I told Titus (then 2) that there was a baby in my belly. "Baby in mama's belly and monkey in mama's back" was his toddler response.

I was scared for this pregnancy. I'd had two miscarriages and the thought of a third sent me into shivers. This made bonding with baby hard for me.

But thankfully, my little blue-eyed boy bonded hard and fast.

He held and kissed my belly. "I wanna hold baby," he'd say while I would read him Where the Wild Things Are and Goodnight Moon.

He'd listen to my growing belly with his stethoscope.

And then he started calling the baby "Sophie."

"Sophie?" we'd say. "Where did you get that name? We don't know if baby is a boy or a girl yet."

"Sophie is her name," he'd say.

My husband and I rolled our eyes and told each other that we weren't going to let our child name our other child.

But then the due date of the baby came after an ultrasound. The date? June 20th. The exact same due date as our little Titus. What a strange connection!

And then the gender was revealed. A girl!

Titus kinda looked at us with a told ya so gaze.

But still. We weren't going to let our two-year old name our baby. So we made the list: Stella, Scarlett, Lucia, Eliza, Liv, London....

My nights were spent dog-earing pages in the name book.

"What do you think about this one?" I'd ask my husband Perry.

But still our 2-year-old kept telling everyone "Sophie" was in his mama's belly.

"What a great name!" everyone would say. Then we'd have to say that we hadn't made the decision yet. Naming was up to the parents and not the child. Titus didn't get to choose the name.

So we still made lists. And told him her name wasn't "Sophie."

But then one night, as we were snuggled in between the covers, Titus prayed, "Thank you God for sending us baby Sophie."

And how is a pregnant, hormonal mama not to cry at that song of love?

So that prayer of praise sealed the deal.

Baby girl's name from that evening forward was Sophie.

And we still thank God every single day for sending us baby Sophie.

(PHOTOS BY LEIGHANN GILES)

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