Naming this baby has been such a different experience than naming Ike. We had our real-life name for Ike picked out long before we even wanted kids. It was just the First Boy Name that we both liked and wanted to use. We toyed with a few different middle names before settling on one, but that wasn't a very big deal. Then, it took me a good long while to come up with a blog name for him that I liked.
This time is totally the opposite. I had a blog name ripe and ready before I even knew if I was pregnant. Eric and I have generally had a list of names we like, but as we reviewed it pretty much all the names kind of seemed "blah" to us. (We are pretty set on this kid's middle name, which was originally on our list of first names. It got booted.)
I never imagined myself as one of those people that didn't have a name already chosen for a child. When people told me they would have to see the baby to make a decision, I thought they were a little crazy. (Not completely crazy, just a little.) How could they not know? Didn't they have a list of Favorite Names for Future Children? And yet, that is totally the situation that we are finding ourselves in. (Granted, I'm only 28 weeks along, so we still have a good 12 or so weeks to come to an agreement. I don't think it's going to happen, though.)
There were several weeks where naming this baby caused me a lot of angst. The fact that Eric and I weren't really agreeing on names was distressing. The fact that people around me were using names on my list (particularly people in my ward who are having boys right before me - boys who will be in my child's Primary class) was also distressing. (Let's make it clear that they have every right to name their children whatever they want. They just happened to be having babies only a few months before me, and using names on my list, for me, means those names get moved down on the list. Significantly.) The fact that some people told me straight up they didn't like a name that I liked irritated me. (Except Eric, he is allowed to say that since this is his child too.) The fact that people kept asking me about names made me nervous. But mostly the fact of not knowing was nerve-wracking. (Remember how I like to know.)
And then, a couple of weeks ago I realized that I hadn't even pondered my baby's name in days. I just hadn't thought about it. And it was okay. I don't know how I got to this point, but I'm glad that I have. My baby doesn't have a real-life name yet. It's okay. We'll take our list to the hospital and see what fits. It will be okay. And if all else fails, maybe we can name him Felix.
2 comments:
We were one of those crazy couples that didn't decide on a name until the day we were leaving the hospital. Libby's nametag said Baby Girl Benson. It wasn't so much that we needed to see her first, but I absolutely did not want to tell people "this is what we're naming our child" because I wanted to reserve the right to change my mind. And I feared that if we made a solid decision and told people (family) about it, THEY would get attached to the name and I would feel obligated to keep it even if I changed my mind. We're in pretty much the same boat this time around, too. Good luck to you on making a decision!
I like the name Felix. :)
We were on the fence between two names for months. We finally picked one the day he was born, and no heralding angels showed up to make the decision for us. Luckily, kids grow into their names. But boy names are hard! You'll come up with something.
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