On Wednesday 6/23, I woke up feeling nothing, but by about 9:00am, I had some very light bloody show and some stronger contractions. I was also extremely hungry all day. My doula left for vacation that morning and I was planning to meet her backup (Bria) at a café at 10:00 am. Everyone freaked out about me driving to the meeting, so I called Bria and explained. She agreed to come over to our house and we had a great meeting. I actually liked her more than my original doula. After discussing my symptoms, we agreed that I would probably go into labor sometime in the next 24 hours.
My contractions continued throughout the day. We took Zoe for a walk to the park and then I went for a chiropractic adjustment, listened to my Hypnobabies, and had an acupuncture treatment (Chris drove me to both). I was getting a little discouraged because things were not really picking up. Chris and Zoe went to his parents’ hotel for dinner and I got some quiet time at home alone. I made myself a big salad with avocado and grilled chicken then got to bouncing on the birthing ball.
After putting Zoe down for bed at 8:00, Chris and I watched a movie and by 9:30 my contractions began to intensify. They still weren’t too bad and were irregular, coming anywhere from 10—20 minutes apart. At 11:30, I went to bed and tried to fall asleep, but the contractions were slowly becoming more intense and I knew there was no way I was getting to sleep. I got back up and tried to distract myself by watching tv. By midnight, I was having to really breathe anesthesia into my lower pelvic area and repeat to myself “my face, my hands, and my pelvic floor are completely relaxed.” I was getting pretty excited and confident that I would soon have my baby. I used an online contraction timer for about 45 minutes and realized they were lasting 1-2 minutes and coming every 3-5 minutes. At 1:00 am, I woke up Chris and told him it was time to call his parents and get ready to go to the hospital. I called the midwife and doula and within 30 minutes we were loading up the car.
The 15 minute car ride was very uncomfortable—sitting was bad. By the time we got to the hospital, my contractions were about every 2 minutes. The concourse from the parking garage to the hospital was locked for the night, so we had to walk around the entire building to the emergency entrance. I kept having to stop for contractions and it took forever to get inside. I checked in at maternity around 2:00 am. There was another mom at about the same point in the birthing process as I was who had the same midwife. Becky (the on-call MW) asked me if it would be okay for her student nurse-midwife to be with me instead and I said okay. She was great. She checked me and I was only at 3 cm. My contractions also began to slow, she had me get up and walk the halls to get things going again. We did that for awhile and then I wanted to go back to the room. They had me get onto the bed and lean over the back, which was elevated. That was a pretty good position for me, but in time, things began to stall out again (just not progressing) so I got on my hands and knees on the floor holding onto the back of the rocking chair. I was checked again and had gone to a 4. Then I moved to the birthing ball, then standing and holding onto the side of the bed. I was checked again about an hour later and was at a 6-7. That was my final cervical check. They got the tub filled up for me and I sat in there for about 25 minutes. As much as I thought I would love the tub, it was not as comfortable for me. It was too slippery and I did not like the weightlessness. I was beginning to hit the “transformation” stage while in the tub and was getting very vocal with every contraction. It took some time for me to get out of the tub and get back to my room even through it was just a few doors down the same hall.
I stood on the side of the bed again, then spent a lot of time on the birthing ball. Things were picking up and I could feel Liam descending into my pelvis. It was pretty intense, but I still felt in control. Finally, the pressure in my bottom let me know it would not be long before I needed to push. I said I wanted to try kneeling on the bed holding onto the back again for pushing. Things continued to intensify. The pressure of Liam turning from posterior to anterior while in the birth canal was difficult to handle. I was getting scared about pushing and began to feel really sick. This was shift change time for the on-call midwives and my favorite one, Patti, was there. She was the one who did my initial intake appt when I transferred to the practice. She was very calm and supportive. I said I was scared and she said that was okay, but that my body was made to do this and it will do it. She kept her finger on my third eye chakra to help get my consciousness out of my pelvis. I guess it worked to a certain extent because I was really able to let go and relax between waves. She offered to break my water and I said no. About 5 minutes later, my water broke on its own and I felt a great deal of relief.
