Some ideas that I've had lately for posts have been that everyone seems to have an opinion for absolutely everything; if/when we'll expand our family; and how everyone seems to have an opinion on how we should go about that. Full circle opinion-ing going on. Some of those opinions are really well thought out and valid, and come from family that know and love us, and some of those opinions are...well, not that. Expanding our little fam is kind of complicated, therefore a really intense conversation or post, along with about a dozen open ended questions with varying answers. What I do know for sure though, is that Lyla can have all of the puppies that she wants as she grows up, and if we are lucky enough to add more kids to our home, they're pretty much named.
On the day that we found out about our Lyla, almost exactly 3 years ago, one of the first things that we decided was that she'd be a Dominic. This was a no brainer, since I was positive that what was making my breasts hurt, my uterus swell, and my dog to become even more attached to me, was a little boy. "Yep, little Dominic. Let's call him Nic. Or spell it Nick. Or is that weird? Let's honor my Dad with his middle name..." as I planned out his outer space themed nursery, and ordered puppy dog outfits for his first photo shoot.
Cut to a few weeks later, and surprise surprise, she's all girl. The place where I had my amniocentesis done is really technologically advanced, so as soon as we saw her on their screen, there was no denying it. I loved that moment so much. We would have been thrilled either way, and even though I was wrong, I finally felt like I knew my baby. I knew her so well in that moment. We fed our emotions later that day with wings, burgers, and milkshakes. I had just had a huge needle inserted into my pregnant stomach to find out if my first and unborn baby could have a life threatening disease; but also found out that we would be welcoming a daughter. A dinky lil salad wasn't gonna cut it, ya know? I can remember that lunch, with my husband, and I couldn't wait to talk names and nursery. I think that he was just as excited, but knew once I started, that was it. Choosing a name for this girl consumed us both.
Somewhere along the way we created our list:
- Natalie was Anthony's top choice. I do love this name, but Lyla never felt like a Natalie to me. We still might get to use it someday. The funniest thing is that Anthony saw it on a list of, like, hot girls via The Chive. Nice.
- Sienna or Stella. Feminine, Italian, lovely. At one point, I noticed that Stella was climbing way up on the lists of all of the most popular names. Not really my scene.
- Julia. I love Jules as a nickname. This was one of the few that we both really loved. I would have done a J.C. for the initials to honor Joan Collins. For real. I still like it, but prefer Juliet.
- Caroline or Claire. We still love these names, and I was positive that we'd be bringing a Claire home from the hospital. My only reservation was that her initials would be C. F. It ended up being a non issue, since she didn't look or feel like a Claire or Caroline at all.
There were probably about a dozen other names that we considered. Girl names are really fun. My only criteria was (and still is) nothing too weird, but nothing too popular.
So, where did Lyla come from? At one point, I really loved "Lola" (still do), but Anthony wasn't into it. Our sister-in-law has a friend named Lyla, and I always thought that it was such a great name; and she is really lovely. So we kind of tucked that name away, and didn't think much of it. I always preferred a different spelling. I'm telling you though, this child named herself. It was as clear as day that she was Lyla Naomi, as soon as I saw her. Luckily her dad agreed. Down to the spelling, and the middle name, it all just came so naturally. Naomi was her great grandmother's middle name, whom she has never met, but it felt right to honor her. I've always loved that name, and when I found out that it was Anthony's beloved Mimi's middle name, that was an easy one. It just so happens that Lyla and I have the same initials now. Another thing that I should add, is that Lyla (spelled Lila) is a Middle Eastern name, and in a way that honors my beloved grandmother, Mary Jane. (Jane is a great name too, that we both love.. so who knows)
There it is, the story of how our Lyla got her name. Don't even get me started on nicknames. She has so many.
I wanted to name our dog, Carly, Whitney, but Anthony thought that was weird, so we went with what we agreed on. It's perfect for her. I like Ruby and Shelby for a puppy dog, too.
Off to love on my Carly and my Lyla, and my Anthony (another great name! Only Tony to a few, by the way). Would love to hear your naming stories.
XO, Luci
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