What's in a name...

Naming a child, so it turns out, is pretty complicated. The process of picking a name has really been going on since the idea of possibly trying to get pregnant came onto our radar. Well, for me anyway. When we'd take a long trip in the car, I'd look at highway signs, names of towns, names of streets, etc. and if something struck me as being a good name, I'd send myself an email and save it for my ever-expanding list of names. I also have the luxury of coming across many names in my job. I sometimes conduct title searches which require examining public records over a period of about 60 years or so. You end up seeing some pretty unusual names in this process. I'd even pay attention to names I came across in catalogs, magazines, books, etc. Every name I found that I thought might be acceptable one day would be emailed to myself. I can tell you, I have compiled quite a list over the past year or so. An untraditional approach, perhaps, but it was a start.

Finding the "perfect" name is more complicated, as it turns out, than just finding names that you like. Particularly if you are like us and think that keeping family names going is a neat thing to do. This became particularly complicated because, as some of you know, Casey's name is a shortened version of Kenneth Corman Otis, III. So we have been struggling with whether or not to add a Kenneth Corman Otis, IV to the world. I think this has been a real burden on Casey who admires his father more than I can possibly articulate in this blog. I decided to leave this delicate subject in Casey's hands. He grappled with it for a number of weeks, but after talking to his dad, who was very gracious on the topic, he felt comfortable making the decision not to name the baby KCO IV.

After this decision had been made, out came my list of names. There were some that Casey did not like, there were some that he did, and there were some names that he liked that had not made my list that were added. And that's how we came to find ourselves with a short list of names.

I swear it was unintentional (at least on my part), but it turns out that we have chosen a name that will result in his initials being R.S. I decided to tease my parents and my sister with the initials, so I sent the initials to them. It was pretty funny getting back various guesses from them. My sister was the first to point out that R.S. could stand for Red Sox. This had never occurred to me, but once she pointed that out, I was pretty sure that my darling husband had scammed me into thinking that I was a part of the naming rights, but that he really had planned to get the Boston Red Sox into the name somehow, even if I would not agree to name him Boston. He's smarter than I give him credit for, and trust me, I think he's pretty darn smart already!!!

And so it has been settled that our first son will be named Riley Shailer Otis.

Riley is not a name that has any special family significance. It's simply a name that both Casey and I really liked. Truth be told, although I have heard the name many times and have always liked it, it made my list after I came across it in a Pottery Barn Kids catalog. It is also the first name of the starting quarterback at Wake Forest (Riley Skinner), who coincidentally went to Casey's high school (the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida), so we feel like that means he is somehow destined to be not only a great athlete, but a smart guy as well.

Shailer is a family name from Casey's side. Shailer is Casey's late great uncle who he admired enormously (Shailer and his wife Kay are also the people who taught Casey how to golf). I never had the privelege of meeting Shailer, but I understand he was a really neat man. The two stories that I have repeatedly heard about him are that (1) he was on the ski patrol during World War II and (2) he would "open the season" at Drakes Island every summer by playing the bugle.

We have also been told by Shailer's wife that Shailer was given his name because his grandfather (I think) wanted the Shailer name (which originally was a last name) to be carried on. As an incentive, he offered $100 to each of his children that named their child Shailer ($100, at the time, was a very significant amount of money -- I think Casey said he calculated it and it was equivalent to about $20,000 in current money). I believe there were 3 or 4 Shailers in the family...

24 Weeks and Counting

Today we had our 24 week check up. Everything seems to be going fine. Had another ultrasound and the poor baby was entirely folded in half with his knees in his face and his little feet all the way behind his head. We found it very funny, but it cannot be comfortable. Did not make for very good pictures either!!!

In the line of developments, the baby now weighs in at 1 lb. 7 oz. The ultrasound tech says this puts him in the 51st percentile. Hopefully this means we will not have a gigantic baby on our hands come delivery time!!!

I also seem to be growing at an alarming pace (my words, not the doctor's). I have now gained 17.5 lbs. See pictures for what this looks like on my short frame.

On Nesting

I have heard of the "nesting" instinct that seems to afflict many pregnant women, but until today, I sort of thought it was a myth. Well, I can tell you firsthand that this is no myth. It's reality...

It started out innocently enough. I set out to change the sheets on our bed. When I walked into our bedroom with the sheets, I noticed that a drawer on Casey's nightstand was sticking out a little bit. I silently cursed him for not closing it all the way and attempted to close it myself, only to find that it would not close all the way. I determined that something was stuck behind the drawer and tried to reach in with my hand to pull the mystery item out. No luck. So I improvised and grabbed a wire hanger and tried to fish the item out. Success!!!

Or so I thought until I attempted to close the drawer. Still wouldn't shut all the way. Back in went the wire hanger. Out came another item. And on and on it went until Casey came into the room, asked what on earth I was doing, and proceeded to move the nightstand onto the bed for a better look. Ten minutes later, after Casey pulled item after item out from behind the drawer by hand, we (well, Casey, actually) finally figured that the drawer could be removed from the nightstand. The remainer of the "stuck" items were removed with ease, and the drawer now shuts.

Problem was that because Casey moved the nightstand onto the bed to investigate the problem, it was no longer in its usual place on the floor and we discovered how disgusting it was behind and underneath the nightstand. We found a remote control that I'd accused Casey of throwing away 6 months ago, a few of Wrigley's tennis balls, a cup, and a whole lot of fur and dust. So I grabbed the vacuum to take care of the mess. After that area was all cleaned out, I noticed how disgusting it also was behind the bed. I blame the dogs. More vacuuming. Then I decided it must be equally dirty underneath the bed. More vacuuming. And then I realized the blinds behind our bed were also dusty. More vacuuming. This led me to notice that the other blinds in the bedroom were also dusty. More vacuuming. And while I was vacuuming those blinds, I noticed that the window sills were dirty. More vacuuming. And then I noticed how dirty the ceiling fan was. More vacuuming. It got so bad that I can honestly say that I vacuumed all four walls in our bedroom. You heard me right, I vacuumed the walls.

This whole process took about four hours. I was exhausted. And guess what?!? The sheets never did get changed...

No wonder our husbands think we're crazy.

Movin' and a Shakin'

Two significant developments today: (1) Casey was able to feel the baby kicking for the first time, helping him, I think, feel a little more connected to the little guy. Up until now, he had only heard of the alleged kicking. It is a whole different thing indeed to be able to feel it. (2) I was able to see the baby kicking. It was both a thrill and a cause for me to feel squeamish, all at once. There is something really creepy about seeing your stomach move and shake when you are lying totally still.

In other developments, we are starting to prepare for the arrival of our little guy. Registries have been started, nursery furniture has been picked out (although not ordered), and we are now the proud owners of a car top carrier. And, of course, my stomach continues to grow. Much to my dismay, I found this week that I am no longer able to wear "normal" (non-maternity) clothes. Time is flying by!!!

Back to the doctor next Wednesday for another check up and our fourth ultrasound. We can't wait to see the little guy!!! I, however, could do without the dreaded weigh-in...

A Stranger's Inquiry

Well, today marks the first day of what must be the noticeable weight gain phase of my pregnancy. This morning, I had a stranger ask me for the first time when I am due. Now, I will be honest, unlike the last time a stranger asked me when I was due (which, I will note, was a week before our wedding when I was about the skinniest I have ever been -- I immediately gave away the dress I was wearing that day), this time around, I felt a small amount of glee. I am happy that people can now tell that I'm pregnant, and not just getting a little clumsy around the waist. On the other hand, I had gotten a small amount of satisfaction in knowing that I was over five months pregnant and people still couldn't really be sure...