Alexa was always Shae

Since finding out the gender at our 20 week appointment, Tony and I went through just about every girl name in the book!  Every other day I would text Tony a name I liked while he was at work (oops) and he would give me a thumbs up/thumbs down.  Finally at about month 8 of my pregnancy we had decided on two names for our baby girl - Alexa & Shae!  Alexa was always a name we liked from the very beginning and Shae came later on.  So here's the story about how it all happened :)

About a week before I was due, I asked Tony for his honest opinion in which name he liked better.  He always said that it was my decision, but when forced - he admitted he liked Alexa slightly better than Shae because it had more syllables and more nicknames.  I agreed for the most part, but for whatever reason just couldn't get over the name Shae!  So anyways, that Monday morning (12:30am) when I went in to the hospital to deliver Shae, the doctor asked me in between pushes what her name was!  I didn't know for sure at that point because I figured I'd have a few hours of labor to really think and decide.  After Shae was born, there were a few nurses trying to get her to breathe and pumping her stomach - the last thing I cared about was what her name was!  After we finally got a cry and I started to breathe again the doc asked me again.  I looked at Tony and he said "it's up to you".  I said that we can call her Alexa Louise Brown.  He nodded his head and smiled.  That image still sticks.  Here he was holding Alexa at the time, smiling when I told him her name was Alexa.  How could I not call her that!?  To shorten the story a little bit, basically the next 2 weeks I cried because I would look at her and 100% see SHAE.  I didn't know what to call her.  Alexa? Lex? Lexi?  Nothing came off my tongue with ease.  Tony knew I felt this way.  Finally, the day before we left Okinawa FULL of excitement and tiredness, I told Tony I liked Shae better.  And guess what, HE AGREED!  My first emotion was relieved and happy and my next thought was Sh**, now what?  My sister told me after "Alexa" was born that it was possible to change her name.  Even though at the time I knew I could, I couldn't fathom doing any more paper work or making phone calls.  PCS'ing and buying 2 houses online within a span of 3 months was not necessarily fun...and then to add even more to the mix.  But that day before we left, I made a decision and went with it.  I changed her name through social media at 2:00am before getting up at 5:00am to catch our flight back to the states.  When I woke at 5:00am I turned to Tony and said "I changed Alexa's name last night".  His response was just a shake of the head and a smile.  It felt incredibly right and still does.

Lets try this again.  Meet Shae Louise Brown :)