Names

I've always loved names. I joke that I had my kids' names picked before I even had a boyfriend! I love asking patients about the names they've chosen for their babies. I have 9 midwife logbooks full of details of every birth I've attended since my student days. Looking back at all the names is fun...some are very strange, some are funny, some packed with meaning and memory. The trends are interesting too. In the 90's the 2 most common names were Alyssa and Jason. The 2000's have brought a lot of C names, especially for boys. We have Camden, Colton, Caeden, and Caedmon. I've seen a resurgence in flower related names for girls such as Lilly, Rose and Daisy. My church is filled with little Biblically named boys...Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonas, Elijah, Samuel and Benjamin.

My own children are named Emily Suzanne an Jesse William. Funny thing is, despite the intense deliberation referred to above, I screwed up a little on each of their names! I thought I was naming Emily an unusual and old-fashioned name. In 2007 it was the most common female name in the USA. For Jesse, I had no idea there would be a huge crop of little girls his age named Jessica and called "Jessi", so he grew up complaining that I gave him a girl's name. Oh well, now that they are adults they seem to like the names OK.

Strangest name? Nero or Jason (born on Friday the 13th). Funniest name? I delivered a kid named Chevrolet after his dad's favorite car. Meaningful names? A beloved patient who was told her daughter would not live beyond a few days named the child "Mercy". Mercy is now a 9 year old girl.

We didn't name Emily for 24 hrs after she was born. We wanted to see which name fit her. It was "Leah" or "Emily". We saw Leah as slightly more mellow and pastel, Emily as fiesty. We chose the fiesty one. "Emily" means diligent. Here's a poem I wrote for Emmy on her graduation from college.

Fiercely Kind

Two names, one pastel, one fiesty
After a day we knew what fit.

Poet Nami speaks of truly knowing kindness.
I've known her from that moment of sweet, exhausted agony
when I held her in my arms.

Was it the club-footed baby playmate
or the village kindness poured on you by adoring African grandmothers?

Playground champion of oddball, freckle-faced redheads
Somehow you knew kindness from the start.

And not the pastel kind...

Waco High
Late night talks of chickens and eagles
bigotry, injustice and hurting friends.
Standing up to lazy science teachers and fervidly patriotic band leaders with the wrong God on the flagpole.
I was always glad you were an eagle.

Taking Chicago by storm.
Not for you the glittering department stores
or counting millionaires money in sky-scraper cubicles.
No, pregnant homeless teens would do your formation.

Emily, the fiesty choice.
Diligently kind
Social worker from day one.
I am fiercely proud of my fiercely kind girl.







By the way, to all the Leahs out there, I still love the name. Maybe I'll get a Leah as a grandchild someday.

Click on the 2 links below to see Christy on Moms Everyday with News Channel 10!

Certified Nurse Midwife Part 2 : Christy Miller : Moms Everyday

*Certified Nurse Midwife Part 2 : Christy Miller : Moms Everyday

Certified Nurse Midwife : Christy Miller : Moms Everyday

Certified Nurse Midwife : Christy Miller : Moms Everyday

Centering Pregnancy

When you're sitting in the waiting room hoping you'll get in to see your midwife sometime in the next century, do you ever think to yourself, "there must be a better way to do this?" Well, there is! It's called Centering Pregnancy. We're going to be offering a Centering Pregnancy program at Waco Center for Women's Health. It's a group prenatal care model that is sweeping the country. Women are grouped into "Centering Groups" of 6-10 people with due dates in the same month. When they arrive they do the usual blood pressure checks and weighing. Each woman then meets with the midwife in a private, partitioned-off corner of the room to listen to the baby heartbeat, measure growth and ask questions. While she is doing that, the other women are having a snack, visiting and preparing for the education session. Once all the babies have been checked the midwife and her co-facilitator lead the group in educational games, discussions and activities designed to fully prepare a family for a new baby. The entire process takes 2 hours, it starts and ends on time and it's chock full of good information and care. No waiting room! Private issues and problems are addressed in the traditional exam room when needed. Each patient has the same number of prenatal visits that they would have under the traditional care model. We are hearing rave reviews from patients who have done this style of prenatal care. So, ask us about this new type of prenatal care and we'll be glad to fill you in!

More Baby Party Pictures

4th Annual Baby Party - 2011