This past weekend we attended our second annual NICU reunion, meeting all ages of NICU graduates and parents (including us!) from years passed. The event had a professional photographer with one of our nurses ensuring big, excited smiles from the models (thanks Jess!). Other booths had kiddo activities, food, and baby books for us to enjoy at home. It is a great all ages, annual event that happens each October and something I hope to take the girls to for many years to come.
We spent just under a month in the NICU with Reagan [28 days]; Harper and Emerie followed their sister home just four days later [32 days]. Events like these remind me how lucky we are in this day and age to have access to the medical help we need, both for moms and for babies. A century ago my survival would have been questionable, let alone delivering three healthy kiddos. More realistically probably not, due to high blood pressure and eclampsia and a variety of other factors like c-sections and sterile hospital environments.
I count my blessings we had the care we needed, when we needed it, and was happy to keep them cooking for 33 weeks (maybe not so thrilled at the time but I am now!). Many other kiddos at the event were more premature than ours- I know their parents feel the same way I do and it is nice to see all the success stories. On the flip side, I definitely keep in mind that not all outcomes end up like mine- yet another reason to be so appreciative that my girls are healthy.
We saw a number of other twin and triplet sets, many who we see at play groups and who also spent some time in the hospital post birth. Lots of once premie singletons too! We visited with our favorite doctor, Doctor Mary Alice Johnson, and got this great picture of her with the girls, who cooperated momentarily.
Dr. Johnson with Reagan, Emerie, and Harper
Dr. Johnson was wonderful to have during our stay and instrumental in the health of our three little ones. I was definitely more confident as a new mom, recovering from major surgery with three, tiny babies hooked up to IVs and tubes, with her on our medical team.
The girls tried out a few little activities like the ring toss onto balloon antlers and “fishing”. They also ate some snacks, played with friends and ran amuck! Overall, a pretty good day.
I leave you with last year’s photo, full of tiny, six month old baby smiles. Hopefully this year’s picture will be equally as cute! ❤
We are currently in the thick of the 10th developmental leap for the girls, called the World of Systems. It is the last “baby” leap, occurring at about 18 months, and nicknamed the Fussy Phase– sounds awesome right?
Play time in full swing
A quick overview on what this developmental leap entails- now that the girls mentally understand more processes and that their actions can have varying results, they see everything in a more curious, yet mature mental state. They are certainly becoming little people!
A couple other notable things from this phase:
You can’t spoil babies, but you can toddlers!
Toddlers generally just want to be near you and have that personal attention (this is a lot harder with 3!)
Bring on the mischievousness.
With it comes more grumpiness and less sleep…nap time AND overnight.
After reading up on this particular leap (all-the-while experiencing it), I gave myself a mental activity to try during outings with the girls. With increasing mental capacity and curiosity of the world around them, I should try to think how a child would see and interpret new things; get away from the often mundane way adults view the world. Sometimes we forget how boring an adult can be. Being a kid is exciting! We also forget how interesting the little things can be when we are used to seeing things one way and not keeping our eyes open for the joy or excitement in it.
Harper cuddling Koda
The girls react to little things in such cute and random ways. For example, Reagan dumping out a bin of toys. She dumps out a few and reacts to the abrupt sound of toys hitting each other and the floor; then she dumps out the rest because it is fun! I can see Emerie’s mind figuring out how to sit in the doll stroller. She aligns herself, butt out, toward it, and tries to sit back. Sometimes it works, sometimes it rolls and she gets mad. Harper will sit and hug the dog, slowly petting her in a partial hug. I imagine she’s thinking what her fur feels like, how it’s different depending which way she pets, and she listens to Koda talk back to her.
I gave everyone pieces of mint grown on the back porch this past summer. It’s a smell that reminds me of summertime during my childhood…it smells so good. I showed them how to sniff the leaves. Reagan was all about sniffing and licking the leaves. Harper, on the other hand, was unimpressed entirely while Emerie just wanted to collect and carry them around.
