For one end of the spectrum, take Brooklyn. Brooklyn is the 37th most popular girl’s name in the U.S. The closer you get to Brooklyn, New York, though, the less popular it gets. In New York State and New Jersey, the name has never cracked the top 100. Brooklyn-the-borough has such a powerful image there that namers stay away from it. But far from the Big Apple, where Brooklyn has less daily reality, the pretty sound and vaguely big city edge make the name extremely popular — it’s top-10 in Utah and South Dakota.

At the other extreme, Savannah is more popular in Georgia than in the US overall. Virginia the name was for several years most popular in the state of Virginia, and Caroline remains especially hot in the Carolinas. (Want to explore this on your own? Try the BabyNameWizard.com NameMapper tool.)

Part of the calculation is whether the image of the place fits the name’s style. Brooklyn, New York is many fine things, but sweet and girlish don’t top the list. Savannah, in contrast, is just right for Savannah, Georgia’s southern charm. In fact, the portrait of the city of Savannah in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil helped make the baby name popular.

Another factor is the name’s associations beyond the place. This is where Charlotte really shines. It’s a classic girl’s name, linked to centuries of culture from Charlotte Brontë to Charlotte’s Web to the Charlotte of Sex and the City. Even a city as strong as Charlotte, NC can’t dominate the name. As a result, Charlotte remains quite popular in your state. So go ahead and give your child the beautiful gift of your “absolute favorite name.” Your fellow North Carolinians should welcome her with open arms.

“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” — E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web (I do love this book. It will be great when she reads it in the 1st or 2nd grade.)

On seeing the tacky floral arrangement at Miranda’s mother’s funeral, “They were supposed to say ‘I’m sorry. I love you.’ not ‘You’re dead. Let’s disco!'”- Charlotte, Sex and the City

From Wikipedia– Charlotte’s population was estimated by the US Census Bureau to be 709,441 in 2009 (the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce insists it is higher in mid-2010, at 756,912),^[1] making it the 18th largest city in the United States based on population.

The last few weeks of pregnancy as I nested, I unpacked all the stuff I thought I’d use in the first month.  Most of it I have.  It’s funny, there are things I had no idea would be so crucial to our sanity and the survival of our child.  Here’s what I used the most…

1.  The Bouncy Seat-  The Mama Roo is upstairs and the bouncy seat is downstairs.  Since we’re most often downstairs she has lived in this thing.  If you’ll remember, it’s washable and crap resistant.  My father-in-law said he wished seats like that came in adult sizes.  I agree, she does look comfy.

Look how tiny my Little Sugar looks in her seat!  She’s just a few days old in this pic.

Okay, I took this pic with my phone when it was still kind of dark, sorry.  I love her little hat all askew!

Charlotte after her bath tonight (with squirt bottle assistance) at 5 weeks & 1 day.

Oh the subtleties of infant development!  This was Charlotte sitting in her bouncy seat this weekend.  She’s so little, she doesn’t do much.  So, when this happens, we are those parents who lose their effing minds over our baby touching a toy on a mobile.  For all I know she could’ve been doing it by accident, but I LOVED it!  We were so freaking proud of this.

When it comes to snow, there are two types of Southerners…

(Please excuse my face without make-up and my obnoxiously long hair.  It grows so fast in the third trimester!  I haven’t gotten it cut yet.) I’m not sure what Charlotte thinks of the snow, but she sure looked cute pondering it.  Maybe she’ll inherit a sensible view of winter weather thanks to her Colorado father.  Bundle up ya’ll!

Dear Charlotte,
Has it really been a month since we met you and you became our “Somebody?”  A whole month as officially “Somebody’s Parents?”  It has.  You’re a month old today.

You’ve made our introduction to parenthood better than we could have ever imagined.  You are a wonderful baby.  We wish we could attribute how great you are to our superior parenting skills.  But, we don’t have those.  You’re just a great kid.  You hung in there as we fumbled through the first diaper changes and got the snaps on your Onesies askew.  Occasionally you gave us looks like, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”  That may have been when I dressed you in a foofy outfit that was way too big for you to leave the hospital.  Or it may have been when we nervously put you in the bath for the first time, deathly afraid your little face would hit the water.

I’ve been careful not to say “I can’t wait until she…”  I want to enjoy every phase of your life.  If the rest of your babyhood/childhood/teen years fly by like the first month has, I don’t ever want to wish time away.  So I’ve tried to soak up every moment of you as a sleepy, snuggly newborn.

This month we’ve watched you as you slept and then slowly started coming to life a little more each day.  We were amazed at how you grew.  You and I figured out nursing and feedings together.   Daddy and I laughed at your “milk-drunk” face and giggled at clothes that seemed to swallow your little body up.  We worried about your baby acne and whether you were eating enough.  We got nervous when anyone with the slightest sniffle or cough came near you.  We beamed with pride when family and friends admired you.  We jumped out of bed at the slightest noise you made in the night.  We stared at you and admired how beautiful you are.  It was hard to believe you were here and you were ours.

As your mother, when I met you it was like a whole part of my heart opened up that I never even knew existed.  For that, I can never thank you enough.  I have so many dreams for you and I look forward to watching you grow.  But, I will never forget your first month.  I love you Charlotte, my darling, darling girl.

Love,
Mama