Picking names: Vera and Laura (plus new pictures)
First off, we went back to the doctor this week and everything looks good with the girls. Vera is slightly larger than her sister but we were told that this is normal in fraternal twins since they are in reality not any more alike than any other siblings. Here are their latest ultrasound pictures:
Jose and I have finally decided on the name for our second twin: Laura. I felt bad for a while since we had known from the beginning that if we were going to have a girl that we would name her Vera. It is a name that we both liked but it isn't a family name or one that has any special kind of meaning in reality. I just think it's beautiful and like that it is short and simple. When we found out we were going to have two girls we started to explore other names. For me it was important to chose names that would be easy for people to pronounce both in the U.S. and here in Spain. I didn't want to have a trendy name or one that was invented (which seems to be happening a lot in the U.S. these days).
We started making a list of names that we both liked and narrowed them down to: Nora, Mariella, Laura and Elena. We asked our families' opinions but to be honest they weren't very helpful since they all seemed to like a different one. In the end we chose Laura because it is a beautiful name, a classic (plus I have an aunt named Laura). There is a slight difference in the way you pronounce Laura here in Spain. First think of the "ow" sound in the words cow or allow. That is the vowel sound that the "au" makes when you say Laura here in Spain. In reality I think both versions are nice but I might be correcting people for a while.
Yesterday we went to have a 3D ultrasound done which was pretty exciting. We got to see both girls better than we had before, although following her pattern of behavior Laura decided not to turn and kept covering her face with her arms. Apparently she is also had her legs tucked up in front of her which didn't really work for our glamour shots. At least we know that their attitudes haven't changed.
The first picture is of Laura. It's the best we could get and you can see a bit of her face in profile which she didn't want to show. If you look carefully you can see her ear and her eyes but it's difficult. She has her hand in front of her face.
This second picture is of Laura's foot and leg which she had tucked up against her chest. I only hope she is comfortable but I imagine her sister is taking up all the room.
Vera was much easier to see. Here is her little face.
And here she is trying to hide when she got sick of what the ultrasound technician was doing.
Since I am expecting twins we had to have our 3D ultrasound done a bit earlier since eventually they will run out of room and not be able to move around a lot. Women with single pregnancies can go later and can see more details. I was pleasantly surprised with the experience because now we have an idea of what our girls will look like. Jose said that he thought Laura looked a lot like my niece Daphne and my mother-in-law thinks Vera will have my lips. I guess we will have to wait and see.
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| Here is probably the best picture we have gotten of Laura |
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| And here is Vera |
We started making a list of names that we both liked and narrowed them down to: Nora, Mariella, Laura and Elena. We asked our families' opinions but to be honest they weren't very helpful since they all seemed to like a different one. In the end we chose Laura because it is a beautiful name, a classic (plus I have an aunt named Laura). There is a slight difference in the way you pronounce Laura here in Spain. First think of the "ow" sound in the words cow or allow. That is the vowel sound that the "au" makes when you say Laura here in Spain. In reality I think both versions are nice but I might be correcting people for a while.
Yesterday we went to have a 3D ultrasound done which was pretty exciting. We got to see both girls better than we had before, although following her pattern of behavior Laura decided not to turn and kept covering her face with her arms. Apparently she is also had her legs tucked up in front of her which didn't really work for our glamour shots. At least we know that their attitudes haven't changed.
The first picture is of Laura. It's the best we could get and you can see a bit of her face in profile which she didn't want to show. If you look carefully you can see her ear and her eyes but it's difficult. She has her hand in front of her face.
This second picture is of Laura's foot and leg which she had tucked up against her chest. I only hope she is comfortable but I imagine her sister is taking up all the room.
Vera was much easier to see. Here is her little face.
And here she is trying to hide when she got sick of what the ultrasound technician was doing.
Since I am expecting twins we had to have our 3D ultrasound done a bit earlier since eventually they will run out of room and not be able to move around a lot. Women with single pregnancies can go later and can see more details. I was pleasantly surprised with the experience because now we have an idea of what our girls will look like. Jose said that he thought Laura looked a lot like my niece Daphne and my mother-in-law thinks Vera will have my lips. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Hi Allie,
ReplyDeleteThese little ones are going to be bilingual! Are you going to speak English to them while José speaks to them in Spanish? Somehow I remember research says that their brains will sort out the sounds. As an ESL teacher, what do you know about this? Thanks. ¡Feliz año nuevo!
Sorry I took so long to reply (I blame it on the holidays). The plan is that I will speak in English and Jose in Spanish mostly but that he will also make an effort to speak in English. I have also read that bilingual kids might take longer to start talking but that they eventually catch up. From what I understand they will automatically use the language that is easiest and most appropriate for the situation and that it isn't a good idea to force them to use one or the other. I am excited to see how they develop!
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