The relief was short-lived, however, because with the bag of waters out of the way, Liam was ready to come out. It was at this point that I began to feel true “pain.” I was thinking how stupid I was for not getting an epidural at that moment. I knew I would survive it, but it sucked. I began vomiting (really dry-heaving) and I guess it took my attention away from the pelvic pressure. I think Liam may have still been turning. Finally, it was time to push and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I wanted it over fast and gave a good hard push (despite Patti telling me to slow down) along with a blood-curdling scream—out came his head. Then my body decided to take a break. Patti told me I had to push again right away. I said I needed to take a break and she said, “you can’t; the baby needs to come out right now.” I knew something must be going on with him so I pushed without a contraction to help me out. I had to push hard but I was able to get his shoulders and body out with just one or two more pushes. What a relief to have him out!
They told me to reach down and grab him and it was hard to do because he was so slippery. I also had to turn around to sit down. I knew I tore and needed to get stitched up. Once I was holding him, I could tell why they needed me to push him out so quickly—he was blue and not crying. His initial Apgar was 6. We tried rubbing him all over, but still no change so they took him over to the baby table and gave him some oxygen which required cutting the cord a little sooner than planned. While he we getting oxygenated, I delivered the placenta and reminded the nurse that I was going to take it home. She asked if I was going to have it encapsulated and I was hesitant to answer. She said---it’s okay, my friend is a homebirth midwife and she does encapsulation.
Liam was returned to me quickly and he looked pink and was crying. I held him skin to skin and he found his own way to the breast and latched himself on. I couldn’t believe how big he looked compared to how Zoe looked at birth. While I nursed him, Patti stitched me up. I had a 2nd degree tear from pushing his head out in one hard push. I kept saying, “I can’t believe I did it.”
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Patience and a return to the SAHD
I am now 41 weeks pregnant (in other words, a week overdue). I have employed every possible natural labor inducing technique: Evening Primrose Oil, Black Cohosh, acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments. And there has been a little bit of progress toward expelling this child from the womb. The anxiety over giving birth naturally in the hospital is gone. I have zero fears at this point. One way or another the baby will be born within the next 9 days (by induction on July 1 or 2 if necessary).
Now for a return to my SAHD post from many months ago. It seems that our decision was made for us when my husband became yet another casualty of the recession. Fortunately, I still have my job (for now) and probably will at least make it through the next round of budget cuts and teacher layoffs. With unemployment and no childcare payments, we will be able to maintain our lives as usual. We are very fortunate and realize that many families do not have it so easy when a lay-off occurs.
Now for a return to my SAHD post from many months ago. It seems that our decision was made for us when my husband became yet another casualty of the recession. Fortunately, I still have my job (for now) and probably will at least make it through the next round of budget cuts and teacher layoffs. With unemployment and no childcare payments, we will be able to maintain our lives as usual. We are very fortunate and realize that many families do not have it so easy when a lay-off occurs.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Going Hardcore
It's been quite a while since I've had the time to write here. My job and my pregnancy have both transformed in the months I've been away from the bloggy world. This post will be about the pregnancy and my preparations for birth and I'll save the work stuff for another day.
I have never been a fan of modern medicine. Not that I don't think it saves us from loads of things that would have killed most of us by age 30 in centuries past, but I think often we are over-medicated and over-diagnosed. The unfortunate reality of living in a capitalist country that offers health care for a profit is certainly a major contributer to the medicalization of otherwise natural processes such as birth and death. Despite knowing that birth is almost always safe and rarely needs any kind of intervention at all, I was terrified to give birth for the first time.
