What are the hot baby names for 2010?

The tireless search for the perfect baby name isn’t always easy on any new parents -- even after scouring the web for advice, playing with naming tools, and sifting through mountains of baby-name books at the bookstore.If you’re still on a quest to name baby something cool and trendy, you might want to reconsider your strategy: Instead of hopping on the trend train this year, it’s looking like more and more parents-to-be will be opting for unique classics they love. With 2009 name fads, from Marley to Miley, safely behind us, what do we see as the hottest trends in baby names for the year ahead. Well the good news to report is that names are taking a turn for the good!

For Girls the trends are turning to romantic timless names like, Sophia, Lily, Isabella, Ava, Claire, and Olivia Why you ask? These days, parents-to-be are loving distinctly feminine-sounding monikers for girls and kicking the crossover trend (of names like Riley and Dylan) to the curb -- at least for now. And don’t expect to find any Tiffanys in this bunch -- 2010 babes will be sporting classic and simple names, not diminutive and frilly ones.

Also shooting to the top of the lists is Grace, Charlotte, and Abigail. Older relatives’ names match perfectly with the current trend, so parents naming their baby Hannah or Claire get the double bonus of honoring a loved one. (While it’s tough for us to imagine a baby Judy, Donna, or Brenda today, check back with us in 2020.)

Names to look out for: Vivienne, Stella, and Amelia. Angelina Jolie’s Vivienne is just a year-and-a-half old, and the name is already climbing the charts. Same goes for Stella, recently used by Ellen Pompeo and Tori Spelling. And Amelia? It’s just plain adorable.

What's out for girls is crossover names, that's right people gender neutral names are out like last years Manolo's. While you’ll no doubt still see some newborn Baileys and Rileys in the nursery, in general, these names are losing steam. The one exception is Addison, because it's just so stinking cute!!

Now, what's looking up for boys, biblical and celtic names. Just like with girls, parents of boys are moving away from modern, sometimes made-up names and opting for traditional, often family-inspired names for their little prince.

Look out for Ethan, Jacob, Lucas, Liam, Logan, Gavin, and Aidan. Aidan has been a clear favorite for the past few years and looks to continue its reign in 2010, much to my dismay! Serioulsy people Carrie dumped Aidan so long ago! Big is so much better- John James Preston what a classic powerful name!!

What's our for boys? Well that would be anything that rhymes with Aidan, except Aidan itself. The super-hot name (thanks to Sex and the City) sparked a rush of spin-offs (thanks to Britney Spears) from Jayden to Caeden to Greydon and far, far beyond. Sure, some of the less out-there variations will probably still pop up, but as a whole, this trend (and the entire made-up name category) is on the outs.

Twilight, the hottest thing since Harry Potter, has surprisingly sparked an even bigger following when it comes to baby names. Hot names pulled from the book include Edward, Bella, Emmet, Jacob, Jasper, Esme, Alice, Rosalie, and Carlisle. Even Cullen -- the last name of its dreamy hero, Edward -- is also expected be a hit, which is my personal favorite!! But while the Twilight craze itself has certainly given major play in the popularity of these names, they just so happen to also fit in perfectly with this year’s trend of going back to the classics.

No matter what name you pick, remember you are the parent it's your decision- do not let family and friends influence your decision. I will tell you that my favorite names are listed in the blog entry, but I will not reveal them, I'm secretavie like that!
Happy Naming!!

A New Path

I thought I would finally come out of the closet, we have decided to pursue adoption, and it feels so good. John and I started talking about adoption about a year ago, but really did not start getting serious until the last few months. After our second IVF failed we decided that being parents was more important than me actually being pregnant. We are pursing adoption through the county, and we will have to be foster parents first. The biggest reason is that the child has to be in your custody for six months before an adoption can be finalized.

We are about half way through our classes that we need to take- they are 3 hours every Saturday, and are actually really fun, we are learning a lot. We have also met some really nice couples, some who have been through the fertility roller coaster, This is where our social worker comes and meets with us at our home. She also inspects our home and tells us things that we can do to make it safer for children.

So that is what is new in our life, we are really excited our new path to parenthood. We will be finished with class right before Christmas, and hopefully fully licensed soon after the first of the year.

First comes Love, then marriage, and a baby carriage? Not in my world!

I remember that song- it made everything seem so easy. You fall in love, get married, throw out the birth control pills and 9 months later you bring home your little bundle of joy. But wait, no where in that song did it talk about IVF, daily shots, lots of doctors, and pain and sadness. Well, that is my world, welcome to the world of infertility.

