I have been gradually realizing over the past few days that I am not ready for a new baby yet. Surprised? Don't misunderstand me--I have the little socks and sleepers and the infant car seat as well as a crib, tiny cloth diapers, and a changing pad. But I realized yesterday that nothing is ready yet!
The baby clothes and diapers should be rewashed and brought upstairs, I still want to knit a baby hat for the wee one, and I really should get some long sleeve onsies and t-shirts (preemies use these a lot). This is a lot like the dream where you show up to prom in your nightgown. I'm trying not to panic because no matter when the baby is born there is likely to be at least a short stay in the NICU for him or her and I can prepare things then. But I still get a little worried because I'm not able to be home to do any of the preparations for our impending arrival now.
But all of the little chores that are on my Bring Home Baby list are nothing compared to the item at the top of this list, the only thing that really should be done before the baby is born. We need to pick out a name.
Sure, the cloth dipaers and little sleepers can wait. What does the kid need for the first few days besides a little gown and one pack of disposables? But right after your baby is born, the first thing the nurses ask is "So, does the little guy have a name yet?" Am I supposed to say NO? And then how long do you take to decide? What if a WEEK goes by and your baby still doesn't have a name? This is how kids get named "Precious" or "Goober".
I'm not even sure where to start. We've had a hard time getting even a modest list of names to materialize. Also, I'd like some time to think of a name and live with it for a while. I don't want to have the baby, name it Sparkle (hey! works for a boy OR a girl!) and realize a month later that Sparkle is a stripper's name. We've had the name Eleanor on the list for a while and I like it, but I don't know if I can live with it. Every day. Maybe I'll never get past the "old lady" feel it seems to carry around the edges. Beatrice poses some of the same problems. How about Penelope? There is so much I love about this name, but maybe it's too exotic for a child growing up in the Midwest. Or maybe it doesn't fit with Thomas and Anna's names. Thomas, Anna, and Penelope. Hmm. I am riddled with indecision. We have some names on the list, but there aren't any that jump up and grab my attention in a perfect, pearl-like way. The Boy List is another issue. Instead of a list of names I love 3/4 of the way, I have a list of NOTHING. Ok, we have two names, but, again, I love them 3/4 of the way.
So, what do you think? Want to help name a baby?
If you like, you can give me some of your ideas and in a couple of days I'll post a list of some of our picks. After that, we'll talk some more. It's a Baby Naming Summit Conference and you're all invited. You may dress informally.
If you'd like help with your suggestions, you should know that we like names that are more traditional. Kylee or Harlee probably won't make the cut. Despite the conservative nature of Thomas and Anna's names, we do like names that are more unusual like Beatrice, Penelope, Violet or Maeve. BUT, if it is unusual I like to avoid something that could end up being trendy-ish. This is a concern for me with Beatrice--could Beatrice, in five years, be the next Olivia, Sophia, or Amelia? All of this is subjective, I know, and I'll tell you now that we need more suggestions than less.
Thanks for your help! I hope I won't need to have a name ready for another 9-10 weeks still!
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9 comments:
Well, if you name your baby Penelope, too, then it would be well on the way to becoming a trend, so don't do that. :-) I like Eleanor, too, but I think that Eleanor is already a trend. And I'm not going to be any help at all because I don't have any names on my list, either, and the only real requirement is that it start with a different letter than the ones already in use around here. Baby naming is a big responsibility.
Oh, I am so bad with naming people. We literally came up with our daughter's name five hours before she was born. The, I wasn't even sure, but my husband went ahead and told the nurse the name while I was in a post-birth state of exhaustion and didn't have the energy to say, "wait! I'm not sure!". Pretty good thing, too, or nearly four years later, she would likely still be nameless. :)
I'll let you know if I think of anything. :)
Eleanor of Aquatain was a very bold, fashionable, and energetic woman, from the chivary era that inspired the knights of the round table. I think Eleanor is making a come back.
