The Name Game

Of course, from the name of the blog, you know the winning names, but pretend you don't for this story...

Once we knew the sexes, we started to decide on names. I had suggested early in the pregnancy the name Caiden for a boy. My husband loved the name Shea, so he suggested Caiden Shea. I liked it and the more I thought about it, the more it grew on me, so I thought we were set with a boy's name, until my husband said he wanted to name him Dominic. I was looking for a name with an Irish feel to match our last name (even though our Hayes actually comes from England), so I didn't like Dominic. We continued to debate about it while deciding on a girl's name.

My husband had always liked the name Mia for a girl, but I was never sold on it. I didn't mind Mia ask a nickname, but thought it was too short to be a full name, so I proposed all kinds of names that could have Mia as a nickname. He didn't like any of them. Eventually he offered that we could name our boy Caiden Shea if I would give in on the girl's name. He would even let me pick the girl's middle name. I really liked the name Kailey. Even though I didn't think Mia Kailey sounded great together, I decided I would get used to it eventually. Now it was settled; we had named our kids, but couldn't tell anyone yet since it would give away the sexes.

We started calling the babies by their names. Mia was quite active and one night I told my husband how she had been kicking me all day. Out of the blue he asked if I liked the name Mia Kailey. I told him that I didn't really and after a few minutes he said "what do you think of the name Kailey Jordan"? I told him that I really liked it. After some discussion, we changed the spelling: Kaylie to ensure that she wouldn't be called Kylie and Jordyn for a more feminine spelling.

Caiden Shea and Kaylie Jordyn
I still think these are the greatest names and can't imagine topping them when we name future children. One of my biggest heartbreaks in the hospital weeks later was the thought that I would never get to call them by their names. I had tested each name from every angle and even looked forward to chastising them with "Caiden Shea and Kaylie Jordyn!!"