I was so ashamed and disappointed that I chose to have my labor induced for financial reasons (long story--save for later), and gave birth in a hospital with an IV, constant monitoring, and an epidural. It is not at all what I imagined my birthing experience would be like. Prior to becoming pregnant, I assumed I would give birth at home or in a birthing center in a tub with no medical intervention at all. But once I began trying to get pregnant for the first time nearly 4 years ago, I also became debilitated by fear---fear of pregnancy, birth, weight gain, parenting. This became all-comsuming anxiety, therefore I chose to eliminate as many fears as possible by getting all the tests, having an OB rather than a midwife, and giving birth in a hospital where any possible emergency could be attended to immediately. I told myself that if my first birth went smoothly, I would do it differently the second time.
My second positive pregnancy test came in May 2009. I didn't think about looking for a midwife at first, I automaticallly called to set up an appointment with my OB. I went in at about 4-5 weeks pregnant and was told it was still probably too early to see anything. A week later I began cramping badly and bleeding. I returned to the doctor and she confirmed that there was no fetus there, but a lot of tissue and things were not right. We tried just waiting for nature to take its course, but it didn't, so I ended up with a D & C in July. What followed was more anxiety, weekly doctor's appointments and blood draws until the first week in September. After five long months, my body was finally back to normal.
October 6, 2010. My husband's 35th birthday. I came home from an after-work baby shower with Zoe and decided that just for fun, I would take my last home pregnancy test. I certainly did not think I was pregnant, but I figured if on the off-chance I was, it would make a great birthday gift wrapped up next to the others sitting on the dining table. Three-five minutes later, I saw the "pregnant" appear on my digital test and was definitely surprised. Zoe was the first to find out. I was nervous and decided to wait until I reached 7 weeks before heading to the doctor. Still too afraid to go to a midwife after the long drawn-out miscarriage experience.
Everything was progressing normally. No problems with me or baby Liam. My amnio results came back 100% normal, I tested negative for gestational diabetes. There was no risk for me having a natural, non-hospital birth. But by this time, I was 27 weeks along. I found a naturopath/midwife at a birthing center down the street from my house that was willing to take me as a patient, but unfortunately, my insurance would not cover a birth outside of a hospital....so no birthing center. And no home birth (not that I wanted to give birth in a tiny crowded house full of people and pets).
Despite these setbacks, I decided to go "hardcore" with this birth---no meds or interventions. I ordered the Hypnobabies homestudy course, hired a doula, and made a plan to discuss my birth choices with my doctor at my next appointment in April. I could tell after the appointment that I would not be able to trust that my desires would be honored in their entirety. I was very disappointed and discouraged. I had two options: pay out of pocket thousands of dollars to give birth outside of the hospital, or go to the one in-network CNM practice and beg them to take me at 31 weeks.
The morning after my appointment I sat in the staff room at school and called Providence Maternal Care Clinic. I learned that all of my birth preferences were standard practice for them and they had one remaining spot for a June birth. I took it even though I would not be able to get my first appointment until May 4th---34 weeks pregnant. So now I am in full preparation for a natural childbirth in the hospital with a midwife and doula.
It is not my ideal birth, but it will not cost me loads of money and I will be able to live knowing I did birthing hardcore by choice.
I have never been a fan of modern medicine. Not that I don't think it saves us from loads of things that would have killed most of us by age 30 in centuries past, but I think often we are over-medicated and over-diagnosed. The unfortunate reality of living in a capitalist country that offers health care for a profit is certainly a major contributer to the medicalization of otherwise natural processes such as birth and death. Despite knowing that birth is almost always safe and rarely needs any kind of intervention at all, I was terrified to give birth for the first time.
I was so ashamed and disappointed that I chose to have my labor induced for financial reasons (long story--save for later), and gave birth in a hospital with an IV, constant monitoring, and an epidural. It is not at all what I imagined my birthing experience would be like. Prior to becoming pregnant, I assumed I would give birth at home or in a birthing center in a tub with no medical intervention at all. But once I began trying to get pregnant for the first time nearly 4 years ago, I also became debilitated by fear---fear of pregnancy, birth, weight gain, parenting. This became all-comsuming anxiety, therefore I chose to eliminate as many fears as possible by getting all the tests, having an OB rather than a midwife, and giving birth in a hospital where any possible emergency could be attended to immediately. I told myself that if my first birth went smoothly, I would do it differently the second time.
