I'm having such a hard time lately. I'm tired of unsolicited input on every thought I have about my baby girl. I have a way of thinking about things, so please don't let me know that you highly dislike one of the names we've considered naming her. And please don't "firmly" suggest pastels and not bold colors - I nearly strongly dislike the use of pastels as the heart of a baby theme - it's just not for us.
I prayed every day for God to hear me and allow me to have this silly selfish desire of my heart - a girl - and he gave her to me. I feel whole, and I thank God every day for allowing me to have another baby - as well as giving me a girl.
I am giving excessive thought into what I want the baby's room to look/feel like based on my experience with Aiden and "outgrowing" things, and how I feel now about the direction I want to take. I'm putting more thought into this theme than I did the last time so it will last a little longer and be more cost-efficient!
BIRDS & OWLS:
Owls have always been my favorite animal, I can think back to Kimberly (Allsbrooks) Wells and me playing in the yard or at the playground and writing stories about Moo-Moo and Who-Who, our favorite animals; hers a cow, mine an owl.
As I've grown, I've recognized owls for more than just the superficial attraction; for their symbolism and uniqueness:
Unique Among Birds
Unlike most birds, owls are nocturnal with a large head and forward facing large eyes. Their eyes are fixed in their sockets, and some are able to rotate their head up to 270 degrees.
With exceptional vision, acute hearing, and the ability to fly silently, they are a stealthy and effective hunter.
Solitary Nocturnal Birds
Nocturnal creatures are symbolic of inner-knowing, psychic ability, and intuition. Birds are considered by many cultures to be messengers between earthly creatures and spirit.
Global Reverence for the Owl
The owl is deeply connected with magic, shamanism and heightened senses throughout the ages. Some have thought of the owl as a “cat with wings” as they share similar characteristics of personality.
Middle and Far East
In some middle and far eastern cultures, the owl is a sacred guardian of the afterlife, ruler of the night, a seer and keeper of souls transitioning from one plane of existence to another.
The ancient Greeks attributed the owl to Athena, goddess of wisdom and foresight. This symbol was used on Greek coins and therefore also became associated with wealth.
Ancient Greece
America
Native Americans attributed owls with wisdom and sacred knowledge. The shaman would call upon Owl medicine for insight into the truth of ill-intent. Plains Indians wore owl feathers to protect against evil spirits.
Africa
West African and Aboriginal Australian cultures also saw the owl as a messenger of secrets, and companions to medicine people.
Europe
In the celtic tradition, the owl (cailleach-oidhche), represents wisdom, clairvoyance, stealth, initiation, change and detachment. Always aware of its surroundings, the owl uses intuition courageously, with insight into hidden truth, and a guide between earth creatures and Underworld deities.
During medieval times in Europe, owls were believed to be witches and wizards, shapeshifters in disguise.
Having an Owl Themed baby room, though I'm noticing it's increasing popularity, has always been a desire of mine. I've always felt joy in my alone time, and an Owl is known as strong and patient even when alone. They fascinate me; always watching, honest, wise owls.
To expand the theme, I'm including all birds.
BABY NAMES:
*sigh* Where do I begin here? Josh is excited about this baby girl - when someone asks, he spits out the only names we've even considered so far. I actually had someone tell me that they would make it their point to stop me from naming my child a name from the Victorian Era - the name I will not say, but it is NOT ugly, or offensive and it's only four letters long! So, why the sudden outbursts against every name? And why the interjection of some of the most common and horribly spelled names out there? While the name is cute, Ashlyn is not near the top of my list. I have no desire to make a common name unique by blending it with another common name or changing the spelling to where my daughter would have to carry a cheat sheet with her for the first few years of her writing her name!
Aiden was a desire of both Josh's and mine - separate desires, actually - the one night we sat down to talk about boy names, when I was pregnant with Aiden, we both spat out "Aiden" at the same time. I had heard the name from a missionary couple at church when I was 12 years old, they named their first son Aidan, and I liked it from that moment on. Josh just liked the name a lot! And that was that. As far as his middle name, it was easy for me to envelop a family name that's being carried down from my Dad's side of the family: DeLand (originally DeLaunde, amended for ease of speech a few generations back.)
So, names. If I ask for your opinion, or suggestions, or comments, or ideas - I will mean it! I'm just not welcoming phone calls that start out with, "I am NOT letting you name your baby [that]! How about..." It's bad enough I don't like to answer the phone anyway, don't give me a reason to NEVER answer.
WHAT I AM INTERESTED IN:
Lineage. Josh gives me SO much leeway in choosing things for the baby. I am so grateful to him for that. But I want Josh to enjoy and like the things that I choose - so I focus on things that will last. Names, things, etc. I feel he trusts me to not be rash or biased in my decision making - while my decisions will obviously be motivated by my desires - I strive to think about things before doing them, and getting them. I also possess a highly active creative portion of my mind. So, I desire to create something that can be carried down the lineage. Not something that will stop at fad. The name, the theme, the upbringing.
Just don't worry, okay? So many people are warned to not talk about baby names until the baby is born because it has to come from the heart of the parents, not outside influences. I WANT to talk about them, but I'm afraid everyone will be overly opinionated. You will love her with her name when you see her, right? :) Just don't worry.
