I’ve been delaying, and for no good reason.
Her name is Alice!
Alice Esther.
“Alice” because I think it’s a beautiful name. In fact, I didn’t even look up the meaning until drafting this post–for the record, it’s a Franco-Germanic name meaning “noble, exalted,” or “noble, of the noble kind.” It comes from Adal (noble) and heid (type).
“Esther” because, as my husband says, she was beautiful inside and out. She was a woman of character, who lived fully in the world and all its mess (no bubble existence for this beauty queen) while also being fully committed to God, his people, and his mission, to the extent that she uttered those famous and thrilling words, “If I die, I die.”
We had pretty much agreed on a name for a girl and a name for a boy before going in for our ultrasound, so once we found out that the Little Wa-Wa is a girl, we just kind of started calling her by name.
We didn’t talk about it first, debate our options, or decide to make the transition–it just happened, in bed one night if I recall correctly.
And then her name started to slip out as I talked about her with others. After this happened a few times, I made myself stop and think. “A lot of people choose to wait until the baby is born to share the name–are you sure you want to just blab it all over the place?” my Cautionary Self questioned.
And my heartfelt answer to myself was–YES!
She is a little girl now. She has an identity now. She has a personality, a favorite spot in my belly, a relationship with God, and hopefully a taste for Thai food (since I’ve been shoveling that stuff down like a madwoman). So why wait until she actually comes into the outer world to call her by name? I want this reminder (to myself as well as others) that she is Alice now, and she will be Alice then too–that she’s the same little girl before birth and after birth.
When my husband says, “What’s Alice up to?” I get a thrill.
When my friends or sisters ask, “How’s little Alice doing?” I get a thrill.
Calling her by name has given my love for her an extra foothold, and I feel it growing every time I talk about her . . . think about her . . . pray for her . . . my daughter, Alice.
View Comments (19)
I love it!
So sweet. Love the name you've picked out. We did the same thing, calling our baby by name as soon as we knew the gender. Congrats again!
Whoa--you guys actually agreed on a name? I am impressed! Hubs and I bickered like fools for the entire duration of both pregnancies about names. Congrats! Alice Esther definitely has a noble ring to it!
Yes! We did. And I had no idea it would be so easy to land on one we both loved. =)
i love it!! alice is a beautiful, elegant name :)
I like the names you have chosen, they go well together and are very noble. I think it's awesome that you refer to her as Alice now and I don't see why you wouldn't :)
Jenna, there's something like-able and "reachable" about your daughter's name(s)... noble, yes, but destined to dwell among her people. I'm thrilled, too!
Levi said he loves the name Alice! He can't wait to play with her :-). Coincidentally his feelings about the name reflect mine! Beautiful! Can't wait to meet you baby Alice!
Aaawww! Well Alice can't wait to play with Levi either! It's going to be so cute to see our babies interact this Christmas.
Jenna, I love that name! I always had the most difficult times naming my children; there are just so many amazing calling cards out there. Believe it or not Andrew, my youngest, was actually Jackson for 5 days after he was born before I decided to change it to what it is today. :)
Perfectly beautiful.
Not to rain on the parade, but you do know ultrasound test for gender is nowhere near a perfect science and thus there is a higher likelihood of a false negative (as in negative for being male, since that's what they look for) than there is for a false positive. In fact, the rate of false negative (i.e. they tell you it's a girl) is generally reported to be 5% higher than false positives. When you add this little fact to Murphy's Law, and the general sense of humor and irony that pervades all existence, it becomes clear that one of us (by which I mean people related to you) must inform you the more you insist on preparing for a girl the more likely your son will surprise you and ruin all your plans.
Yes--we definitely know that is a possibility! And if it's a boy, then glory be! (and we have a great name picked out for just such an eventuality) Though I will be sad packing away the frilly little girl outfits I've been collecting . . .
actually Alice still works for a boy, so i think you'll be safe.