My second positive pregnancy test came in May 2009. I didn't think about looking for a midwife at first, I automaticallly called to set up an appointment with my OB. I went in at about 4-5 weeks pregnant and was told it was still probably too early to see anything. A week later I began cramping badly and bleeding. I returned to the doctor and she confirmed that there was no fetus there, but a lot of tissue and things were not right. We tried just waiting for nature to take its course, but it didn't, so I ended up with a D & C in July. What followed was more anxiety, weekly doctor's appointments and blood draws until the first week in September. After five long months, my body was finally back to normal.
October 6, 2010. My husband's 35th birthday. I came home from an after-work baby shower with Zoe and decided that just for fun, I would take my last home pregnancy test. I certainly did not think I was pregnant, but I figured if on the off-chance I was, it would make a great birthday gift wrapped up next to the others sitting on the dining table. Three-five minutes later, I saw the "pregnant" appear on my digital test and was definitely surprised. Zoe was the first to find out. I was nervous and decided to wait until I reached 7 weeks before heading to the doctor. Still too afraid to go to a midwife after the long drawn-out miscarriage experience.
Everything was progressing normally. No problems with me or baby Liam. My amnio results came back 100% normal, I tested negative for gestational diabetes. There was no risk for me having a natural, non-hospital birth. But by this time, I was 27 weeks along. I found a naturopath/midwife at a birthing center down the street from my house that was willing to take me as a patient, but unfortunately, my insurance would not cover a birth outside of a hospital....so no birthing center. And no home birth (not that I wanted to give birth in a tiny crowded house full of people and pets).
Despite these setbacks, I decided to go "hardcore" with this birth---no meds or interventions. I ordered the Hypnobabies homestudy course, hired a doula, and made a plan to discuss my birth choices with my doctor at my next appointment in April. I could tell after the appointment that I would not be able to trust that my desires would be honored in their entirety. I was very disappointed and discouraged. I had two options: pay out of pocket thousands of dollars to give birth outside of the hospital, or go to the one in-network CNM practice and beg them to take me at 31 weeks.
The morning after my appointment I sat in the staff room at school and called Providence Maternal Care Clinic. I learned that all of my birth preferences were standard practice for them and they had one remaining spot for a June birth. I took it even though I would not be able to get my first appointment until May 4th---34 weeks pregnant. So now I am in full preparation for a natural childbirth in the hospital with a midwife and doula.
It is not my ideal birth, but it will not cost me loads of money and I will be able to live knowing I did birthing hardcore by choice.
Monday, February 15, 2010
So I guess it's time to update this thing (rambly warning!)
It has been quite the busy month and no real time to write anything of any consequence. This is not a journal, so I'll spare readers the boring details of what has kept me so busy. I'll just say work and winter illness has consumed most of my time (and still is).
One thing I'll spend some time on today is the introspective nature of these winter months. Luckily, I am in one of the only places in the United States that is not covered in snow, but it is cold, dark, and rainy so much of our time is spent inside. And instead of cleaning or organizing the home, I prefer to sit around the think about stuff. There has been much talk recently about "moving home." In fact, my oldest friend is doing it which really surprised me. Then a few other people have brought it up over the past month. The idea of being in a cooler place where you have no roots or connections outside of a job vs a shitty place where you have a good network of old friends and/or family. Of course, this becomes more of a concern once you have children.
Now I despise where I grew up. I hate the look of the place. I hate the oppressive feeling that permeates the over-crowded suburbs and freeways. I hate the filth and disparity of weath within the city. I hate the conservatism and the money and status-driven culture. Conformity truly is king there and all of the "hates" are what drove me out of the place for good 14 years ago. Despite all those things and the fact that I vowed never to raise my own children in such a culture, the isolation I have experienced during my 7 years in Portland actually got me to briefly re-evaluate my decision to be here when my "network" of old friends (many of whom have young children as well), my aging grandmother, and my parents live elsewhere.