Emerie and Harper testing out those front teeth
The other day I caught Emerie and Harper chewing on the old television stand. Very quietly, standing there, gnawing away. It must have felt oddly refreshing against those eight tiny, front teeth. I watch them sit in their comfy animal chairs- now instead of just sitting on them, they’ll turn one sideways and sit on it. Or they’ll lay across it or flip it upside down and lean on it. All new perspectives to something that’s been in the room for a few months, but has endless opportunity in the eyes of a toddler.
The girls precision is also improving. They will sit still and focus on putting shapes into the correct holes of their picnic basket, trying out incorrect holes methodically until they find the right one. They look around and find different things to add into the pink shopping cart, then watch the contents shift as they push it around the room. All so many interesting ways to look at things!
Last Saturday turned out to be one of the busiest days we’ve had in a while. With three separate outings and being out and about all day, it was anyone’s guess how the day would turn out or if the girls would be overstimulated. Surprisingly, they did great the whole time we were out, staying pleasant for nearly the entire day on a short, 30 minute car nap. Bedtime wasn’t quite so smooth, but we expected that. It was fun to have a full day of outings and see how the girls handled the new experience.
Craig took the girls to dad group in the morning for some play time (and man-time) while I cleaned and did a few household chores. We headed straight to the valley for fall, family photos after group. It took the girls longer than planned to doze off in the car, resulting in a short nap since photos started when we arrived. The day was beautiful. It was a little cold, with the fall crisp air making the girls arms a bit cold- but I was dedicated to their outfits and we went with it. We couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous afternoon, with the sun bouncing off the bright, fall colors at the Palmer Visitor Center. In true Brittany style, our session was quick and successful! I cannot wait to see the photos.
Harper and Reagan wandering off
Thinking about how the girls would view those photo sessions, you could see they love to explore the flowers and see the yellow, crinkly leaves on the ground. We tossed leaves at them to try to produce smiles and they curiously looked at them. Emerie, on the other hand, tried to pick up all the rotten crab apples off the ground and carry them. They likely felt squishy and cold and she carried around a handful for a few minutes; I don’t think she tasted any thank goodness. Reagan kept running across the pathways, giggling as we hollered to come back toward the camera. Harper did some great photos and then too went off after her sisters with big smiles. They are much more coordinated than when we took photos here in July. This time all three could run across the grass pathways without tumbling. They peeked at flowers and picked up more leaves and tried to grab everything out of Britany’s purse.
After photos we walked (wagoned) over to a little baby fair at the Palmer railroad station, peeked at a few vendors and I found two airplane books, and then loaded back up for the reindeer farm. On the walk back to the car, all three were attempting to lift their legs out of the wagon, feet up in the air. That was apparently quite comical and more fun than sitting there, enjoying the ride.
The reindeer farm was a hit. The girls petted reindeer, which surprisingly no one referred to as “kitties”. In fact, they were all very sullen, shy and quiet when we let them out on the wagon. Everyone did pet one though! And one reindeer really wanted to come home with us, eat out of the wagon, and check out all the contents of the diaper bag. He kept coming back for more! He tasted Reagan’s coat hood as well and she was not impressed.
I imagine that all three toddler minds were a bit overstimulated at this point in the day, with huge, furry animals (and antlers) walking about and a ton of people around. They did get a bit braver and walked around the pen after a few minutes. Afterwards everyone went for their first horse rides- Reagan wanted off by the end of hers while Harper and Emerie thought it was fun and looked a little happier about it. Emerie was a little unsure of it at first, giving me the “hell no mom” look, but after a few feet appeared to enjoy the experience.
I am still mildly shocked the day went off without a hitch on a 30 minute nap. Next year, when the girls are two, fall events will be a little more fun to experience and hopefully a bit easier. For now, I am happy to add this day into my memories as a good one with friends and gorgeous, Alaska weather.
