Name Game

Okay, I know - it is a long way off but knowing what I know about Kevin and I - we are indecisive and, like most couples, we struggle to agree on names. I am going to enlist your help. Look we had no trouble with girl names last time. Every one of them sounded good. Now I look at that list we had and I am not as "excited" about the names we had. Kevin was like "why not just go with the girl name we picked out for Matthew?" Men. I told him that was Matthew's girl name, we need another!

This time oddly enough choosing boy names was less difficult and we sort of settled on one but I have cold feet about it. It is a name that was not so common three years ago but I have noticed recently it is becoming more and more common so therefore I am sort of vetoing it for the moment. The thing is this is really a moot point until week 20 when we find out the sex of the baby BUT I am still obsessed about it. I will not feel complete unless I start a list and check it twice.

We/I want something interesting and SORT of unusual but not too unusual. Seriously. I like unusual names but when it comes down to it I think in 20 years can a little kid grow into that name??? And also I fear the fact that most names that are unusual are actually common now a days. Matthew while supposedly a common name and always on the top 10 list is actually less common than one would expect (or at least in our experience thus far.) I actually really love "traditional names" and when I say that I mean old fashioned... I am struggling with this name schizophrenia - the old versus new thing. OMG, I am freaking neurotic, no? You can agree with me, I have no doubt I am neurotic on this topic (and this topic only DAMMIT!)

Look, we came up with Matthew in the 11th hour. Around the same time we picked out his crib six weeks before he was born! I was freaking out because the names we initially picked - well there was an incident that I will not speak about but I freaked out and decided we needed to start over. Matthew (my son) is actually named after one of Kevin's good friends. He had a massive heart attack at the age of 26 and died in 2004. Kevin was very sad about his friend and he was truly a good and welcoming person. From the moment I met Matt he was always kind hearted and friendly to me. It was like a slap on the cheek moment - like 'DUH why didn't we think of this before?'

Kayla was the girl name. We both liked it, it was not as common then and it fit the parameters I had set at the time which was all of the women born into our family for the most part have names that end in -a. Christina, Adriana, Sofia, Alexandra, Paula, etc... I wanted to keep that tradition alive. This time around I am like whatever name I like I will pick even it ends in an -e or an -n, you get the idea.

To add to the frustration last time, we did not find out the sex of the baby so we HAD to have two names picked out just in case. Talk about pressure! This time it will be made a bit easier but I am still very "nervous" about coming up with the "perfect" name. I feel like even thought it is common and an 11th hour pick, Matthew's name fits him. I have no regrets. I love it and he is a Matthew - he definitely would not have been an Ethan.

Last but not least (but a huge part of my neurosis), it has to go with our last name. Kevin feels it really needs to be two syllables to go with out last name. I disagree but perhaps he is right. WHO knows... Oy - any suggestions are welcome. I am sure six weeks, heck four days before this baby arrives we will likely still be going in circles about this... But the nursery will done... HA.

All suggestions welcome. Names (both sexes) you have heard recently, names you discarded, come one, come all and HELP HELP HELP!