The arrival of Harper Seven Beckham this week started me thinking about baby names.
Choosing a name for a tiny pink newborn is one of the hardest tasks in the world. How can you possibly know whether something so small and wrinkly is going to grow into an Oliver or a Jasper when you haven’t even had chance to get to know him yet?
Hubby and I disagree on everything. Buying a house took a year of arguments, when it comes to decorating we have to buy 10 different paint testers to try out every possibility before we finally reach a unanimous decision, even deciding which take-away to order can take us a whole evening. Thankfully we had a whole nine months to come up with four names, well two really as their middle names are their grandfather’s so half the work had been done for us.
It involved lots of lists – long long lists that became shorter as my belly grew bigger. I think we knew at the start which two names stood out among the rest but we wanted to make sure they were right, like when you’re shopping for new shoes you want to see everything in the shop but still end up coming back to the first pair you tried on.
One thing we did agree on was that we wanted the names ready before they were born. A friend of mine had an unnamed baby for a whole two weeks as she wanted to get to know it first and find a name to fit. I couldn’t handle that as I’m too much of a control freak and would hate not knowing the name of my own baby.
My twins were named while they were in my tummy a couple of months before they were born. I got to know the boys as L and R (no they’re not called Left and Right or Lionel and Ritchie) instead of Twin1 and Twin2 long before I saw their faces. This made the C-section a terrifying experience as I had to make sure everyone in the room (and there were A LOT of people in the room) understood which baby was which and make sure they got tagged quickly so they didn’t get mixed up. I felt sick at the thought of T1 being accidentally called R and T2 being called L for the rest of their lives. That would just be wrong.
It’s funny looking back at our old shortlist. None of the names on it matter now as I realise they could never have been called anything else.
I can totally see where you are coming from, I knew from day one that I was pregnant and me and the hub hadnt talked about names, then one day Holly came in to the equasion and i was petriefied what if she didnt look like that when she was born would it confuse her because we had been reffering to her as that all the while i was pregnant and talking to her! but it didnt matter to me her name suits her just fine so i know what you mean!
I wonder if there is someone out there who named their baby and then felt it didn’t fit but it was too late to change? Bet there must be. It’s a weird thought naming something you havn’t seen yet isn’t it, but then it also feels wrong to let the baby into the world without a name at the ready.
We decided on Noo’s name really early on as to be honest it was the only girls name we actually agreed on. When I became pregnant with Little E we were hoping for a boy as we had loads of boys names that we liked. However, when we had the 20 week scan and found out the baby was a girl we were stuck. It took ages to agree on her name and to be honest I was still in two minds right up until birth. Unfortunately for me I couldn’t have changed it even if I wanted to as I made the mistake of telling the name to Noo who then promptly told everyone we met! Thankfully When Little E arrived I was happy with the name and couldn’t think of her as anything else.
That’s weird too – we had lists and lists and lists of boys names like you, but on the girls list we only had about two! I’ve already started a new list for when we have another at some point. I actually have my favourite boy and girl name ready but just have to persuade Husband to agree on them (maybe it’ll be twins again and I’ll get to use them both!!)
A friend who couldn’t decide on a name for two weeks?? Shocking 😉
Actually Sal I wasn’t referring to you, but now that you mention it… xx
I wonder why you don’t refer to your kids by name on this blog? I am thinking of starting my own blog, and apart from thinking up a good name for it I am consumed with how to call my twins..
It was just a decision I made at the start. Lots of people also blog without giving their own name but as I freelance too I decided that I didn’t mind people knowing who I am as my blog is sometimes a way of gaining new clients! Are you on Twitter as that is the best place to meet other bloggers – it’s a friendly community so just join up and chat to people (I’m @TalesofaTwinMum) If you’re thinking of starting a blog, go for it! Good luck! xx