What's in a Name?

It's funny how we end up with nicknames. Some of our names are derivatives of our given names (i.e. Becky comes from Rebecca). Sometimes they're completely random, or, as is the case in my mom's family, start random, then become kind of a theme. My grandfather called my mom, the first of 6 kiddos, Cabbage. Then my aunt came along and she was Carrot. Then came another aunt (whose nickname I can't remember right now), and then aunt Doughnut. Then there were 2 boys, whose nicknames I also can't remember. But you get the gist, they were all foods.

Some nicknames are given because we remind someone of someone, or something else. For instance, the kid is also known as "bug-a-boo" or simply "bug" in my house. Mostly it's me who uses this nickname, but I do so pretty often, and the kid will respond to it at least as consistently as he does to his actual name (which, frankly, is sporadic, particularly when he's engaged in something interesting). I'm not entirely sure how he ended up with that nickname, but it popped up somewhere around the 8-9 month mark, and has stuck. And really it fits him. He's a boy who likes the outdoors and dirt and sticks. He likes to climb and crawl and certainly tries to fly. He's kind of like a bug. See, it fits.

Sometimes our nicknames come from something we do. I realized yesterday that baby E has become "Gee" (like "glee", minus the "L". Sidebar - may I just say how entertaining I find that show. Though I do think it was better last season than this season...). It's because he vocalizes the sound "gee", and has since he was teenie tiny, as kind of his warning signal that he's about to really start crying. He says "gee" while kind of moving his head around, with this concerned look on his face. And you'd better respond to that "gee" or you're sure to get a fullblown scream out of him in about 45 seconds. It's kind of adorable (the "gee", not the scream). And it's something that's unique about him.

Now, I totally didn't start calling him that on purpose. I would repeat his "gee" to him in an attempt to engage him in "conversation" to give myself a few more minutes before the screaming starts (and yes, that does work most of the time). And then I just heard myself when I was talking to him last night say something like this "hey, Gee. Hi my baby. Whatcha doing? Do you see those lights on our tree, Gee?". Then I noticed hubby looking at me strange, and I was all like "yeah, I call him Gee. I just heard that. I don't know why. I wonder why I do that. It's kinda cute though and fits him, don't you think?". Then I realized hubby wasn't paying attention at all to what I was saying and was actually looking at my boobs which were kind of "out there" because of the nursing shirt I was wearing. So I told him to look at my eyes. He was too distracted though to listen to me. Go figure.

Today's lesson - while using a breastpump every 3ish hours is nothing akin to fun, it is, I have recently discovered, a good time to take a 15 minute nap. Gotta get caught up on that sleep somehow!