WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Naming your soon-to-be bundle of joy is a big deal. Not only will your child carry this with them for life, but it is the first thing that truly connects you to them before their big arrival in a way that is far more real than looking at an ambiguous picture (which, quite frankly, resembles a big-headed Seuss character). But once a name is chosen, GAME ON! This little fuzzy black-and-white Who all of a sudden becomes a real little person - YOUR real little person. For me, once we decided on a name, I started fantasizing about what she would look like. Whose features would she have? Would she have big blue eyes like her daddy? Long legs? Would she make sarcastic zingers like her mommy? Or, Heaven forbid, would she like the History Channel?!

For me, the name game was a difficult one. Once we found out we were having a girl, hubby knew pretty quickly that he wanted to name our bundle Leila (pronounced "Leela") - my grandmother's name. Leila is a pretty, feminine name that you don't hear that often, but not as obscure as a cuckoo fad name (Apple, anyone?). In fact, the name brings up many positive attributes for me. However, after losing my grandmother in 2008, the name became loaded. As beautiful as it is, it felt wrong to call anyone else by her name. When I hear "Leila," I picture a petite, white-haired grandmother with wide, sparkling blue eyes and a grin that made you wonder just what secret she was hanging on to. But, I remained torn. Even though it was strange and uncomfortable to call someone else Leila, my grandmother was so special that I also loved the idea of making our little baby girl her namesake. Ultimately, we decided to go for it. We feel confident that Baby Leila can carry the name well and make her great-grandmother proud.