This has been a long journey, about 2 years to be exact, and throughout those 24 months of pain, tears, and sadness John and I have stayed pretty close and never really let it get to us and our relationship. Lots of couples that deal with infertility end up divorced or in marriage counseling. I even know couples who have a baby and then divorce, that seems like such a waste to me. I guess I feel like if you can overcome infertility you can overcome anything in marriage. Now that is not to say that John and I have not had our share of arguments over this- but pretty much we share the same ideas- we will go to the ends of the earth to have a baby- now after #1 I don't think we are so sure. I will do whatever it takes to have one, after that its in God's hands- I don't know if I would ever do this again, it's a lot to handle.

I know this journey will end one day, and there will be a baby at the end, I consider that my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Nothing lasts forever- somehow someway we will overcome this.

Wait- I thought life was fair?

As a child our parents always tell us "Life isn't fair". I always thought yeah, that's because I'm a kid and you are an adult, you can do whatever you want whenever you want. Well, now that I am the adult I am realizing that maybe my mom was right.

Here I am 28 years old, married to a great guy- we have a beautiful home, a loving family, the best friends anyone could ask for and can't have kids. Now in what part of this does it say that life is fair.

I work with a wide array of people, as in any office setting, and some have better lives then others, and who are the ones that have all the kids? Yes, folks you guessed it the ones that are young, immature, and broke.

Now, I am not saying that just because you have money you should have kids, because there are some rich assholes out there. But there is a certain amount of support that you need to be able to give to a child. In my job I talk to a lot of people and I get my share of calls that go something like this, "I'm pregnant,22 years old, I have medicaid and food stamps (government help), I am unemployed, and I have had no prenatal care." Now do you see my frustration? I literally want to bang my head again the wall, actually what I really want to say is- please let me adopt your baby because there is no way in hell you can care for that child they way it deserves to be cared for. Please God explain to me how she could be more deserving of a child then me?

A lot of people have and will continue to tell me that I am buying my kids, by doing fertility treatments- but you know what I really do not care what they say- this is my life and I will do what is best for me and my husband. When our little one finally makes its appearance I cannot even imagine the amount of love I will have, I think its a admiration that only someone who has suffered struggled for years and years to get to that point can understand. I truly do not believe that someone who has sex one time with their partner gets pregnant and 9 months later has a baby can have the same feelings as someone like myself and John or anyone that has dealt with infertility.

I also have nasty feelings for people that are mean to their children, yes all children have issues and will throw a tantrum from time to time, but come on they are babies- what do they know. NOTHING- that is what your job as a parent is for, to teach them!

I know that John and I will make great parents one day, soon we will get our chance.

Can you survive bedrest for 3 days?

Well, its back to normal tomorrow- back to work and back to life. In a way I am thrilled to get off the couch and join the human race again, but again how can my life be normal for another week and a half- I have six embryo's in me, that may or may not be forming our baby. It's all I can think about. I need to really focus on not being obsessed the next week and a half. But I survived bedrest for 3 days- in a way it was kind of nice and in another way I am so happy to be off the couch.

I found out today that we have more insurance that will cover another try at IVF- so if this doesn't work we will defiantley be doing this again. I wish there was a guarantee, but I know there is no guarantee in life with anything. It just seems like babies are everywhere and everyone can get pregnant, everyone BUT me.

John and I watched Jon and Kate Plus Eight last night, along with the other 9 million viewers- and during the sextuplets birthday party John looked at me and said "I want birthday parties" and he's right. I WILL NOT give up that, not now not ever. I dont't care what I have to do, IVF or adopt I WILL have parties for my kids and be called mom one day.

I know that families are formed in all different ways- but I want so much to get pregnant, and see the babies heart beat for the first time, and decorate a nursery, and go into labor, and bring our baby home from the hospital. Those are all basic human wants and I don't think we should have to give that up.

Moving on

Well, we just returned from an great trip to Cabo! Beauitful weather, and spa treatments, who could ask for more! We are still working on trying to have a baby, our 2nd cycle of Clomid failed, but we are moving forward with more treatment. We have to take the month of March off, so we will try on our own (no drugs!) and then decide what to do next when we see our doctor in April.



I am very optimistic, I know that John and I are meant to be parents, and its just a matter of waiting until its our time. I recently came across a quote that a girl I know told me,



"Your God is big, and He has a big plan for you.. and one day you'll see... that plan will call you mommy"



I love it! This sums up my life perfectly. There are reasons that John and I are not parents yet, and our time will come.