Not sure where to put this

If it's a girl I vote for a real feminine name. I don't know why but it seems to me like that would fit. If it's a boy then... Um... I dunno. Squirt?

Of course, all votes can be vetoed (:

I'm leaning towards Allie or Rita (Señorita) if it's a girl, Robbie if it's a boy is what I've got so far. Ok. Breaks over. Must hit the road again.... I want to get home!!!

I think she looks like an Emme if she's a girl.

You wait a few months and she'll colour up nicely. I'm really amazed by the way these birds change over a few months. Tika bit the shitters out of me when we were picking our two, but she bonded with my OH straight away and was gonna be his bird we brought her home, and since we brought her home we know we made the right choice. Really funny cause I had put her in my definitely not list, but the OH put her in his definitely yes list

I like Robbie insanely much! And Emily or Em or Emme if it's a she.

And drive safe!

I like señorita she looks like an Emily to me too

the pic is up and she is beautiful....congratulations


dusty

She's a cutie! And if we're voting, I actually like Allie!

I really really like Emme, buuuttt.... I'm trying to stay with family names (which is why I wouldn't use Rita, even though I think it's cute). My Grandmother's names were Aleen (pronounced AL-een) and Roberta, which is where I came up with Allie and Robbie. I also thought of my Grandpa, Reuben, the deritive would be Ruby, which fits with the coloring nicely. I keep running into problems with boy names though... I'm not to keen on a bird named Reuben, my other Gpa's name is Jack, and my son's name is very similar sounding... So that wouldn't work right now. PLUS, any name has to be two syllables... Soooooo. I like to keep things challenging, right? Lol!

One other thing, if my guess based on my very inexperienced pelvic examination of this little chickie turns out to be correct, this baby is a girl! I can't wait to see if I'm right!

I'm sorry

I'm glad you found another babe though

Wow, s/he is very cute! I was thinking about you a lot on the plane over. Since I'm in France, I'm thinking french names... Marie, Jean-Claude, Henri, Michel, Denis.....

I think the jumping right in thing is one way people cope with the loss and it's actually not all that uncommon. It's how my husband is, and at some level how I am as well, although I found myself fighting it just because it seems wrong to some people. But plenty of people, very responsible people, are the same way. So don't feel alone. I had a conversation about it with one of the techs at my vet's office when we wound up with Mattie so soon after we lost Ariel. They see it a lot. I think for me if I lost one of the birds, I'd almost have to capitalize on that urge to jump right back in or I might never have the courage to take the risk again.

I hope I'm typing coherently and sympathetically -- I'm seriously tired and jet lagged right now! Trying not to fall asleep and nap too much, although hubby is out cold.

Looking forward to hearing all about the new baby.

Well, morning feeding successfully completed. In order to not imprint a gender in my head, I'm flipping back and forth each day. Today is a boy day. And SnS, I REALLY like Henri! That's my Gpa's middle name, and while he was Hispanic, if I put the French accent on it, it rhymes with ornery- which is the perfect descriptor of a Greencheek!

I don't want to share Emme with you, anyway! I really like Emme for MY next bird.

Why family names for birds and not kids?

Thank God, nqo more kids for me! Now I have fids.

How about Robin? Works for a boy or girl, and it has the ROB in it.

im so sorry about jj your new baby is beautiful i know shes not jj but shell have a special place in your heart to!

I've been thinking about J-Bird a lot in the last week and decided it was time to journal about it just a little bit. I went back and read through the five pages of posts and as expected, your genuine empathy still came through. Relatively speaking, the avian community is such a small one that it's uncommon to mention your bird to someone and expect them to be able to reply with any kind of real understanding. Therefore I don't know how people who have birds are able to fully experience their bird's life unless they have some kind of community to share it with. I know I would not have fully enjoyed my time with JJ had I not had you guys. Sure, I would have enjoyed it but I wouldn't have known all the possibilities... there are so many opportunities I'd have missed out on.

It's two days shy of a month since I found JJ dead that awful morning. Everyone knows it's been a busy as heck month! Lot's of changes started that morning. Little Allie-pants (or Allie-pip, Allie-poo, or Alliekins) came the next day? Was it really that soon? Bucky has gone to his new home with a nine year old boy who has as much energy as Bucky has volume. (That's a LOT!) I brought home Ella, then took Ella back after a week when I learned that my more experienced Parrotopolis friends were right about her and Allie-pants. (WHY didn't they tell me sooner??) I started a new job working at the bird store. I've loved on a Hyacinth. I've been bit (more than once) by a macaw, and I lived. I subsequently decided I needed to learn to interact with the Macaws, and started that process. I brought home a plucking Pionus to foster - a bird I'd never intended to bring home. I bought a budgie as the start of my breeding flock, and put it in someone ELSE's breeding flock! LOL (long story!) I brought home an older budgie to try and tame, and realized that all it ever does is scream, whine and growl (and eat and poo) - which just makes me irritated with it. And somehow in the middle of all that, I'm finding time to come to terms with the fact that JJ is gone.

