X is for Xena?

When I found out the sex of the baby, I quickly shared my favorite baby girl names with my outspoken mother..."Penelope? You mean like the pig faced girl?"

And that is why my husband and I are keeping our list of names a secret.

Ever since we made that decision, my parents have resorted to calling my baby girl, Xena, warrior princess, due to the struggles to actually create her, and the fact that she hung on through some trying times in the beginning of the pregnancy. I figured once we were in the clear around 14 weeks, the name would fall by the wayside. Oh no! Xena has stuck. Even my grandmothers now refer to her as Xena in conversation. (And no, Xena is not one of our front runners on the name list.)

As we get towards the home stretch (11 weeks to go now) we talk more frequently about the future name of our baby girl. For years we loved Olivia, but it has since become one of the most popular names out there amongst the Emmas, Ellas, Avas, Evas, Lillys, Madisons, Sophies and Sadies (all names I dearly love, but are too popular for my choosing). We made the decision that we don't want to name her anything too mainstream, but nothing that is too rare, like Mehitabel (yes this is an actual name). So, we started reading almost every name book out there, made dozens of lists, searched our family trees, and finally narrowed it down to about 4 names that we could agree on, and be happy with. We had an even trickier time than most, as my current married surname rhymes with a certain private area of a humans body - let's just say "Harry" would warrant years of teasing.

The final list now hangs on the fridge, where every day I am presented with one of the biggest decisions I will have to make in my life (at least I see it that way!). I stare at the list, say a name over and over with our last name...maybe add in a middle name to see how it sounds...but am I sold? UGH - I don't know! Will kids find some way to turn this name into a horrible nickname that she will be stuck with forever? Will she like this name, or forever be stuck with this horrible title and blame me for it for the rest of my existence?

How do you make such an important decision for someone you haven't yet met? Everyone keeps saying, you will know her name when you see her...what if she doesn't look like a Name A, B, C or D? What if she looks like a Xena?????

Here are two of my favorite name resources:

Nymbler

The Baby Name Wizard

Pregnancy Books: Words of Wisdom

“Borrow books from your friends! It isn’t worth it to spend $20 a book on something you won’t read after you delivered. And it is fun to pass books around amongst friends. Plus they will be glad to be rid of them for the time being. Especially nice to pass the “Girlfriends guide…” between your close friends.” Soon to be Mama J

“You’ll get so sick of pregnancy books that you won’t buy any 1^st year books – GET BABY 411…and read the “surviving the first 2 weeks” section in the hospital, or before” Mama M

“The reality is that the best books you can read now are the ones about what to do once your baby is born. Baby Whisperer,, Happy Sleep Habits, What To Expect Year 1. Once the baby arrives, it is hard to find time to read and, trust me, there is A LOT you don’t know and aren’t prepared for.” – MAMA S

You & Your Baby: Pregnancy

One of our Mama’s swears by this book. It is very informative, a little too scientific at times, but helpful at all stages. Instead of a month-by-month look at your baby, Dr. Riley breaks it down into more informative week-by-week glances.

Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy

If you are like us Mamas, you will remember watching the Jenny McCarthy show in college, and laughing your ass off. Well this book is in the same vein as her show – crass, daring and blunt – and great for a laugh. While she has no business encouraging moms not to get their children vaccinated (I don’t remember her going to med school and becoming a doctor!) she does paint a pretty true and gruesome picture about pregnancy and what it does to your body (and your sex life).

Pregnancy for Dummies

This might as well be your 10^th grade History text book, as it is wordy, long and makes your eyes blur at times. It reads somewhat like your VCR instructions, but if you are looking for a no-nonsense resource it is great to have on hand.

What to Expect When You're Expecting

Some of us Mamas call this book “my bible”, while others found it “alarmist” and “dry”. It is best to read when you’re through the early stages of pregnancy and know everything is good with the little fetus, because it tends to make new Mamas more worried than they should be.

Some Mamas keep this on their nightstand, while others say it will caution you to have your OB’s number on speed dial while reading.

You will most likely either be given this book when you tell people you are first pregnant, or buy it yourself, so read it and decide which side you are on. If you can, buy the combo pack of this and ‘What to expect: the first year’ as you will get more use out of that book!

The Girlfriends Guide...

This is the Mama’s Must-Have pregnancy book. It is comical but informative, and is a good quick read for early on in your pregnancy. It makes you feel comfortable while reading, because it feels like it is written more by a friend, than by a doctor. While not necessarily a great resource book, it is good for making you not feel alone in the crazy times of pregnancy.