Thank you all who read and who submit, who like my responses and who want to punch me in the face for them - and then maybe use them anyway. I have a blast doing these columns and please, keep the questions coming!
The update to "In The Middle"
In January, I wrote to you about the disagreement between my husband and I over our soon-to-be daughter’s middle name. My brother had passed away and I wanted to give Caroline the middle name of “Benjamin,” which was my brother’s name. My husband had been against it, and wanted to go with “Leigh,” which was our compromise name.
Your response was lovely and I actually printed it out and brought it to him over dinner one night. He said he’d think about it. Fast forward a few weeks and Caroline joined us on Valentine’s Day (after three truly awful days of labor, her actual birthday was a bit ironic). The nurses asked for her full name to fill out the birth certificate, and I turned to my husband and he shook his head, “No.” Caroline was quite ill at the time, and remained in the NICU for a week, and I had thought that given how hard it had been for me to bring her into the world, and what she went through when she got there, that my husband would have been OK with the guardian angel-type idea of my brother’s name, but he really took a stand and said he didn’t want to give her a boy’s name, middle or not. So we went with Leigh. I tried not to be upset, as I just wanted her to get better, but it was a pretty emotional time for me, and for my family, as we tried not to worry about what might happen to the baby. We left the hospital eight days later, and Caroline is now super healthy and wonderful. And you know what? Her birth weight was 7lbs, 14oz, and my brother’s birthday was July 14th. So I know in my heart that he was there with us, and I know he kept her safe.
What happened to Too Short & Sweet?
Well my baby boy was born, and after a few days, my boyfriend/the dad and I decided on Liam Joseph Boado Thomas. I know Liam is crazy popular and that Liam Thomas isn't the most unique name, but when it came down to it, there was no question. I wanted Liam as a namesake for my wonderful father whose name is William, but I hate the idea of using his actual name, as my son is his own person. So Liam was a way to honour my father, which was fitting because he looks so much like my Dad!! Joseph is after my boyfriend's grandfather. Boado is my last name, and I know I mentioned about double barreling the last name, but I decided against it, mostly because I'm Filipino and it's a tradition for children to have as a middle name their mother's maiden name. So that honours both my family line and cultural tradition. As for nicknames, we have been using Bubba (he's gained almost a pound every week since birth!), LJ and 'Ajobo' lol which is a play on the name of a Filipino food dish (adobo) using his middle names.