Of course, after an entire day evaluating the job opportunities for both Chris and myself, reading various school report cards (mainly AYP data), and searching home listings, I came to the conclusion that my children would go to slightly "better" schools, we would lose approximately $10K in combined earning potential, and get less home for our money. So yeah......definitely not worth it. This confirmation was nice in that I was able to pat myself on the back for doing the right thing, however the fact remains that here in Portland, we have yet to develop a good network of people to rely on who also share a common lifestyle.
So I re-committed myself to trying to cultivate this network, since it is truly the only thing missing in our life here. I went (for the millionth time) to yahoo groups and meetup only to find that most groups are: religious, very niche-oriented (west-slope scrapbooking stay-at-home moms of multiples), or are closed to new members. I think I have about 5 groups "pending" acceptance. Three of those have been "pending" for nearly a year. I have actually joined 3 groups since having a child: 2 of them fizzled out and the other one just didn't feel right. No other regular working moms there. They were all artists who married doctors, attorneys, etc and were now uber-progressive stay-at-homes who all came to the park in the same $400 strollers, wore the same designer eco-friendly clothes, blah blah blah....you get the picture.
So here I am back at square one with the whole isolation thing. I'll make sure to update if there is a change. I did "apply" to join an atheist families group that I hope works out. This no religion thing is a big part of the isolation.
One thing I'll spend some time on today is the introspective nature of these winter months. Luckily, I am in one of the only places in the United States that is not covered in snow, but it is cold, dark, and rainy so much of our time is spent inside. And instead of cleaning or organizing the home, I prefer to sit around the think about stuff. There has been much talk recently about "moving home." In fact, my oldest friend is doing it which really surprised me. Then a few other people have brought it up over the past month. The idea of being in a cooler place where you have no roots or connections outside of a job vs a shitty place where you have a good network of old friends and/or family. Of course, this becomes more of a concern once you have children.
Now I despise where I grew up. I hate the look of the place. I hate the oppressive feeling that permeates the over-crowded suburbs and freeways. I hate the filth and disparity of weath within the city. I hate the conservatism and the money and status-driven culture. Conformity truly is king there and all of the "hates" are what drove me out of the place for good 14 years ago. Despite all those things and the fact that I vowed never to raise my own children in such a culture, the isolation I have experienced during my 7 years in Portland actually got me to briefly re-evaluate my decision to be here when my "network" of old friends (many of whom have young children as well), my aging grandmother, and my parents live elsewhere.
Of course, after an entire day evaluating the job opportunities for both Chris and myself, reading various school report cards (mainly AYP data), and searching home listings, I came to the conclusion that my children would go to slightly "better" schools, we would lose approximately $10K in combined earning potential, and get less home for our money. So yeah......definitely not worth it. This confirmation was nice in that I was able to pat myself on the back for doing the right thing, however the fact remains that here in Portland, we have yet to develop a good network of people to rely on who also share a common lifestyle.
So I re-committed myself to trying to cultivate this network, since it is truly the only thing missing in our life here. I went (for the millionth time) to yahoo groups and meetup only to find that most groups are: religious, very niche-oriented (west-slope scrapbooking stay-at-home moms of multiples), or are closed to new members. I think I have about 5 groups "pending" acceptance. Three of those have been "pending" for nearly a year. I have actually joined 3 groups since having a child: 2 of them fizzled out and the other one just didn't feel right. No other regular working moms there. They were all artists who married doctors, attorneys, etc and were now uber-progressive stay-at-homes who all came to the park in the same $400 strollers, wore the same designer eco-friendly clothes, blah blah blah....you get the picture.
So here I am back at square one with the whole isolation thing. I'll make sure to update if there is a change. I did "apply" to join an atheist families group that I hope works out. This no religion thing is a big part of the isolation.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The SAHD
A few months ago, I read an article (can't remember where) about the increasing number of stay-at-home dads. The reason? The mass amounts of lay-offs due to the recession. Apparently, more men than women have found themselves unemployed and therefore, staying home with their young children.
