What are your names and your child’s name?
Our names are Clayton Shelvin, Andy Forester and our daughter is Lyla Jane Forester-Shelvin
How did you decide on your Lyla’s name?
We were sure that we wanted to honor Andy’s late mother so that’s where we got her middle name “Jane” from. We were in the hotel room only a few hours after she had been sent home with us and we were trying to think of names. We were listening to music and heard the Oasis song called “Lyla”. She reacted to the song and it was super sweet, so the name stuck.
How did you decide what Lyla would call you?
Andy was pretty sure that he wanted to be called “daddy”. My (Clayton) grandfather was called “Pop” and it was just a way for me to continue the legacy since I am named after him.
How did you decide her last name? Is it hyphenated?
It is important for her to have a piece of both of us to carry with her always so we wanted to hyphenate both of our last names. We both have strong ties to our families and wanted her to be a part of that on both sides of the family.
What were you most afraid of about becoming a parent?
Honestly, overall I think we were both ready to face whatever would come with parenthood. We had been going through the adoption process for 3 years, which gave us plenty enough time to ease our minds and overcome fears. I think we both really feared the idea that something would go wrong in the adoption process where we would fall in love with a child, only to have her taken from us. The idea of it is painful, but we knew there was a real chance of that.
What is the most rewarding part of being a parent?
I think it’s the idea that our family feels complete and solidified. I’ve always feared not being able to be parent, and now that emptiness I once felt is filled with love, laughter and so much joy. I feel this complete sense of pride for what my husband and I have accomplished and feel honored that we get to be Lyla’s dads
What do you do for fun as an entire family?
We live in New Orleans, so getting to go out and explore food is something we love. We decided that we wanted Lyla to get accustomed to going out to restaurants and being in social settings, so we try to go out with her weekly for a meal. We love taking walks in our neighborhood with her and our dogs, and recently got an annual pass to the zoo and aquarium, so we can go anytime we all just need to get out of the house and beat the heat.
What is a “must have” item you use?
Two absolute must haves have been this Lullyboo Travel Bassinet. It has come in handy when she passes out in public, or when we want to safely have her in our bed on mornings that we want to sleep in. Also, the Baby Bjorn is the only way we can still get things done around the house. We use it to garden with her, cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping. We have two of them, just to make sure that one is always clean and ready to go!
Describe your parenting styles. Is one parent stricter?
I definitely know that I (Clayton) am much more of the softie. Her crying is my kryptonite. I also like doing a lot of reading on parenting and babies, in an attempt to get multiple opinions on issues or questions. Andy is much more of the dad who keeps Lyla on schedule. He also is the one who will want to teach her constantly and show her new things. He has so much patience when it comes to those things. We make a great team. She gets the best of all things!
Finish this sentence… “To me, family is….”
unconditional love that binds human beings through patience, kindness, sacrifice and endurance.