I find myself crying at odd times. Actually, they're not such odd times. I was feeding the birds in the boarder room and came across a turquoise GCC. Looked just like JJ... I stuck my hand in and asked him/her to step-up, and s/he did. Of course, I immediately started bawling my eyes out. Yes, right there in the store, holding and cuddling a strangers bird, I sobbed like I did the first few hours after JJ died. (not that long, but, well, you get the picture - runny nose, puffy eyes, not able to talk...ugly scene! Lol!) All I could think of was that I was getting my "one more chance" to hold her and talk to her. And damned if that little bird didn't act just like J would have. It sat there and let me pet it and kiss on it, and it cocked it's little head at me like, "Whatcha making this fuss for? I'm just a bird for Pete's sake!" It was almost like J had taken over that bird to come and tell me bye. Or I have a really good imagination. One or the other.

I've tried to be aware of the things that people have told me about when grieving my loss... like when Kaela said it took a good month before she was able to see Piper and actually just see Piper. (As opposed to expecting to see No Name, or something like that. You'd have to read her post.) I think I'm reaching that point... just starting to. It helps that Allie doesn't look or sound anything like J-Bird did. Her calls aren't the same, her activity level isn't the same, and her coloring is most CERTAINLY not the same! So when I hear her, I don't think JJ, I think Allie. The problem for me is when she does something that reminds me of J-Bird and I respond to her without thinking and use J's name. I've been doing that a lot lately because J's been on my mind a lot, like I said. I suppose that's to be expected on occasion. Hell, I get my dog and my son mixed up several times a week, I don't suppose it's too much of a stretch to think I'd get JJ and Allie confused on occasion, huh? Allie HAS helped me to stay focused in the present and hasn't allowed me to dwell in the past. For that fact alone getting her when I did was the best choice I could have made - at least for me.

It just seems like everywhere I turn I see something that reminds me of JJ. Either it's a toy, or something that Allie isn't doing, or something she is, or something at the store, or someplace I'm going that I'd have taken JJ that I'm not taking Allie because she's too young and flighty... There's any number of reasons, but the bottom line is that she keeps showing up in my head. If anyone can tell me how long until that goes away, I'd really appreciate it.

Over all it's a lot better. The hole in my gut is shrinking some, and I'm able to think and talk about her without immediately crying. I still can't look outside at the tree where she's buried. One of these days I will, but the memory of wrapping her in Grandpa's handkerchief and putting her in the ground under the snow is still too fresh. (See? Now I'm getting teary again. ) Does anyone wonder if they love their birds too much? I do. I wonder if my grief is abnormal... if it's abnormal to still cry when I think about those days and remember how much it hurt... if that much pain is abnormal... I know about ineffective coping, depression, all of that. I'm not doing any of that. I'm out and about, working, cleaning the house, etc. But I wonder about myself sometimes... I think of this... I love my dogs. I really do. But if one of them were to die, I'd be sad but I don't think I'd feel the same way that I did about JJ - and I've had my dogs for 6, 9 and 10+ years! You'd think that I'd be all devastated thinking about losing one of them, but I'm just not. And really, I'm finding myself going back and forth with Allie... for a while I'm really falling for her, then I realize what I'm doing and start backing off - I can't get too close because what if something happens to her too? I really fight that. We BOTH deserve better than that. But seriously, it's like what Deb said... I think if I hadn't jumped in and bought Allie-pants when I did, I would probably be out of the birdie game right now. The risk may be small, but the pain is terrible. It's hard to decide whether or not it's worth it sometimes.

Well, that's my update. Again, I'm not sure where it should go. I think I'll probably end up moving this thread to the Memorium section. I think it fits better there - plus, anyone will know that my ramblings are about my "recovery," such as it is.

I hope that someone somewhere will get something from this. It's not easy, going through this process... learning where and how to tuck the memories away so they're safe and accessible, but not constantly painful, and figuring out how to make today work when it will never be the way you'd imagined it would be.... It's not easy, but it's something we all do on some level at some point in our life...

Hmmm... that gives me something to think about for next time. It's late and I'm going to sleep now.

time heals all wounds...until that time i share your pain...i know it is hard but be strong and never forget the good things about JJ...writing about her is a good thing...continue as you can

your friend
dusty

I often worry about Jake and myself, what would one of us do without the other. If something happened to me i guess Josie is a good sub. But couldn't imagine life without her.I understand when you talk about the dogs, i also love mine.With parrots we seem to have more "connection", i also think they "connect " more with us.I think your doing a fine job handling your situation, probably better than most of us would.I'd keep writing about her and your thoughts, i enjoy and appreciate it.

im sorry your going through this but in the future youll still think about jj but it wont hurt as much and maybe instead of crying youll be able to smile and think about all the good memories you have of JJ. its hard for me to think about what would happen if i lost marty but in the end one day he will pass away but i think that the time we spend together is going to outweigh how i feel when he passes. the good times you will have with allie and all the years you will get to spend with her will be worth it in the end

I can't beat what dusty said.

I definitely don't think you are abnormal. I'm still a little torn up about the loss of Ariel, my cat, but he was ill and aging so I had some time to prepare for it. I think it's extra hard when they are young and vibrant and then just gone.

whoaaaa deb agrees with me...i am going out to buy lottery tickets...lol

just joking


dusty

No Dusty, go for the ticket! Lol!

Guys, sheesh!

so sorry to hear about jj! I was devasted when my cockatiel died and I honestly didn't feel "right" until I brought home Rainbow... So congrats on getting Allie! (aren't yellow sided gcc pretty?) and I wish you happiness and the best of luck