What other things did I notice over the past week that an adult might not appreciate, but the girls find interesting?
With daily practicing of body parts, the girls now understand belly, nose, ears, and are learning where eyes are located. Everyone is extremely enthusiastic about their bellies (and yours too) and getting better at pointing to your nose or theirs. They find wearing bodysuits (as opposed to shirts) unacceptable when they can’t adequately show off their bellies to you when asked. Emerie took this newfound skill to a new level, shoving her finger right up her nose and walking around, making sure you know she knows the answer. It’s pretty cute until she comes after your nose! Reagan will tug on her ears-and I mean hard- when you ask where they are. I think she believes they weren’t there prior to her learning about them…so she tries to pull them off.
Emerie
Emerie continues to master the block building. She likes to walk around with two duplo blocks and put them together or pull them apart. She comprehends how they interlock and will sit there and focus on it. Her new understanding is impressive; and you can tell she is fascinated that she can do it! I know tower building is right around the corner and I can’t wait because that means we are one step closer to Lego’s! She also just discovered buckles and likes to buckle herself into the lunch table. Luckily she hasn’t figured out how to unbuckle yet; hopefully we have some time for that one. Everyone is fascinated by zipper pulls. This is great for fun, but not so great when they try to take their coats off when we want them on!
Reagan discovered somersaulting on the floor last week, without any help! Since before they were crawlers, everyone enjoys standing on their heads, wiggling their tiny butts in the air, giggling at the world upside down. Reagan was quite impressed the first time she went all the way over by herself and landed on her back. Why? Well the whole world moved, how cool is that?! Similarly, all three girls like to careen off the arm of the couch and flip over onto pillows, or onto a sister, or onto Mom or Dad. Harper seems to free fall off of it; I’m surprised her landings have gone so well this far.
Or just stand on the basket…
Another really cute toddler discovery is hugging. Harper will come up to you and strong arm you into a solid, double armed hug. It’s so sweet and she will hold it for a few seconds, with her head against yours. She’s a great hugger! I imagine she likes the feeling as it generally results in smiles and talking. Emerie will give you little hugs sometimes too. Reagan is not quite into it yet, but she will pull your arms tight when she wants to snuggle. If you move your arm, she will pull it back over her until she feels that compression. She’s learned this is a better snuggle position than simply being beside someone. The past few nights she demanded full on snuggling to sleep, something I am doing my best to appreciate since it won’t last forever!
After 18 months, our greyhound Kalli finally figured out she can get six, tiny toddler hands to pet her back. I’ve turned around several times this week to see the girls giggling and petting a very happy puppy.
Petting Kalli over the baby wall
The girls are learning to pretend “grocery shop” with lots of plastic, play food scattered everywhere in the family room. They all take turns with the pink, Minnie Mouse shopping cart, the doll stroller, or the smaller hand basket; sometimes they pile food into the toy bins and kitchen cabinets. Everyone mastered pretend eating, including the nom nom nom sounds that come with it. They will pretend sip out of tea cups, chew on the fake food (sometimes more than light chewing) and are starting to understand they can stack pieces together (like pieces of a cheeseburger).
Harper stacking the lotions
Harper prefers chewing the fake hotdogs; I’m guessing this is because it feels nice on her molars. Reagan often brings you food to share, and you better fake eat with her…she won’t take no for an answer and will hold it up to “bite” until you do it. You can see her imagination is expanding into the world of pretending. Emerie fills the cart or basket with food, condiments, leaves, sippy cups, or anything she can find and takes it places, usually accidentally dumping the contents out on the way to the destination. She gets all riled up if her sisters take over or grab things out of it. She enjoys collecting leaves in her shopping cart or any container within eyesight. Harper will add things to the cart, but is far more interested in pulling contents out of a box or bin and meticulously figuring out how to fit them back in. She’s gets very focused and always helps me put away the baby lotions after bath time, taking everything out and then replacing it back in the container. I mean…isn’t it so cool how everything fits!
