Picking the baby’s name: the most fun and sometimes most stressful or hardest thing to figure out. Here’s how we arrived at ours for our little miracle.
As diehard Phillies fans, you can probably figure out how we got his first name. But it went a little beyond that. This year Bryce Harper was the National League MVP. Just like Harper came out on top last year, our little Bryce is a winner, staying healthy and strong while his mom battled cancer.
Philly fans love Bryce Harper because of how hard he plays and hustles. He always gives his all, even in meaningless games at the end of the year. Like Harper, we want our Bryce and his mom to give it their all in their battles, something our little guy has done and something I will continue to do when I resume my chemo treatments.
Bryce Harper is tough. After getting hit in the face with a 96 mph fastball in a game last year, he walked off on his own. There is no doubt our little Bryce is already one tough dude.
Onto the middle name. Xander is a nickname of Alexander. The name means “defender or protector of man.” This little guy protected me. I was able to quickly get into treatment after my cancer diagnosis and have a great medical team working together to ensure Bryce and I are getting the best possible care. I also wonder if we even would have discovered the cancer or at least as quickly as we did if I hadn’t been pregnant so there is no doubt Bryce Xander protected me.
Xander also means “warrior or strong.” There is no doubt Bryce is strong and a warrior as he made it out a very healthy baby despite me having undergone half my chemo treatments. I also knew I had to be strong in order to ensure everything was ok with him. He gave me a reason to take care of myself and focus on staying strong even though it was very hard at times especially right after my diagnosis.
So it may seem like an over explanation but with this baby, things have just been a little bit more special and meaningful. And we are still in awe of this beautiful miracle, Bryce Xander.
