Nombre

The Name.  Such a seminal decision for the parent.  It has the potential to be a curse, the potential to be famous (or infamous) and the potential to lead her to her destiny.  And so many things to consider: should it roll easily off of the tongue, how many letters is too much,  and the most important - which one leads to the least amount of schoolyard taunts. 

We won't be announcing the name until after her birth - primarily to avoid commentary, but also because in some cultures, including the Jewish tradition, it's considered to be bad luck to announce the name prior to the birth.

We will be naming our daughter after relatives, so we can tell you the letters that her first and middle names will start with: S and D.

In the Jewish tradition, children are named after relatives by using the first letter of the name of a relative.  Ashkenazic Jews (such as Seth's family) are Jews who descended from Europe.  They name after relatives who have passed on.  Sephardic Jews are Jews who descend from Africa and the Iberian peninsula and they name after relatives who are living (my ancestry involves Jews from Persia and so I'd like to think we would follow the Sephardic tradition had we not converted back in 345 AD).

The first name of our daughter will start with the letter "S" - after Susanna (aka Thankamma) - my paternal grandmother.  Susanna is her baptismal name, Thankamma is the name she goes by daily.  She married at the age of 15 and gave birth to nine children (one died when he was 2 years old).  She came from a wealthy and prominent family and married my grandfather who was the only son of another wealthy family. Apparently my grandfather did not have any business acumen and proceeded to lose most of the family wealth after his father passed away.  As a result, my father and his siblings grew up very poor.  My grandmother endured quite a bit of hardship, even going without meals so her children could eat.  She also raised me until I was two years old in India, while my parents were able pass exams and get on their feet.   As her first granddaughter, I've always had a special connection with my grandmother.  Today she is almost 95 years old and the ultimate matriarch of our family, the vast majority of which ended up in America.  She is the last living sibling of her family and has seen the birth of a great-great grandchild.   I hope my daughter has her strength and beauty.

Our daughter's middle name will begin with the letter "D" - after David, Seth's maternal grandfather.  David Routman lived in Sharon, Pennsylvania his whole life, working various jobs including owning and operating a Golden Dawn grocery store.  For all of those years that he owned the Golden Dawn, Grandpa Dave only took four days off during the year - Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  He married Helen Routman and had two girls: Jackie and Roberta (aka Bobbi, Seth's mother).  Helen passed away when Seth's mother was just 25 years old - she was buried on what would have been their 38th wedding anniversary.  Eventually, Grandpa Dave got remarried to Fanny Pearlman, Seth's step-grandmother - the only grandmother Seth has known on his maternal side, since Helen died before he was born.  David and Fanny continued to reside in Sharon and were married for 25 years until his death at the age of 89 in 2000.  He has been described as a tall, gentle man with a hearty laugh.  I hope our daughter has his gentle manner and hearty laugh.

Update on me:  I'm still feeling pretty good, though at 34 weeks I'm really slowing down.  My lower-back is achy, and I'm generally tired because I am not sleeping well (between trying to find a comfortable position, having to use the bathroom and the occasional leg cramp).  I've gained about 25 pounds and my feet feel every one of them by the end of the day.   The image below was taken today and you can see the beginnings of her nursery.