Another fun realization relates to wind up cars (I know…not airplanes!). We’ve had several in the toy box for a while, but now they better understand how to use them and are starting to see they can make them drive without calling for assistance. I pulled up the rug in the living room and we drove cars back and forth for a while the other day. It is definitely exciting in the eyes of a kiddo- to be able to make tiny vehicles speed across the floor and bang into the wall, or furniture, or the dog…on the other side.
With the nanny out with the flu for the rest of the workweek, I used my day off to take the girls to one of the local recreational centers (along with half the parents in town) and let them run wild. It was great to catch up with a few twin moms and let the girls burn some energy. With such a dreary fall day, it was THE place to be! The center purchased new foam climbing mats since we last visited and the girls went to town playing on all the different pieces and shapes. Everyone liked to climb up the tall one, sit and “oversee” the other kids. Harper discovered a toy car that had a bouncy seat, Reagan liked to crawl through the tubes and underneath “tunnel” mats, and Emerie freely wandered the room and tried out everything, making friends along the way. Of course, I forgot to bring her glasses and patch. In the midst of the chaos of twenty-plus young children in one large room, the girls did great exploring new things and socializing with other toddlers. They climbed on everything and ran around. They made friends with a few other parents as well…parents that just happen to have some snacks…
Fingers crossed the flu stays out of our house (foreverrrrr). So far, so good. I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to be fully of teething babies again, so I think that is enough to deal with. For now, I will keep trying to see the fascinating things through the girls’ eyes and find new and fun things to teach them, or learn from them!
With an opening in the doctor’s schedule for Emerie’s upcoming surgery, we pushed it up to today instead of the following Tuesday. The first procedure in June corrected her blurred vision by conducting a lensectomy and removing the cataracts in her left eye. The surgery then added a new lens and we’ve worked with patching to improve her eye use.
My eye patching rock star!
Little Em
At her pre-op appointment yesterday
Today’s surgery, called an eye recession and resection, focuses on the muscles that control her left eye and will correct the lazy eye effects still hindering her. This is not considered a cosmetic surgery; while it repairs the look of a lazy eye and makes it less noticeable, it more importantly encourages her brain to use the damaged eye more and improves its focus and function. That is far more important than simply making it less visible to others, although that is a perk! The exterior eye muscle will be loosened and the interior one tightened to draw the eye in and minimize the wandering. The procedure is less invasive than the prior one but does result in a red, irritated eye for a couple of days.
There is a possibility she will need a third surgery in the future to do the same correction, as lazy eyes often shift back to some extent. With the nature of her eye issue, this is something that can be likely, but we won’t know for a while and it doesn’t happen to everyone. For now, straightening things out will hopefully assist her brain in using the bad eye even more than it currently has. We will continue with two hours of patching (of the stronger eye) each day and hope visibility improves.
Being silly with dad while the meds kick in.
Getting some early morning steps in
As I wrote this, Dr. Winkle came out with an update that everything went well and she is in recovery. She went back with him about 7:40 and was done by 8:25. Pretty quick! Just enough time to get donuts… after another hour we headed back to post-op and helped settle her before going home for the day.
Emerie was much more active this time around, so we wandered around the lobby when we checked in, she even helped me with my purse. Back in the pre-op area she did not want to sit still or be contained, even with the Versed medicine. In typical Emerie style, she spit some of that medicine right back in Craig’s face as he wrestled to give it to her. He can tell you that it doesn’t taste very good. She eventually became woozy from it, but still wanted to move around. Last time she just snuggled!
After her meds she sucked down a tiny cup of water. That plastic cup entertained her for a good 15 minutes, making her giggle as it crinkled against her teeth. It made for some silly pictures (see below!). She would not let the nurse take her forehead temperature, fought the anesthesiologist on checking her heart and lungs, and decided the pulse finger machine was permanently hers. In fact, the pulse machine went back with her into the operating room because she was literally not giving it up. She also got to walk back there with the doctor, not a nurse like last time.
