Ultrasound Report & Baby Names

Good Evening Humble Readers...

The ultrasound went okay today. 

I actually did alright with the amount of water I had to drink.  It's always delicate balancing act... enough water early enough so that the tech can do their job, but not so much so early that I'm in agony while they do the scan. 

Why in the world do they tell you to have finished drinking your water an hour before your appointment?  That's when I started drinking my water, and I had 8oz less than what they 'require', and I was still feeling my back teeth floating about halfway through the scan.

One funny moment... the technician asked me to go and empty my bladder 'by about half' because she was having some problems seeing the placenta.  I'm sure I looked at her like she had two heads.  By about half?!?!?  Who the hell can do that?  I can't do that on my best non-pregnant day.  When I gotta go, there ain't no stopping the flood waters.  As a result, I don't know if she was able to get a clear look at the placenta or not, so this may have been yet another 'inconclusive' scan. 

**sigh**

(As an aside, I was fully prepared for the tech to have to do an internal scan.  And as much as I dislike 'Wanda' I would rather that she have done that and get a conclusive answer about where the placenta is situated.  Oh well.)

We didn't get any new pics of the Halfling, and we didn't get to see much when the tech turned the screen our way (we saw the skull, the heart, the spine, one arm and one leg).  Even so, my mood did improve a bit after the scan was done.  I think it was just a relief to see him/her, and presumably all is well.  I'll be calling Dr. W's office on Friday to get the low down.  I expect, if the tech wasn't able to get the info she needed, that I'll be going back to the medical imaging center in another couple of weeks.

*****
You may remember that I have had our children's names chosen for quite some time.  At least their first names.  I graciously let my Beloved choose the middle names (*snicker* as if I haven't vetoed some of his suggestions).  I have some pretty strict criteria for our kids' names...

1. They will be gender specific.  (both my Beloved and I have gender abiguous names, and it has caused no ends of problems for both of us all our lives)
2. They will not have bizarre spellings.  (I remember trying to find keychains and other personalized items as a kid and never being able to find things for girls with my name and spelling.)
3. They will be old-fashioned sorts of names, not anything terribly trendy. (I was always one of at least three people in my elementary school with my name.  I hated being referred to by my last initial.  Even in my Beloved's family, they always add my middle name when referring to me, as I share my name with one of my BILs.)
4. They will start with a vowel.  (Just a personal preference)

So, obviously, for those who are newer around the hobbit-hole, Ginny's real name isn't Ginny (if you go back to the post on November 27, 2010 you can find her name).  Our angel babies... Emily Hope and Olivia Noelle were named just before their names became super popular, but they had been in my heart for a long time. 

Why do I mention all this now? 

Well, we've had our names for this Halfling set in our minds for well over a year (the boy's name was actually chosen several years ago).  Earlier in this pregnancy, a rather big name celebrity used one of my chosen names.  Until then, I hadn't heard of anyone using that particular name in quite some time.  Now it's popping up on tv shows (character names).  I'm afraid that it's going to be a trendy name in the next couple of years.  On top of that, I just recently saw the list of last year's most popular names in Alberta... and our other name is now in the top 25. 

Okay, I know I'm being ridiculous.  I should just name this Halfling whatever I want, and not care about how many other kids have the same name.  But it bugs me just a bit. 

Yes, I know I'm neurotic.  Forgive me.

Bloggity Summer Camp: A Rose By Any Other Name

Greetings Humble Readers...

I have to tell you, I have been looking forward to today's Bloggity Summer Camp topic ever since I first saw the list of topics that Calliope posted.  I have such strong opinions about this... it's almost ridiculous.

Calliope asks, "What names would you NEVER name a child or pet? What name do you wish you had been named? Do you like the name of your blog?"

Oooo... I love it!  So here it is, my list of rules for naming babies.  (some of these rules could apply when naming a pet) 

I swear that I will...

• NEVER name a child after a piece of fruit, an inanimate object, a colour, city where they were conceived
• NEVER give a child a name that is not easily pronounceable or spell-able
• NEVER give a child a gender neutral name
• NEVER name a child something that rhymes with tick, tock or weenis
• NEVER name a child something that I will be embarrassed to holler when it's time to come for dinner
• NEVER name a child something that should be a pet's name
• NEVER name a child something that sounds like it should be a nickname
• NEVER name all my children with names that all start with the same letter
• NEVER name a child something that falls in the top ten of the most popular names lists

Honestly, my personal guidelines for choosing names comes down to four rules.  My children will have OLDER-FASHIONED, GENDER SPECIFIC names, with USUAL SPELLINGS, that START WITH VOWELS.  I have had my children's names chosen for a long long time, and my poor Beloved didn't get a whole lot of say in the matter.  He did get to choose the middle names though.  :) 

As for my name, I wish my bio-mom would have put a little thought into it.  A nurse gave her a little booklet of baby names while my bio-mom was in labour.  Hence I ended up with a name I have disliked for my whole life.  I always wanted to be a Sarah Jane... or something like that.  Instead, I got saddled with a gender neutral name, spelled 'the boys way', and a middle name that could be misheard to be a boy's name as well.  Because of my name, I was mistakenly put on boys softball teams, put in boy's wards in the hospital, and other tragic events.  I could never find key chains or those cute little door plaques with my name on them spelled correctly.  When I was 13 I changed the spelling of my first name, but I actually still have to deal with issues from that decision. 

I'm not a big fan of my blog's name.  I've had another one in mind for a while, but whenever I get close to changing it, I always find a reason to hold off.  Maybe in the fall...

The Halfling is here!!!!!!!!!

was born last night, November 27th, via c-section. She was born at 8:42 pm mountain time (that's 10:42 Eastern time for the time zone deficient among us). The little halfling wasn't so little after all She measured 21 1/4 inches long, weighed in at 9 lbs 5 oz, and has a full head of hair. Mrs. Gamgee  is recovering and there will be pictures soon.

Kristin from Dragondreamer's Lair

The Hobbit vs The World: And These People Are Allowed to be Parents?

Good Evening Humble Readers...

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive here, but...

I was minding my own business. At work, doing the bookselling thing. I catch a glimpse of the headline on the local newspaper sitting on the desk in our office... "Name My Baby!"

The story, on the front page, is about a woman in a neighbouring community who is 23, 28 weeks pregnant with her second son, and is just absolutely flummoxed on what to name her newest little one. Apparently she and her partner chose the 'perfect name' when they named their first son, and now they just can't come up with anything else.

In an effort for their child to not be nameless at birth, she has instituted a local contest. She even indicated that doesn't want the name to end in particular letters, presumably because they wouldn't work with her last name.

Honestly, I stopped reading at that point. I didn't read about what her grand prize would be or when her deadline for submissions would be. I was just disgusted.

What the story and her contest say to me, admittedly a very biased infertile, is that she cares so little about the child she's carrying that she can't be bothered to come up with a name for him.

If she wants names, I've got names. Names that I have carried in my heart for years. Names that I still cling to as beacons of hope. I can also give her the names of numerous babies, longed for and loved and cherished... babies that my bloggy friends never got to hold that have names.

The least a mother can do is put some thought into naming her child, and not make it a publicity stunt.

I would like, 12 years from now, to be a fly on the wall when she has that conversation with her son... "no, I didn't name you. We drew your name out of a draw box. Your brother's name was perfect, so we didn't even try."

Ok, rant over.