A Name

The prospect of naming a child has always intimidated me. I would hate to have my decision of a name prevent my kid from becoming president or a rockstar or whatever else he might want to be. I know a name doesn't have to define you, but how many of you can take someone seriously if their name is Princess or Raptor?  That's what I thought. And explains why I was so freaked out to name my son.

The challenge to name our baby was made even harder when my water broke at 22 weeks and suddenly, I didn't have the time I wanted or needed to come up with something brilliant and fitting for him.

I felt that our baby's name should mean something and give him strength. Being born 15 weeks early, he would need all the help he could get. The ability to name someone who would spend the first months of his life in a hospital was difficult and I stewed over it for days.

For each possible name, we would look up the meaning and decide from there if it would be in the running. Our methodical approach wasn't quite fast enough and it took seeing our son and a full day to name him.

We decided his name would be Jude Matthew.  I had always loved the name Jude. In fact, when we found out he was a boy, one of my sisters said, "his name is Jude, right? That's the only name you have ever liked."  The middle name was easy--one of Ben's best friends and greatest role model is his brother, Matthew. He is such a thoughtful, patient, caring, strong person and is an excellent example for our little boy.

As far as the meaning, Jude means "praised" and Matthew means "gift from God." So fitting for a child whose mere existence took years and many fervent prayers to heaven. Our son is quite literally an incredible gift that we have, and will continue to praise the Lord for.

Jude is incredible and we grow to love him more everyday.  In his two days of life, he has already taught us so much about love, patience, and the ability to find light in what seem like pitch black situations. I am so grateful that I'm this strong little guy's mom.