For our second child, we finally narrowed it down to two names. We even agreed on one and I ordered a bunch of custom m&m’s with that name on it.
But neither of us was very comfortable with it. We just liked it “good enough”.
Then the baby was delivered and the nurses asked what the name was. For some reason, I mentioned the final two names as candidates, instead of just the one we’d settled on.
The nurses all very much liked the other name. And at that point, it became very clear to me. My wife was still in post-delivery haze but I now knew with certainty what the name should be. Not the one on the m&m’s.
Of course, I didn’t commit any legal forms without her approval. So I sought to convince her. It was easy… I cheated. I asked our two year old son to say hi to his new baby sister by her new name (and nickname). That did it.
My wife was kinda mad at me for playing the emotional/cuteness card. But now it’s four years later. And she still thanks me for driving the name selection at the end.
To @worriedguy‘s dismay, our girl’s name is Piper. And she’s awesome.
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Point is, we like our privacy. We liked the idea of springing the baby’s name on friends and family as a surprise after the baby’s arrival. But, what we should have done is sought out the opinions of people we trust and respect. Instead of making the decision in a vacuum, we really need outside input.
Now our baby #3 is due in two weeks. At this point, we haven’t been able to agree on a single name at all. Not even potential middle names. But I do intend to repeat what works… and will ask for suggestions and opinions from people near to us in advance.