I made the mistake of sipping my coffee thermos in front of her that was not appreciated, especially with the no food or drink rule before a surgery with anesthesia. Mental note for next time: don’t do that in front of her!
The dog walkers took Kalli and Koda for some adventuring this morning while we were out, hoping to tire them enough for calm puppies the rest of the day while Emerie settles in. Harper and Reagan get nanny and grandma playtime while I snuggle with Peanut.
For now, we are home. She was much happier in post-op than last time around. Instead of upset and crying, she was snuggly and very sleepy. She slept on the car ride home and is now totally out on my lap in the nursery.
Thank you everyone for the prayers and encouraging words for Miss Emerie. ❤
The past summer was hot. Super hot for us Alaskans that dislike hot weather and humidity! Our August maintained the warmer than normal temperatures, but when September hit, it was almost like a switch was turned and things went back to typical fall weather (rain, 60s, etc.). This temperature change, while welcomed by me for sure but not by most, brought on the first cold of the fall/winter season, giving us three snotty babies for the first two weeks of September.
This didn’t completely ruin our fall time- we continued to play outside and bundle up, and had our first puddle splashing adventure. That was a hit! The girls also realize the boots light up and will pull them out of the bin and bring me one to put on them when we are playing inside. Yes, that is Harper you see trying to eat the street puddle water. A moment after these photos everyone made a break for it and took off down the street (monitored).
Mom, put on my boots!
Tracking in leaves means more vacuuming. The girls always want to help!
Last winter the girls survived three colds total, all that mostly involved stuffy/snotty noses and fevers for all three simultaneously; only Harper ever developed a cough, which was more “flemmy” than a deep, scary chest cough. I’m pretty sure Craig and I managed to keep another cold or two at bay from the girls throughout last winter, mostly by crazy hand washing and special efforts not to spread our germs. Now that the girls are a little older, colds seem way easier to struggle through. It’s still not great, but it’s not completely unbearable. I’m telling myself that delirious point, because it might have simply been a minor cold they handled better than normal…trying to stay optimistic here, folks.
Anyway, last weekend we had one night and following morning with a seriously grumpy Reagan, which is generally unlike her. By the time we made it to the doctor that afternoon, she had an ear infection and blown left ear drum. Poor babe. By evening the medicine kicked in and her mood significantly improved.
Over the last week Harper and Emerie started tugging at their ears a little and were grumpier than usual. While I don’t always assume it is an ear infection, I figured maybe getting over the cold prompted the ear issues. After another doctor visit, we determined Harper was in the clear and Emerie had a minor infection.
Harper on the slide
Em looking at the ducks
Reagan on the slide
While I don’t like my babies to feel sick, the snuggles are pretty nice since they rarely sit still for any period of time when feeling good. We went to the park a couple of times, even with the rain, played outside all bundled up, and met up with some friends. Looming colds or ear infections are not going to stop the adventures hit year; hopefully they will be minimal and everyone will stay in good spirits when we can’t outrun them.
We discovered a lone, tennis ball at the park that turned in to quite the toddler adventure. Throw the ball…watch all the babies chase it…pick it up, they throw it toward you, and repeat. Lots of open space to burn energy, fill up on giggles, and have some good ‘ole entertainment. Next visit to that park, I am bringing a soccer ball! Enjoy.
What is in a name? We tend to use names so often over the years that we never really think what a name really means or how it was originally selected. Someone asked us the other day how we arrived on each of the girls’ names- that made me think I hadn’t written that down yet.
