No. Not really. Ok? We had no problem picking out a name for our dog. Me: “I want to name him Newport.” Scott: “Yep, that works.” Had the ultrasound tech told us we were having a baby girl, no big deal. Lyla Ruth would be arriving this August. But tell us we’re definitely having a boy and suddenly we are truly living on extreme opposite sides of the name-game spectrum. At first there was plenty of time to figure it out, or in my case try holding out until my name won. But now we’re 6 weeks out and not only do we not believe in the “wait until you see him” theory (because we are well aware that we’d have a baby without a name for days) but what are the two questions that everyone asks you at this point? “Do you know what you’re having?” and “Did you pick out a name yet?” I’m thrilled I have an answer for question number one but for a lady who’s not suppose to be under a lot of stress right now, the answer to question number two is seriously reeking havoc on my blood pressure. Here’s the main problem, this kid is equally mine and my husband’s and so we should really both have a say. He will be my son and my husband’s son for the rest of our lives and he will have whatever name we choose to give him for the rest of his life. This is a daunting task. How do people do this? I have a couple of names I’m head-over-heels in love with. Scott has not fallen in love with the names as I foolishly thought he would. He has, on the other hand, fallen in love with a much larger selection of names – most of which I am having a hard time even liking, much less falling in love with. I’ve got to give the guy credit, while I have about 3 names on my list, Scott has come up with at least 20 he could handle – it’s just that we don’t overlap at all. But I’ll admit, he has definitely been the flexible one while I am unable to move past my top 3. At this point we have narrowed it down to a couple of names we both like – but is it ok if we choose a name neither one of us loves just because we can’t agree? Is it better to just pick one that at least one parent loves? Did I mention this is a decision that lasts a lifetime?
People keep telling me that my vote should count more. After all, I am doing most of the work at this point and my guess is labor will be a bit more difficult for me than it will for my dear husband. I’m not going to lie, I’ve used that argument but Scott’s a pretty smart guy and not a whole lot gets by him. Tonight at a neighborhood get together we were, once again, asked about a name and when my fellow moms jumped on my bandwagon and said I get the final say Scott came up with this: “See, girls plan their weddings from the time they’re 4. And so I let her get whatever flowers she wanted, pick out the dresses whatever…I didn’t say anything (this is where I interupted to make sure everyone knew this part isn’t true, unless ‘it’s ridiculous to pay that much for that’ doesn’t count as saying something). Anway, he continued…”well, this is my future quarterback and I’ve been planning this since I was 16. This is my big deal. It needs to be a name that looks good on the front page of the papers, on the news etc.”
Slightly dramatic I know, but the point is Scott is REALLY excited that he’s having a son. I mean really, really, really thrilled that he gets to experience fatherhood for the first time by raising a little boy of his own. And I certainly can’t blame him for that and I am equally as excited that he’s getting the boy he so badly wanted. And so I don’t blame him for having a (strong) opinion about the name. That being said, it doesn’t mean I’m ready to give in either. I’m excited to have a son too – and the names I like would look fantastic on the front page of the paper!
So that still leaves our baby nameless. “Nameless Baby arrived on August 17th at 3:04p.m….” That’s just not going to work for me. Perhaps in six weeks I can transition from liking a name on our list to loving a name. Either way we’re both going to love our baby more than anything else in the world, so I suppose his name isn’t going to seem like such a big deal at that point, right?
For the sake of our marriage and of my blood pressure, please pray that we have a girl next time.
bits & pieces 