Eleanor Irene

So many of you have requested the story of how we chose our baby's name, so I figured I'd oblige. I agree, names are important and the story of names can be very interesting.

In Germany our first few days, we stayed with Jurgen and Irene - family on Kelly's side. A week or so later, in the middle of our trip, we were staying in a small town in the middle of the Black Forest in southwestern Germany called Staufen, enjoying beer on the patio of our gasthaus overlooking a centuries-old vineyard and ruined ancient castle during sunset, recounting stories of our trip thus far. During our reminiscing, we talked about our first few days with Jurgen and Irene - how nice they were, how hospitable they were, how friendly, how loving, how warm, how easy-going - and how it seemed to us that they went totally out of their way to accommodate their out-of-town guests' every need, but that they never actually appeared to be bothered by us in the slightest. Then I recalled that in my childhood I knew a woman named Irene - my grandparents' friend - who was very similar. She was warm and cheerful and inviting and encouraging and never made me feel like I was a problem to her, even with my childish needs, wants, stories and ideas. So Kelly and I decided there, on this gorgeous German patio, that when we had a daughter, she would also have the name Irene - our way of passing on to her these lively and lovely traits of women we know who, each in their own way, touched us and made our lives better.

As we continued with the naming process months later, after finding out we were expecting and after finding out we were expecting a girl, we each made a list of names we liked independent of each other. Then we compared lists and made note of the names we both liked and made fun of the names on each others' lists we didn't like. From that, we came up with a joint list - and a pretty sizeable one at that. So, we still had to narrow it down. I wanted a strong-sounding name, preferably one that didn't end in the "a" or "e" sound like so many other girls' names (Alaina, Samantha, Amanda, Molly, Hallie, Maddie). Kelly was really pulling for Irish names, but really couldn't sell me on any. Finally, we came up with four or five favorites that we started trying out randomly in sentences whenever we were talking about the baby. Eventually, two names surfaced as favorites. After a few more weeks, we both settled on Eleanor. It just seemed to fit us best and seemed to flow best when we used it in conversation. And I should add too that long before this we'd decided that Irene sounded better as a middle name than a first name when paired with our last name.

And so, after agreeing on spelling, we decided on Eleanor Irene. We're pretty excited about our decision and are getting more used to it all the time. We've kicked around some boy names too, just in case, but it's been a pretty half-hearted endeavor. I think it's safe to say we're in love with our little girl already.

Boise Shower

Yesterday we had our Boise baby shower, hosted by Tiffany and Bjorn, and put on by Jen, Kathy and Tiffany all in conjunction. It was AWESOME! To give the out of towners an idea of how the place looked, I'll walk you through the house as if you were coming yourself (this is my first shower, so if this is all standard, forgive me):

As you drove up to the place, there were several large signs with balloons that not only told you where to park, but directed you to the house itself (Thanks Janessa and Carstensen clan for helping out!). As folks walked in, there was a little box to write a note to Eleanor for her 2nd birthday. I thought that was a really fun idea, since we will be able to share with our daughter how loved she was before she was even born! Then you walk into TnB's pad, through the living room set up for lots and lots of folks to sit in, into the kitchen... Or should I say, the food lover's paradise! There was so much food, and it was all SO good, that I think I may have to start crashing baby showers. We took a bunch home, and that may just be the best gift we got (at least, that's what my tummy tells me). Speaking of gifts, I won't go into all of them, but we were awed by the fact that our friends are ALL good at gift giving. Not once did we have to fake smile and murmer about taking things back. Give yourselves a hand! Oh, and one last thing about gifts. Thank you to Tricia for finishing the quilts that Angela's Grandma Betty started, but was unable to finish. That we will be able to have a physical token of her love that we can share with Eleanor means more than I can say. That Betty was so sick, and yet would work on this gift regardless of the pain, and that you would then finish that gift for her means a very great deal to both of us, and especially to Angela. Thank you.

This was a co-ed shower, and all of our local friends and relatives were there to make it a very special day. It isn't often that we get to gather together with folks from so many different areas of our lives. When I look back on our wedding, what made it so overwhelmingly meaningful (beyond binding Angela and I together) was the fact that we were surrounded by so much love and well wishing from people from every circle and corner in our world. This shower was very much like that. With the exception of my family (who live too far away, and so threw us another super cool shower of their own! We really lucked out on having great families), we were surrounded by almost everyone who loves us. It was humbling to have this new chapter in our lives be welcomed in with love by our own personal community. I have to admit that I teared up a little when trying to thank everyone for coming and for all their kindness. Thank you Jen. Thank you Kathy. Thank you Tiffany (and Bjorn too). You three not only put on a very successful event, but you've given us an experience that will forever shine with love and fondess in our hearts. What better way to bring a life into this world can there be?