Now that we are faced with having two children not yet school-aged, the idea of spending $2000/month September--June for two years, getting a toddler, a baby and two adults ready to go by 6: 45 am, and spending the evening in a scramble to wash bottles, prepare dinners, nurse a baby, and do laundry, clean bathrooms, etc sounds like my version of hell. Mind you, my paying job requires me to deal with large numbers of 12 and 13 year olds for 6 hours, so there is little patience or energy left to manage the juggling act required to keep the family running.
Before you ask yourself: What is the husband doing? Sitting on his ass drinking beers, farting, and playing video games? I will tell you the answer is: No! He is scrambling to prepare dinners for the crockpot, do the dishes, clean the cat boxes, pick up the dog shit from the yard, do the laundry, etc. Thing is, even with two of us flying around the house at break-neck speed, the place is still a wreck and we are left stressed and exhausted.
One possible, albeit financially precarious, solution to the problem is for one of us to stay home for two years until Zoe is in school and Nameless is 2. Traditionally, it is the mother who quits her job, but in our situation, that does not make sense. I am a public employee which means I carry our health insurance with very little out of pocket, I have PERS (public employee's retirement), and I build seniority on the union payscale, not to mention that I earn 34% more than my husband does. Last night, we realized that during the school year, all but $300 of my husband's monthly salary will go to to daycare. If he quit his job, it would be an annual loss of $10,000. I could earn back at least half of that by teaching summer school and SUN school classes, we would save approximately $1000 annually by not buying a transit pass for him to go to work, and we could switch to cloth diapers and wipes, saving an additional $500+ yearly. Of course, we would still need to cut some "luxuries" like eating out and buying fancy foods, but we would have more opportunity to expand our garden and grow and can/freeze more food.
We have decided to take a "wait and see" approach to making this decision. Exactly how much more hectic will it be with the new baby? Is it worth the risk of not being able to re-enter the work-force? Fortunately, a huge male ego is not a factor.
Now that we are faced with having two children not yet school-aged, the idea of spending $2000/month September--June for two years, getting a toddler, a baby and two adults ready to go by 6: 45 am, and spending the evening in a scramble to wash bottles, prepare dinners, nurse a baby, and do laundry, clean bathrooms, etc sounds like my version of hell. Mind you, my paying job requires me to deal with large numbers of 12 and 13 year olds for 6 hours, so there is little patience or energy left to manage the juggling act required to keep the family running.
Before you ask yourself: What is the husband doing? Sitting on his ass drinking beers, farting, and playing video games? I will tell you the answer is: No! He is scrambling to prepare dinners for the crockpot, do the dishes, clean the cat boxes, pick up the dog shit from the yard, do the laundry, etc. Thing is, even with two of us flying around the house at break-neck speed, the place is still a wreck and we are left stressed and exhausted.
One possible, albeit financially precarious, solution to the problem is for one of us to stay home for two years until Zoe is in school and Nameless is 2. Traditionally, it is the mother who quits her job, but in our situation, that does not make sense. I am a public employee which means I carry our health insurance with very little out of pocket, I have PERS (public employee's retirement), and I build seniority on the union payscale, not to mention that I earn 34% more than my husband does. Last night, we realized that during the school year, all but $300 of my husband's monthly salary will go to to daycare. If he quit his job, it would be an annual loss of $10,000. I could earn back at least half of that by teaching summer school and SUN school classes, we would save approximately $1000 annually by not buying a transit pass for him to go to work, and we could switch to cloth diapers and wipes, saving an additional $500+ yearly. Of course, we would still need to cut some "luxuries" like eating out and buying fancy foods, but we would have more opportunity to expand our garden and grow and can/freeze more food.
We have decided to take a "wait and see" approach to making this decision. Exactly how much more hectic will it be with the new baby? Is it worth the risk of not being able to re-enter the work-force? Fortunately, a huge male ego is not a factor.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Do I have a twin?
