour. Which was a good thing, because we lost power! There were limbs down all throughout our area, as well as at least one tree that we saw.
We had no power from 6pm till 9pm, but it really wasn’t that bad because all the wind & cooling off made it actually feel pleasant inside, with the windows open. We put G to bed to the sounds of crickets chirping heavily outside his open window. I told him he was lucky to get to hear such a beautiful sound; people in times past got to be lulled to sleep by those noises every night.
As I mentioned earlier, I had a consultation with Vicki, the birth center/homebirth midwife on Monday. I don’t have time to go into everything, but for now I’ll say that I really liked her, I loved the birth center, and it’s exactly what I would love to have for the birth. There was one glitch, however, that has me still vacillating. I’ll cover all my thoughts on this later, when I have more time to think about everything. It’s a stressful time here!
I hope we can slow down tomorrow, even just a bit, because tomorrow is my birthday! We will have G’s swim class in the late afternoon, and afterwards I hope we can pull off going out to eat somewhere. Philip says it depends on how much work he gets done, as money is tight at the moment. If we don’t go eat, we’ll come back here and have pizza or something equally bad for me…I’m easy to please. If I’m really lucky, he’ll have bought me tickets to the Poison concert that’s being held Friday night. Should I hold my breath? I’m hoping!
He solved that problem!
We were doing schoolwork this morning, and I had G doing a worksheet where he draws 13 “Cheerios” in a bowl (we’re doing number 13 this week). After he did that, he was to color the bowl. I suggested he could color the part inside the bowl white, to look like milk. He said he didn’t have a white crayon. I told him, yes, he did have a white crayon, and I started rummaging through his crayon box with him, searching for it. But, I wasn’t finding it, even though I know he has one. Or, had one.
As I was rummaging, I said, “Where is that white crayon?”
“I threw it in the garbage,” he replied, non-chalantly.
“You threw it in the garbage?!” I cried.
“Yes!” he answered cheerfully, with a non-chalant nod.
“Why?”
“Because it never shows up when I color with it,” he shrugged, “So I just threw it away.”
GAAAAAAAAAH! I thought to myself. What am I in for with this little thinker running around? It’s impossible to be angry at him when I know that he was assessing and making a decision on his own, even if his decision was not the “right” one. So, I just gently reminded him that he should never throw anything in the garbage without checking with one of us first.
He ended up coloring the milk yellow. Ewwww. LOL!
‘Nother update - house stuff, oncologist, and birth center midwife!
All I’ve been doing lately is quick rundowns/updates. I know it’s boring, but I haven’t had time to write anything meaningful or interesting, although I have plenty of material to use if I did have the time!
We spent 6 days out of town at my IL’s house while FIL & Philip tiled the bathroom. The final result is that it looks beautiful! I can’t get over how nice the bathroom looks now; it keeps catching my eye whenever I walk past there.
While gone, I didn’t relax as much as I should’ve. I ended up visiting with my parents (who live in the same town) a few times, and visiting old friends whom I haven’t seen in years. It’s weird how an hour’s distance can keep friends as much “apart” as living cross-country does. Most of my friends there have families like I do (and all of them have jobs), and we’re all just so busy with kids and work and life in general to make the effort to get together. Life is just too busy nowadays! It was nice to see everyone, though.
Since coming back home, I’ve been playing catch-up with housework (there was quite a mess left behind), and catch-up with errands and such. Thursday, I spent cleaning and unpacking and getting things back to normal here.
Friday, I had an appointment with my oncologist. I see him every 6 months for a checkup. Oh, let me just say that being a pregnant woman in an oncology office is something that draws lots of stares & attention! I usually get lots of staring, anyway, being “young”, but wow…I was feeling really uncomfortable with the amount of blatant stares this time.
When Dr. P entered the exam room, the first thing he said was, “So, you’re pregnant!” And I wondered how he knew, since it hadn’t been notated yet (and I was wearing a big gown, so it wasn’t really obvious visually). I said, “Yep, remember, I told you in December that that was my plan!” He told me that it wasn’t on my chart that I was pregnant, but that when he saw my weight listed, he knew that I must’ve gotten pregnant as planned, because “I saw that you’d gained 20 lbs since I saw you last, and I knew that must be it!” Yeah, that’s it.
He did a really thorough exam, and said everything looks good. :::big sigh of relief::: He told me to have my baby, and come back as usual in December, even though I’ll be breastfeeding. He said the exam obviously won’t be as accurate, but that he wants to keep me on the 6-month schedule regardless, so that he can stay familiar with me & my issues & I guess my body as well.
I did a bunch of shopping for house stuff (fruitless shopping, I might add) after my appointment, and when I got home I was exhausted after having spent the entire day walking around. It’s really getting hard to be on my feet for extended periods of time.
This weekend we’re doing more house work. There are a handful of things that still need to be done, like repairing the damage to the door/door frame in the bathroom (which happened during the tiling), painting our back door, pressure washing & staining the deck, and about 100 other odds & ends around the house.
On Monday, I go to meet the birth center/home birth midwife. It’s just an initial consultation to see how we click and what she’s like, as well as check out the birth center. I have a friend who’s using her for her upcoming birth, and she really likes her, as well as the center and the home-like atmosphere there. They have huge birthing tubs and unlike at the hospital, they will let you actually give birth in the tub if you so choose. A water birth!
I’m still not sure if I’m going to switch, though it’s looking more & more likely that I will. I just can’t fathom another hospital birth, and going along with policies that don’t make sense; yet, at the same time, I can’t fathom not having Jenny with me for the remainder of my pregnancy nor attending my birth…she’s like a family member to us. It’s such a hard decision. 
So, wish me luck on Monday, because if I really click with this midwife, I’ll feel much better about the whole thing.
Oh, and wish G luck on Monday, too—he starts his 2nd year of swim lessons this week! He’s doing well in the pool so far; he’s remembered everything from last year. But he’s really anxious about going to the lessons and having to be away from us and with his coach. He’s already told us he’s “going to cry and cry”. I’m sure he’ll keep that promise, too. 
If it were a girl…
Her name would’ve been either Cecelia Pearl, or Esmerelda Pearl.
Boys’ names are harder. I’ve compiled a long list of names, but we’re having such a hard time choosing which one to use. There are two main front-runners, but each has a drawback. I’ll list those in another post later. Just wanted to put the never-to-be-used girl names out there for the world to see!