Lately, Graham and I have been talking extensively about what we want to name our Baby Girl, because cute as it is, she can’t just be “Baby Girl” forever. And y’all, it’s so hard.

Funny story: I was born six weeks early, and my parents hadn’t decided on my name yet. They’d gone back and forth on several different choices, and just couldn’t seem to agree. Finally, it came down to it, and they were unexpectedly out of time. My mom wanted just “Katie.” My dad said I’d want a more mature name as I got older, and suggested “Kathryn.” Kathryn stuck, but I’ve been Katie my whole life. When someone calls me Kathryn, I genuinely have no idea who they’re talking to. I’ve missed more than one question at school, and sat awkwardly several times in doctor’s offices as they call me back over and over again. To be clear, I’m fine with the name Kathryn, and I like the spelling my parents chose. But my name is Katie. It always has been.

And that’s how it should be, right? Your name just fits. But how are we supposed to get there?

I won’t share them here, because then it’ll be a fun surprise, but we’ve narrowed our list down to two names. I don’t know which one we’ll choose. We use them every day, just to see if one feels better than the other. We like them both. Which one, though, is HER name? Which one will she connect with?

I’m probably overthinking this.

But then, am I?

Unless she decides to change her name when she’s older – which would be fine, since it’s her name and her life – we get one chance to get this right. I don’t want to let her down.