Parenting

Babies Should Not Be Named Before They Are Born

ParentingPublished Feb 6, 2012
By Mary Hawkins
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Did you announce your chosen baby name to family and friends while you were pregnant? I didn't. Sure, I had a couple names in mind that were definitely on my list of favorites, but I guarded them with my life over fear that some other pregnant chick would steal one of them from me and my kid would miss out on the chance to have the coolest name ever. (Remember when Rachel stole "Emma" from Monica on Friends)?

For some reason, there seem to be more and more people who just can't resist spilling junior's name to anyone and everyone who will listen. Seriously, scroll through your Facebook news feed and zero in on any pregnant friends you may have and what they are posting as far as status updates go. Odds are good that you'll see something along the lines of, "Baby Ava was kicking Mommy all during the Super Bowl halftime show. She already hates Madonna! LOL!" 

It is more likely that "baby Ava" was kicking during the Super Bowl because of the insane amount of taco dip that her mother just consumed, but regardless of any indigestion issues, seeing an unborn baby's name pop up in a Facebook news feed is definitely cringe-worthy.

Aside from the whole name stealing thing, let's start with the fact that you really don't know what your baby looks like until you deliver him or her. What happens if you are dead-set on one name and have already announced it to everyone in your life, and then the kid pops out and you just aren't feeling it? Yeah, I know that there are all sorts of fancy 3D and 4D ultrasounds nowadays that give you a good idea of whether your child has your nose or not. But honestly, until you hold that baby in your arms, you have no way of knowing whether he looks like a "Bob" or a "Joe." And don't even get me started on the possibility that "Bob" or "Joe" may turn out to be a "Sally." Those ultrasounds aren't foolproof, you know.

This brings us to the little phenomenon known as excessive monogramming. Friends and family just can't resist giving the gift of a perfectly white cardigan sweater with the baby's initials monogrammed on the front. Chances are you'll receive at least two or three of them at your baby shower. And while the darn thing will likely only be worn once due to a little thing called spit-up, putting your baby in it does make for a great photo. But what if you change your mind about the name at the very last minute? You might as well just look the sweater givers in the eye and tell them that you would've rather received a gift card or cash.

The final reason that naming your baby before birth is a bad idea is because it potentially makes things even harder should something go wrong. Things turning out anything less than perfect is not something any of us want to consider, but it is part of reality that does happen. Maybe I'm just superstitious, but giving babies a name feels a whole lot less scary after they come into the world.

Did you name your baby before birth?

Image via mccready/Flickr

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