Baby Eva joined us on May 20th. Right on her due date, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine. 6lbs, 10 ounces. Quick and easy delivery, wonderful hospital. First impressions of baby: smart, sweet and sleepy. (Two months in and everything still holds true.) However, we were surprised at how she looked almost nothing like we expected - teeny tiny, black hair, olive skin. She was beautiful, but unfortunately none of our name options seemed to fit.
Our time in the hospital was spent pouring through books. We got opinions from the nurses, the doctors, the cleaning people. We went home and continued the search. (Yes, they let you go home without a name. But only after giving you a deadline and some threats.) We drew options from a hat. If I liked a name, Jim didn't. If Jim liked it, I didn't. Or, we both liked it, but it didn't go well with Charlie. Or sounded strange with Wise. Or gosh, too popular.
In the end it was the list of "Honest Names" that saved us. (From the book, Beyond Jennifer and Jason). Charlie was on the list, along with many of our other favorites that had been discarded for one reason or another. We had vaguely passed over Eva many times, but in that moment we realized it might be an option. Over the next few days it slowly settled in, seemed to suit her. We silently practiced saying it, imagined shouting it from a soccer field (Eeeeeeeevaaaaa), or having it written on a resume.
In the end, she became Eva Victoria Rose. Victoria for the city in British Columbia where Jim's grandparents lived and where he proposed. Rose is a family name: my mother, great- grandmother and cousin.
The unfortunate side effect of waiting so long to name your baby is that other things stick. Like the moniker "Baby sister", (sometimes shortened to "B") which is her name 50% of the time. But, just like Charlie was formerly known as "gumball", these things fade in time.
Perhaps...
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