Beatrice, now I've not met anyone younger than 40 with that name. My grandmother's name was Beatrice Elizabeth, but folks called her Bea. I also had a fellow nursing student (but she was much older then the rest of us young gals) who was Beatrice. I think that would be a safe bet if you want something pretty but unlikely to set any trends.
For our first two we chose family names. (Peter and Charlotte) both in honor of grandparents with the same name on both sides of the family, so everyone was touched...and we were lucky to find names in the family tree we liked. Felicity, however, was named for the Saint...and then later I learned that Rose (her middle name) was actually my grandmother's middle name too (so she got honored twice, Charlotte Rose, lol).
Grace is a pretty name.
for boys....um
For Charlotte we had Andrew James picked. For Felicity it would have been Jude Micah and those are all I can think of. Poor Peter would have been Bernadette Colleen, or Colleen Bernadette, we kept flip flopping...what a mouth full!
I can't wait to see what you come up with.
They actually won't let you leave unless you name your baby - you have to fill out the birth certificate paperwork!
I'll just tell you names I've picked in the past:
Our boys are Robert, Patrick, Sebastian, and Xavier.
I SOOO wanted to name our daughter Clara Beatrice - Clare Bee for short - but husband didn't like it so she is Clara Grace. I also have a Valeria and an Emilia (Emma for short, but she can use her long name too.)
A last boy name - Roman. It's a family name but my sister stole it before I could use it.
There is an old fashioned tradition of naming a baby boy with his mother's maiden name. That's how my grandfather came to be named Lory, however...
Oh, and best thing I ever did re: names was have each kid start with a different letter. Makes so many things so much simpler, LOL!
About your to-do list: Why not write all of this stuff down on a piece of paper? Then, when visiting family and friends ask, "Is there anything we can do to help?" you can say, "Sure! Pick something on this list!" Seriously, people often want to help but don't know what to do. By giving them concrete ideas, you'll be helping them and yourself at the same time. :)
I adore the name Beatrice (and have never met anyone with that name). As I mentioned here before, though, with a hyphenated last name that starts with B (both parts), my husband and I were loathe to add another B to our daughter's monogram.
Eleanor is lovely, too--and another uncommon name. If you want to make it a little less "old fashioned," you could try spelling it as Elinor.
Have you considered Celeste?
As for boy names...well...I'm not sure I can offer good suggestions there. My husband and I had no problem choosing a girl's name right away (Sylvia, in part because we two tree-huggers like the meaning: "from the forest") but didn't manage a boy's name we were totally happy with.
How about Quinten or Quinn?
Just checking in... I've been on bedrest and despite all the nurses coming and going, it gets lonely!
Plus, who doesn't like comment-love?
I like Quinn - it's one of our middle names. How about Evelyn?
I like...
Boys: Andrew (Drew for short), Nathan, James, Joseph, Ryan, Benjamin (Ben for short), and Samuel, Micah, William, Jeremiah, Timothy, Nathaniel, Joel.
Girls: Margaret (I LOVE Meg), Megan (My husband is not too fond of Margaret but since I love Meg so much we would have settled on Megan if my son was a girl),Rachel, Grace, Charlotte, Josephine, Ivy, Lily, Miriam, Ruth, Violet, Elizabeth.
I thought of another name...
Bernice
Forgot to stop in yesterday, so just a quick hello today before I get going this morning.
We've got a Catherine, a Margaret, and an Anastasia. We're thinking about Beatrice next time, though Claire, Julia, Cecilia, Elissa, Sarah, and Rebecca are all nice.
If we have a boy, we're limited--my husband's family is both heavy on boys and light on moving away, so there are TONS of already-taken boys names that I really like: Thomas, James, Michael. I do like Andrew, Joseph, Elliot, Phillip, Matthew (am I just listing disciples, or what??)
I like the use of the mother's maiden name, too, though in my particular instance, the second syllable of my maiden name, "-red" is the first syllable of my married name "Red-"... and "red-red" just didn't do it for us!
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