What's In A Name?

Henry and Jack have such distinct and separate personalities, it's hard for some people to recognize them as twins sometimes. They look different, act differently from each other, and have very different preferences in just about everything. Strangers have asked me if they are cousins or how far apart in age they are, expecting me to say "thirteen months" rather than "one minute". It makes me laugh.

Let me tell you, the only thing that makes them twins is the shared birth date. They have been different from each other from conception!

When Phil and I learned we would be having twin boys - when I was just 13 weeks along - it didn't take us long to decide on the names we wanted. What was remarkable to me was how soon after that I knew which baby would have which name.

Henry was on my left side. He was mellow, didn't make a fuss other than his frequent hiccups. He remained in a head-down position for most of the pregnancy. Jack, on the other hand, was literally a "jumping Jack". He kicked, did somersaults, and what I imagined to be him picking on his helpless brother. In one ultrasound with the perinatologist, Jack went from a breech position, to transverse, to head-down in just a minute or so. The nurse asked in astonishment, "Did you feel that?" It was something I was feeling all the time, I just had no idea what was going on and mistook it for a contraction. Nope, that was my agile and active little Jack.

Since their birth, they have remained true to their personalities. Jack runs, jumps and rolls everywhere. He is agile, coordinated and independent. Henry is mellow, observant and slightly stubborn. He watches movies, reads books and sings songs. It has always fascinated me how these precious boys' personalities were apparent at such an early stage of their lives.

Henry (left) and Jack remaining true to their personalities at just 3 months old.

Now, here I am in my second pregnancy, with just one little boy. It is hard enough to come up with a boy name. Our list of girl names was a mile long, for this boy we have nothing - at least nothing we can agree on. Why are boy names so hard? The pressure is on, because the name not only has to match this baby's personality, but it has to go along with "Jack" and "Henry", right? It is obvious that Phil and I are not into the make-up-the-most-original-name-in-the-neighborhood business. We like classic, meaningful names, and, if possible, names from our families or ancestors. Finding names we like, that meet those requirements and that match a baby's personality? That's tricky business!

So far, I can tell you that this baby is a kicker! He kicks almost non-stop, and I'm not sure when he sleeps, because he is almost always kicking. He likes to be awake when I'm awake. Even when I wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, by the time I'm back in bed, he's kicking and moving. I like to think of him as taking advantage of every moment he has to let me know he's there. It's very reassuring for me, and makes me love him immensely.

But what is his name?