It took the entire pregnancy (7 months at least) to come up with three names that both Craig and I agreed on and that flowed together. Figuring we would eventually be yelling them all in a row, they needed to match at least enough that we wouldn’t have a word jumble every time. It didn’t take us long to come up with three boy names, since we counted on having three boys. In fact, we hardly even considered any girl names before finding out the sexes, simply because Craig’s whole side of the family is a line of Douglas boys. But no, to our surprise…alllllll girls!
Craig had a gut feeling it was going to be girls after our 16 week ultrasound, when the doctor told us she was about 90% certain on all three and said she wished to be a fly on the wall when we figured it out. She wrote down her results on three, individual sticky notes. Sitting in the car, we decided we couldn’t just look at them sitting there; but, we also couldn’t go home and let them burn a hole through our kitchen table and our sanity. Instead we went to Target, picked out six small accessories (3 girl and 3 boy) and three cute boxes, and went up to the Customer Service desk. The guy and girl working there definitely laughed at our request, but also complied. They took all six items and the sticky notes. We walked around the store while they boxed up items corresponding to the notes and hid the remainder from view. Once done, we paid for the secret items and headed home.
Plus you get to dress up little girls so cute!
That is how we discovered what is now our everyday reality. Opening the boxes one by one, and then Face-timing family and doing it again.
People ask us if we intentionally planned spelling out their initials as “HER” for a set of identical girls. This was not something we even noticed or thought of, and was actually pointed out by a nurse after everyone officially had their names. It is quite the funny coincidence, since the letters correctly spell the word and could have easily ended up in a different order. If you really want to get silly about initials, it actually spells out “HERD” if the last name is included. And that is correct…we have a HERD of girls.
We started out with a few key rules in our “name the triplets” game:
All names had to flow and be easy to say in a row.
No names with the same starting letter and none that rhymed!
Both Craig and I had veto rights, and could outright deny anything we hated and it would come off the list.
Middle names would be family names.
No one received their name until we saw them post birth, in case it didn’t match them.
As they continued cooking, we called everyone Baby A, Baby B, and Baby C and associated any heath risks and measurements to each specific letter. Before b-day we asked the doctor if they could be delivered by the A/B/C, since that was how we associated who was who, and she agreed that was doable and that they were aligned to make that possible. At that point they were distinguishable by minor features in the womb, Baby A and B shared a placenta, with Baby B about 20% smaller than A, and Baby C had her own placenta/sac and matched in weight with Baby A. They were also distinguishable to me as the baby that sat on my bladder (Baby A), the baby that snuggled with my stomach so I filled up on food quickly (Baby B), and the baby that hid out in my rib cage (Baby C).
I can’t remember exactly, but I believe we finalized all three names a couple weeks before delivery. Knowing that I wasn’t going to make the 36 week mark, but hopeful to make it past 32, we put some effort in until we finalized to Harper, Emerie, and Reagan. It’s funny that all three names are technically gender neutral; we could have named three boys the same and it would have worked. I remember thinking back then how significant it was to have names defined; it seemed much more real! I also remember telling myself someday I will look back and smirk at some of the choices we almost used, simply because the girls fit into their names so well now that I can’t imagine them by anything else.
I’m happy to report no one’s name is on the top 5 girl (or boy) names in the United States in 2018, although Harper is in the top 10. In 2018 in Alaska, Harper landed at #8 (no wonder we meet so many Harper’s!), Emerie (spelled with a “y”) is at #95, and Reagan at #54. The list is fun to look at, check it out here; some of our twin friends did quite well picking out uncommon names!
Harper Anne
Miss Harper Anne, our Baby A and oldest by 30 seconds, was our easiest name to agree on. Craig and I had “Harper” picked out before any other name and planned to use it for a boy or a girl. I secretly hoped to use it for a girl (worked out nicely!), but was okay with either sex because the name is just so cute. Too bad so many other people think that right now too, as Harper is one of the most popular, trendy names, rising significantly in popularity in the past decade. We claim we picked it out before it was so popular; in fact, we coached a little girl in soccer a few years back named Harper. She was the cutest thing (about 3 years old), even though she wasn’t really a fan of the sport, and it sparked our interest in the name. Harper ranks #9 of the 10 favorite names in 2018, according to the Social Security Administration, with over 10,000 girls receiving it in 2018.
