Naming Lucy Ada

Naming a child is something that can either be easy or hard. Some people decide before the baby is born, some wait until they see the baby. I don't think there is a wrong or right way. I know my sister Tresa doesn't tell anybody the names they are thinking of so that they don't get any opinions good or bad, I admire that view and have thought about doing that. However Dave likes to take a poll on our blog and talk to family and friends about what name he likes just to prove that his name is the best. My view on naming a child is to not pick a name until after the baby is born and you have seen the baby. I like to have a lot of different options to begin with and then as the pregnancy progresses narrow the choices down to 3 or 4. Naming a girl is a lot easier than naming a boy but this time around I had a lot more ideas that Dave didn't like. I like older names, not because I work with older people in Hospice but because they are unique and beautiful. Dave has picked one name with both of our children and doesn't look at any other name except that one. I don't want to negate any names he likes so we had ideas from both of us. Here are the names we were thinking of:

• Edith
• Hazel
• Lucy

The middle name Dave already let me have - Ada. Ada is a very special name to me because it was my grandmother's name. I have two amazing grandma's, one is living and one is deceased. My dad's mom, Ada, lived more than half her life alone. Her husband died of a brain tumor in his 50's. I never met my grandfather but I did know my grandmother and enjoyed getting to know her. She is the reason I pursued my master's degree in Social Work/Gerontology and why I wanted to work in hospice. She lived to be 99 years old and the last few years of her life she started getting Dementia and her mind wasn't the same. This was hard for a lot of family members but for me it wasn't difficult. I never felt uncomfortable around her and I still treated her the same. Her funeral was the first family funeral I had attended. She died Thanksgiving Day - 4 months after I returned from my mission. It wasn't a sad funeral but we rejoiced for her life. I cried and grieved her passing but was so grateful for the influence she had on my life. When we found out we were having a girl I immediately thought of my grandma and how I loved her name and wanted to use it for a middle name for this little girl.

When our girl was born, it took us over night to decide on a name. Dave was going crazy that we hadn't decided but I wanted to think about it over night. Her name didn't stand out right away like it did with Marcus. I had ruled out Edith and realized it was a little far out there, so it was down to Hazel and Lucy. Dave continued to joke that he was going to win with his name Lucy, just like he did with Marcus. I take naming a child seriously and wanted to pray and think about it and not just pick a name to win, Dave knew that too. That night that she was born I used both names with her and prayed hard to know which name would fit the best. The next morning Dave and I went back and forth between Hazel and Lucy. It came down to what she looked like more and which one we felt fit best for her. Lucy was the one that felt right for her. I love the name Hazel and hope we still get to use it one day, and if Lucy ends up with my green eyes I might regret not naming her hazel but we will see what color her eyes are.

We love little Lucy and her name. She already has some great nicknames: Lucy Lou, Lou Lou, and Little Sister. Many of my friends know that I love the TV show "I Love Lucy" and actually own the collection of every episode. This has no influence on her name. Neither did the fact that I watched "
While You Were Sleeping" with the main character - Sandra Bullock - who's name is lucy, at least 3 times in the hospital. A big influence in my decision was that with Lucy being born on the 23rd which happens to be Joseph Smith's birthday. Joseph Smith's mother name is Lucy. I liked this connection that she would have on her special birth day.