When I set up this blog last week I went searching for some others for my blogroll (aka daily reading) that would encompass more than just people I know talking about parenting and their daily lives (not that I don't enjoy those as well).
I came across this dude (i think it's a man) who is semi-local who writes about political issues and with whom I agree on just about everything. Anyhoo, he posted a pic of some street kids, I'm assuming from downtown PDX and the girl was the spitting image of me 15 years ago. I mean an identical twin. She looks nothing like I do today. I now bathe regularly, have short hair, wrinkles, and about 40 extra pounds. But seriously if you knew me in the mid-90s, you would agree that this could easily have been me.
Here she is, my twin....
http://thespanishprisoner.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/is-the-church-of-england-breeding-anarchists/
I came across this dude (i think it's a man) who is semi-local who writes about political issues and with whom I agree on just about everything. Anyhoo, he posted a pic of some street kids, I'm assuming from downtown PDX and the girl was the spitting image of me 15 years ago. I mean an identical twin. She looks nothing like I do today. I now bathe regularly, have short hair, wrinkles, and about 40 extra pounds. But seriously if you knew me in the mid-90s, you would agree that this could easily have been me.
Here she is, my twin....
http://thespanishprisoner.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/is-the-church-of-england-breeding-anarchists/
The Name Game
Assigning a name to another human being is a huge burden. I wish we could just be given numbers until a person is old enough to choose his/her own name. Not that I have ever taken issue with my own name. I never loved it, but it also never bothered me enough to want it changed. I do, however, hate having to name my own child. It was agonizing the first time and the second time is proving to be even worse.
So what goes into this arduous task? Well, given that we have a long and difficult to pronounce and spell last name, the first name has to be reasonably short and simple. Of course, it also cannot be overly common. For example, Olivia, our top pick this time around, just so happened to be the most popular name for baby girls in Oregon last year. I guess you could say Olivia and Emma are to our children's generation what Jennifer was to ours.
Once popularity and name length have been taken into consideration, one must look for potentially embarassing nicknames. For example, Astrid was a name I had picked out years before having children. I still love the name. Unfortunately, the name has awful possiblities in terms of teasing and it was even exploited on the tv show The Office. While Astrid is not 100% off the table, I'm not sure we can get past Dwight Shruit's banner welcoming "Baby Assturd."
Now that the bad nicknames have been eliminated, the parents must think toward the child's future. Will the name suit him/her in adulthood? Will he/her be taken seriously as a professional? Here not only does the cuteness factor come into play, but also unusual spellings. If the person hiring for the position cannot pronounce your name, will that make them less likely to call you for an interview? And when you already have a last name that no one in the English-speaking world will get right, the first name takes on even more importance.
And what about unisex names? That opens a whole new can of worms. Perhaps my new baby will be 17625 until she is ready to choose a name for herself.
So what goes into this arduous task? Well, given that we have a long and difficult to pronounce and spell last name, the first name has to be reasonably short and simple. Of course, it also cannot be overly common. For example, Olivia, our top pick this time around, just so happened to be the most popular name for baby girls in Oregon last year. I guess you could say Olivia and Emma are to our children's generation what Jennifer was to ours.
Once popularity and name length have been taken into consideration, one must look for potentially embarassing nicknames. For example, Astrid was a name I had picked out years before having children. I still love the name. Unfortunately, the name has awful possiblities in terms of teasing and it was even exploited on the tv show The Office. While Astrid is not 100% off the table, I'm not sure we can get past Dwight Shruit's banner welcoming "Baby Assturd."
Now that the bad nicknames have been eliminated, the parents must think toward the child's future. Will the name suit him/her in adulthood? Will he/her be taken seriously as a professional? Here not only does the cuteness factor come into play, but also unusual spellings. If the person hiring for the position cannot pronounce your name, will that make them less likely to call you for an interview? And when you already have a last name that no one in the English-speaking world will get right, the first name takes on even more importance.
And what about unisex names? That opens a whole new can of worms. Perhaps my new baby will be 17625 until she is ready to choose a name for herself.
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