So what does Harper mean? I’m betting you could guess it, because yes, it means “harp player” or “someone who plays the harp.” At one point in history this was a very important figure. Very creative, I know. Would I prefer it to say soccer player or someone who plays soccer? Sure, but then the name would just sound weird! It originated in England and currently popularity is often attributed to Harper Lee, the famous writer of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Harper’s middle name is Anne, with an “e”, which is also my middle name, my Mom’s first name, and trickled down the maternal side of the family line in a few other places as well. It is less popular now than when I was born, although likely a good pick for middle names for a lot of people (I can’t look that stat up). Anne is Hebrew in origin and means “full of grace” or “gift of God’s favor.”
So to some it up, Harper Anne means harp playing gift of God’s favor ❤
Emerie Faye
Miss Emerie Faye was our hardest name to decide on and our last decision. We went back and forth on a few others before hearing this one day at soccer and thinking it was cute and less common. We went back and forth a bit on spelling, as I felt “Emery” was more masculine (plus I have family with this spelling)- this version is more popular. I just couldn’t get behind “Emeri” without the last “e” and I knew a few other folks that used “Emori” or “Emory”, eventually landing us on Emerie. I think it’s feminine and it fit her! In 2018, it was ranked 688th on the female popularity chart with around 400 baby girls receiving the name that year.
What does Emerie mean? Very fitting to her personality, it means brave and powerful or a version of “powerful home.” Originating from the French, it eventually shifted to a variant of “Amory”; in England, pulling from Emaurri, meaning busy, industrious, and power. I think that all fits her quite well.
Emerie’s middle name, Faye, is after her Grandma Shelly (Faye). While not blood related, I consider Shelly a second Mom, friend, and now Grandma! She was very instrumental in my teenage years and the babies (and I!) adore her. Like her first name, Emerie’s middle name also sits about the same place on the popularity scale, with about 400 babies receiving it as a first name last year. Faye, which is old French, means fairy or elf.
How fitting is that?! Her name means brave or powerful fairy. So fun!!
Reagan Jean
Some say Miss Reagan Jean might be named after the popular show Blue Bloods, but really we just thought the name was pretty and unique (of course I love Blue Bloods too…so there is that…). It is a nice, strong name and I believe that fits her well. It has never ranked higher in popularity than #97 in 2016, so we will see if a new trend begins for it. I have seen a few baby Reagan’s on my triplet page this past year.
What does Reagan mean? Originally Irish, it means “little ruler” for girls and “little king” or “kingly” for boys. The name became more popular after Ronald Reagan’s presidency- that makes me laugh- when family visited in September, a couple of the boys were calling her Ron. She does not answer to that name haha.
Jean is after Craig’s Grandma Barbara, the girls’ great grandma, and a form of Grandma Sue’s middle name…It isn’t on the top 1000 names in the past 20 years (only thing I could find is it is #1,479!), meaning it took us 6 names to get to a super uncommon one! It is also from Hebrew origin (later Scottish for girls and French for boys), meaning “God is gracious” or “gift from God.”
In summation, Reagan Jean means little ruler and gift from God.
Want to know what your name ranks according to Social Security records? It is pretty cool to see- check it out here.
While the girls aren’t using sentences and phrases yet, they’ve known each other’s and their own names for quite some time. If I call Harper, the other two will look at Harper and she will turn toward me. The same goes for Emerie and Reagan. While they don’t verbally say each others’ names yet, they definitely have an understanding of the association and who is who. I can’t wait to see them verbalize in a mirror and see if they recognize themselves or call the reflection one of their sisters’ names. Should be fun to see.
The Douglets 