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Author: Kat Hafen | Total views: 49 Comments: 0
Word Count: 1326 Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 7:46 PM

Start Baby Bonding Now By Referring to Your Baby By Name

One of the first questions you will be asked upon declaring your pregnancy, after "When is your due date?" is "Do you have names picked out?" This is one of the funnest parts of expecting a baby. Not only have you created this little one with your DNA, but you can help to choose his or her identity by the name or names you bestow upon them. Undoubtedly, you want your child to be unique, and they will be. A name can and sometimes does precede us, so choose wisely.

Though a sense of humor is a great character trait to possess, I would strongly suggest curbing the urge to be funny in this particular instance. Working with the public over the years as a waitress among other jobs, I have come across some pretty silly names. I remember waiting on a customer and asking how he was doing that night. He told me that he was fine, really. I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but his wife told me the story-their last name is Fine. So even if they aren't in fact fine on a particular day, they really are Fine.

Last names aren't given to us by choice, so work with what you've got. I don't think it would be very nice if your last name was say, Case, to name your son Justin. There are undoubtedly hundreds of stories about humorous name choices, but I have chosen a few of my favorite examples to share with you.

Growing up, I heard of a couple whose last name was Leer; they named their daughter Crystal Shanda. How about the last name Bear; Teddy isn't something that I would want my son to live with. ( It is cute for teddy bear lovers, but can you see him introducing himself as a prominent lawyer trying to win a federal case later in life?) I did know of a girl by the name of Merri Holliday. I knew another couple who were very Western and into ranching and the cowboy way of life. They named their boy Stetson. He is now 18 years old and absolutely detests that cowboy lifestyle and is in fact more of a preppy kind of kid and really is uncomfortable with his name.

So I say, stay away from the cutesy types of names. You never know if it will end up hindering your child later on.

I have 4 daughters and 1 son. It was much easier to come up with and agree on girl names than it was boy names. For one thing, as we all know, girls are just born as the more flexible of the species, so naturally there are more choices for the little darlings. I love all of my girls' names: Kaitlynn, Savannah, Lacie and Brooklynn.

Others that were considerations, but didn't make the final cut were Jessica, Olivia, Sidnee, Cassidee and Miranda. As for boy names, we were lucky to both agree on one finally. It almost became stressful trying to come up with a name that we both loved. We chose Levi. I love it! Friends and clients of ours new that we were having a hard time coming up a name so they started giving us suggestions. Some were very cute and went on to the consideration list, while others just didn't appeal to us at all.

What I learned from coming home many times and having suggested names for our boy left on the answering machine, is that naming babies is fun and just about everyone has some advice about it. There were a few times when well meaning friends got bossy about it and began telling us why we should use this particular name or that one. Even though it sometimes felt like an order rather than a suggestion, we realize that most people love kids and want to offer advice on any topic of raising them.

Choosing your child's name is both fun and very special. Often there is a special relative that you wish to honor by giving your baby their name or using it as a middle name. This is a great way to hand down traditions and family heritage. Things can get out of hand here too, though. I know families who have almost raced to become pregnant just so that they could be the first one to name their child after grandpa or grandma. Or someone came up with a name and the sister uses it first-this has caused many a family crisis. What a crazy thing to fight about, huh!

Generation after generation has used the tradition of naming the first born son after his father and grandfathers before him. A newer and more fun tradition that has been used quite a bit is choosing a certain letter and then having their kids' names begin with that letter. Remember the musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"? The sons were named Biblical names using the first 7 letters of the alphabet in order. (Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ethan, Frank, Gideon) Maybe they aren't all Biblical, but you get the idea! There are so many fun ideas when it comes to choosing the right name for your family.

As for finding the names, the possibilities are endless. A new trend right now is being set by celebrities. The celebs certainly aren't shy and don't seem to lack creativity when choosing for their tots. Some of the more famous celebrity baby names include Apple, Violet, Phinneus, Scout, Jett, and Coco. Who knows where their inspiration comes from, but another popular trend in baby-naming comes from maps and name brands. Examples of babies on the map are Dakota, Sierra, Arizona, York, Kawaaii, Jackson and River. Just go international if you want to be more exotic-Ireland, Asia, London, Berlynn, Brooklynn, Paris, etc. Name brand baby names include Camry, Lexus, Infiniti, Chevy and Royce.

Be open minded - you never know when inspiration will strike. I don't think it would be too funny to start using flavors, though I do think Coco is cute. Maybe stay away from grocery stores when you are hungry until you have chosen some names and have narrowed them down.

Spelling is another factor to consider, though nowdays, it's pretty unusual for anyone to get anyone's name right. My son Levi is the only one of my kids that doesn't regularly get his name spelled or pronounced wrong. This can be an issue for kids who are shy or insecure, but for the most part probably isn't a huge deal. Parents have gotten very creative in the spelling of the simplest of names. Example, I have seen Lacie spelled Leighcy; Kaitlynn spelled Caitlin; Jackson spelled Jaxon just to name a few.

I love to hear what people are choosing to name their babies and like I mentioned before, it is my second question that I usually ask. I feel like the name the parents choose tells me something about their own personality but more importantly, shows their pride and expectant love and obvious attachment they feel for their bundle on the way. I have never understood why some parents wait to see what their baby looks like before they name him or her. What does a name look like?

Choosing a name is like an empty canvas. You can't really go wrong, so have fun and enjoy getting to be comfortable with your little critter by calling IT by IT'S name. Even if you don't find out the gender before the birth, it almost makes you love the baby more when you begin to choose their identity.

Please, have fun and be creative but don't be like the Chinese couple who surprisingly gave birth to a blonde baby and named her "Sum Ting Wong" .

About the Author

Calling your unborn baby by name will increase parent child bonding, to further this bonding, I recommend a baby pouch to keep your baby close. Kat Hafen is a staff writer for HugaMonkey, makers of baby slings.