Dear Ivy,
When we found out we were pregnant with you we were SHOCKED because we did not expect to have any more children. Once my initial shock wore off, I have to admit that I was secretly tickled pink....no pun intended! Perhaps deep down I had not shut the door to more children:) Your daddy and I decided to carry on with our "theme of surprises" and not find out if you were a boy or girl. I didn't struggle with it like I thought I would. With your brothers, we had found out in advance because I just could not wait. At each ultrasound of you, I would look away when the sonographer got to that area. I wasn't even tempted because I wanted to be surprised on your birthday. So many of my friends and family were shocked that we were not finding out. They could not believe that I had the patience. There is a first for everything....haha!
So your daddy and I had to think of names this time for not only a boy but for a girl too. We used our usual method of choosing names - it could not be "trendy" or "traditional/classic." That is just not our taste. It had to be unique but it could not be totally made up either. For some reason, Ivy just came to me. I'm not sure why, but it did, and it stuck. And of course, my middle name is Leigh. We had a few boy names but none that we were committed to. We went to the hospital that morning with a name picked out for a girl - Ivy Leigh, and a few possibilities for a boy. Perhaps we were secretly hoping for a baby girl. I really don't know, but I do know that we were committed to your name. When you were born, you were our Ivy Leigh from the second we set eyes on you. I had a daughter. My heart was exploding with love.
A few days later a former college classmate of your daddy's wrote to him to give support because you had been born with CMN and she knew we were worrying. Her cousin also had a nevus and her sister had been born with vitiligo. She said to your daddy, "Did you know an Ivy is one of the strongest types of plants? It grows in basically any climate. So your daughter will be just fine." From the minute that your daddy shared that with me, I could not stop thinking about how powerful her message was. Why were we so committed to that name so early on? Because you were meant to be our Ivy Leigh. You are a strong little girl, and you will flourish no matter what the climate. The climate will be challenging at times, but you are going to be just fine.
with all my love, mom
When we found out we were pregnant with you we were SHOCKED because we did not expect to have any more children. Once my initial shock wore off, I have to admit that I was secretly tickled pink....no pun intended! Perhaps deep down I had not shut the door to more children:) Your daddy and I decided to carry on with our "theme of surprises" and not find out if you were a boy or girl. I didn't struggle with it like I thought I would. With your brothers, we had found out in advance because I just could not wait. At each ultrasound of you, I would look away when the sonographer got to that area. I wasn't even tempted because I wanted to be surprised on your birthday. So many of my friends and family were shocked that we were not finding out. They could not believe that I had the patience. There is a first for everything....haha!
So your daddy and I had to think of names this time for not only a boy but for a girl too. We used our usual method of choosing names - it could not be "trendy" or "traditional/classic." That is just not our taste. It had to be unique but it could not be totally made up either. For some reason, Ivy just came to me. I'm not sure why, but it did, and it stuck. And of course, my middle name is Leigh. We had a few boy names but none that we were committed to. We went to the hospital that morning with a name picked out for a girl - Ivy Leigh, and a few possibilities for a boy. Perhaps we were secretly hoping for a baby girl. I really don't know, but I do know that we were committed to your name. When you were born, you were our Ivy Leigh from the second we set eyes on you. I had a daughter. My heart was exploding with love.
A few days later a former college classmate of your daddy's wrote to him to give support because you had been born with CMN and she knew we were worrying. Her cousin also had a nevus and her sister had been born with vitiligo. She said to your daddy, "Did you know an Ivy is one of the strongest types of plants? It grows in basically any climate. So your daughter will be just fine." From the minute that your daddy shared that with me, I could not stop thinking about how powerful her message was. Why were we so committed to that name so early on? Because you were meant to be our Ivy Leigh. You are a strong little girl, and you will flourish no matter what the climate. The climate will be challenging at times, but you are going to be just fine.
with all my love, mom