Ephraim Alexander Beckman

Yeah, he's pretty cute.

So there are plenty of questions about the name change and our reasons, so I thought I'd clear that up.

Etienne was our choice for quite awhile for his first name, it is the French variation on Stephen.  We decided on that for awhile, because I thought it would be cool to have another Stephen in the family -Stephen, Stepheni, and Etienne- and Stepheni liked it because it was a family name.  We still like the name, but when it came time to put it down on paperwork and even before then we had second thoughts.  Every time Stepheni would tell someone what his name was going to be, we always had to repeat herself, sometimes several times, and it would always get weird looks.  We didn't want him to go through that his whole life, yeah he could have gone by Alex or Alexander from his middle name, but then why name him Etienne in the first place?

Second off, there was no real motivation to name him that beyond being a unique name.

So, we began looking back at our list and started over by looking at all the names we did like.  Yesterday, when the missionaries came to accompany me in giving Stepheni a blessing, it meant so much to me that they were worthy, willing, and excited to help us.  I want to teach Ephraim that story as he grows up and tie that in with his name just like Helaman did with his sons Nephi and Lehi (Helaman 5:6-7) in the Book of Mormon.

"Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.  Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them."

So, we considered the Elder's names, which didn't ring right, and several others, and finally settled on Ephraim, the "missionary" tribe.  It will be a good point of teaching, a great example, and a good reminder of righteousness and responsibility.  We prayed about it finally and felt good about our decision.  

Alexander ties in well with it as well, he being Stepheni's great-grandfather and one of the first members to join the Church in Norway, even when it was still illegal to do so.  Stepheni will talk more on that in her own blog.  

Hope this clears it up!

A moment's respite (i.e. the calm before the storm part 2)

I'm still waiting for screaming at some point, none yet.

We got in to see the midwife this morning at about 10am and spent some time there on this crazy little contraption that measures the baby's heart rate and the contractions.  It was fun to see how the machine worked and try to get baby to move for us.  Speaking of which, we are now trying to finalize the name we are picking for him.  I'm in favor of Ephraim, but we want to wait to see him to decide finally.

We spent today running around and finalizing some stuff, getting a breast pump to use and try to get some oxytocin flowing to get the contractions to work for us before we would have to go to the hospital.  For awhile they were coming on, a little randomly but every few minutes and lasting for at least 45 seconds to a minute.  We took a few careful walks and mostly just tried to keep moving.  The goal is to get some real labor going by 3am (24 hours after her water broke) or they will have to use pitocin, which we are trying to avoid since they make the contractions a bit more painful than they normally would be.

We checked into the hospital at around 9, and they immediately got her into a room.  Her gown is pretty cute, but she wouldn't let me show any of those pictures to the public, alas.  Luckily they have wifi here so I can work on stuff while Stepheni is resting.

Truth be told I would rather be the one in bed with an IV and having contractions, Stepheni takes better care of me than I do of her and I don't like seeing her in pain like this.  I keep a smile on my face and keep positive, for Stepheni and for her mom who has been fretting back in Illinois.

Thanks for all the prayers and the love.