Letters to Poetwig: What's in a Name?

Dear Baby,

You already have many nicknames, even if we do not yet know if you are a boy or a girl. I call you Poetwig as my online handle (bear with your geeky mommy) is Poetree. Someone dubbed you Poetwig, a small branch off a larger tree, and it stuck. Your daddy calls you Baby, Beebee, the little Beebee, and Beebee Rascal for how much you move around on ultrasound in Mommy’s tummy.

Do people grow into their names? Do they sometimes become the legendary figures that they are named after? Do they possess the characteristics that their name suggests—Grace, Chastity, Belle for beauty? David, the giant slayer, Jonathan, a gift from God.

I don’t know a lot of things about your future. I don’t even know what we will call you. I write these letters to you so that one day we can sit together and reflect back on these early times. So for now, all your nicknames you will be known as—Poetwig, Baby, Rascal—until one day we can truly call you by name.