Our Daughter's Name

Since we first found out that we're having a baby, we both thought it was a boy - for sure. All wives tales indicated a boy, I had dreams of a boy; everything boy. I wanted only spicy foods, and put hot sauce in my purse for those "incase of emergency moments" when the restaurant didn't provide it. We had his name picked out and ready to go for the day we saw his little man part on the sonogram. Neither of us had decided on a girl name; we'd joked around about it, mentioning random names from t.v shows or making up our own two-part name like Twilight's Renesmee. I think that ended with Brandeah.

The night before we went for the gender ultrasound, we were laying in bed and Branden said her name. I just felt it. Every sense in my body knew that that was it and that we were going to see a girl on the screen the next day. It was such an abstract thought he had, but it felt like I'd known it all along. It's strong, elegant, and meaningful to both Branden and myself. It tells the story of us and the origin of our daughter. I find every excuse to say it aloud and when we talk about future plans with her, I always refer to her by name. It's almost like she's always been there and we've always spoken her name.

With that, it has been a challenge to keep it between just the two of us. We want to hold onto those moments until we can meet and introduce her to friends and family. Although I cannot get enough of her name, there's something about predetermining the name of an already existing soul that doesn't feel right to me. I want to meet her first and make sure we still get the "that's it" feeling. You never know, she may end up feeling like a Brandeah.

Until then, we are doing our hardest to only say Baby Grant or the baby in the presence of others. It's not easy, and we've both had to bite our tongue a few times. I can't wait to meet her and to introduce her to our world.

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