I got this from a friend.

And it's pretty right on, I think.



Except I very rarely feel the urge to kill anyone. And rather than pajamas, I just wish I could wear jeans and tee shirts all the time - and mostly the reason I can't is because I have a job where that doesn't fly.

We've officially chosen a name!

We have been talking about baby names for a while now, trying out different names in context and trying to narrow our lists down to a few choices. For a few weeks, we've had in mind our top two favorites. But we're now decided.

Last night, we played Scrabble at Flying M, a local, downtown coffee shop. After a difficult game full of unfriendly letter picks, we played with the tiles to discuss which name and which spelling of that name we liked best.

Kelly took a picture of the winner. And now we know her name.

Baby Hopes

I hope, for my sake and for my baby's sake, that she does not take after her father's ability to hurt herself. Kelly recently required a tetanus shot and a trip to the doctor's office for some antibiotics because he gouged his leg on a chain link fence just before wading into a pond filled to the brim with goose poo. We figure this is where Lucy inherited her propensity for self-injury, so maybe the gods will give us a break (pun not intended) with LBH - maybe they'll figure that two people with frequent and bizarre medical needs is enough for one family (even though one of those people isn't technically a person). I hope that LBH is able to tread carefully, recognizing her limits like her mother, balancing grace and foresight in potentially dangerous (or stupid) situations. It's been hard enough going through MRSA, finger tendon surgery and goose poo waters with my husband in one year...and parvo, sliced paws and ripped out toe nails with my dog. I would rather avoid all that with my child.

Rubbing, iron, birth plan

I've been asked a lot lately about strangers coming up and touching my belly unsolicited - you know, if it happens and how I handle it. Well, it doesn't happen. There hasn't been a single time when a stranger has come up to me and molested my belly to get to the baby. A few of my co-workers feel me up from time to time, but I don't mind that because I know them and I know they do it because they're excited and we talk about baby stuff outside of them putting their hands on me anyway. But zero strangers, which I like. I think I must give off a "don't touch me" vibe or something.

My iron supplements continue to be a good time. It's just a liquid I have to swallow twice a day, but it sort of tastes like I'm swallowing metal, which I guess I am, sort of. The problem is, though, that I can't take it, or really consume any iron that I want to "count" with any sort of dairy because calcium blocks iron absorption. BUT, I still have to get an adequate amount of calcium. So I try to eat an iron snack and then an hour later a calcium snack and then an hour later an iron snack and an hour after that another calcium snack...and the pattern continues. My midwife wants me to consume more red meat for the iron content, but I don't prefer red meat so that makes it tough to follow through on that request. I used to eat red meat once every three months or so...now I try to get it three times a week - and every time, of course, without any dairy. So it isn't like I can even have something fun, like a cheese burger. I have to have a regular burger and watch everyone else cover their burgers in cheese. I just keep reminding myself that Baby needs iron to be big and strong and healthy and having more of it myself will make delivery and post-delivery healing that much easier. Plus, it isn't even that my iron is dangerously low; Teresa said it's at 31 and they'd like to see me around 33 or 34. So it's not dangerous, but it is low enough that they're encouraging gross things like metal shots and steak for every meal.

And Kelly and I have decided for sure that we're switching our birth plan a bit. Rather than delivering in the birthing center, we're going to deliver at home. We've watched a lot of videos and talked to a lot of women about home births and we're really excited about it. We think it will be a good fit for us. Home is just a more comfortable place in general and everything we've read and heard has said that birth is easier the more comfortable Mom is. The logistics of the whole process will be the same as if we were still going to the birthing center, except that now our midwife will come to us - and she'll bring with her all the necessary supplies, the same things that they have on hand in the birthing center. I really like the idea of not having to go anywhere, of just being comfortable doing my own thing in my own home, and not having to go anywhere afterwards, either.

The next time you get pregnant...

Last night, Kelly politely complained to me that he hasn't had one full night of uninturrupted sleep in the last three months because I've either been in and out of the bathroom or unable to sleep or just having problems getting comfortable. Now, this whole time I feel like I've been doing a good job sleeping and being quiet going to the bathroom (which is only once, maybe twice a night, which is less than other pregnant women I know who are at a similar stage in their pregnancy) and I haven't felt like I've had much problems getting comfortable. Evidently, this is not how Kelly has perceived the situation. And so, after his polite complaint, I told him, "Really!?! Well, the next time you get pregnant I will make sure to be more understanding of your nighttime situation!"

And this little exchange made me glad to be married to this particular person because we were both able to laugh through it.

Also, we took pictures yesterday...so here's a couple.