When Patrick and I were planning our wedding, one of the things we had to do before we could marry in our church was attend 3 pre-marital counseling sessions. Largely, this was kind of a joke, as our counselor only worked two days a week between 11 am and 2:30pm and, being one medical student and one pre-medical student, we couldn't usually make those times. We fulfilled the requirement, but each of our sessions were months apart. We never remembered our assignments and giggled throughout the whole process.
One thing I do remember about it though is the issue of having kids. I didn't want kids and Patrick did. It was kind of a huge issue at the time, as I was sure I would never want kids and Patrick knew that he would. We decided to get married anyway, thinking that maybe I would change my mind.
I think that a better topic is not "Have you talked about kids?" but "Have you compared taste in names for your potential kids?" My dear Internet, this has become a PROBLEM in my house. I like very classic, traditional names, ones that are timeless and are difficult to make fun of. Patrick, apparently, wants his child to be beaten silly in the third grade. Let me provide for you a brief list:
My ideas:
William (after my grandfather)
David (after my father, Patrick's father's middle name, Patrick's uncle... it's popular)
Cary (this is actually my study group's idea, but I like it)
Patrick's ideas:
Wilbur (and he didn't know what I was talking about when I said, "Like the pig?")
Otis
Benedict (and he thinks the kid could drop our last name and go as a One Name Show)
Oscar (as if I'm not grouchy enough for all of us)
As you can see, I was fully within my right as an almost-mom to revoke Patrick's right to have any say in naming the kid.
21 weeks and I already feel like my belly is going to burst open at any moment. Today I dropped a bit of lunch and it landed on my belly instead of my chest. That was a new one.
(I know the picture is terrible. I was in kind of a rush and it was dark out. And there were cupcakes in the kitchen.)
May 21, 2008
Name Game
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9 Readers rock!:
You left the "Otis" name without a comment, so allow me to assist!
Otis (as in Milo and???????)
I vote for your names, but I always wanted to name a son David William, so I am biased!
Love you- puppy kisses with be available for at least a week... longer if I can't give him up!
As if you don't already have enough to worry about... make sure your kid doesn't have strange initials like
"DAM", "WAM", "RAM", "GEM" or "MOM"
I can think of worse, but I won't corrupt your blog!
-WV Kate
Best plan, have a list.
Have a number of boys names and a number of girls names that you like (ultrasound scans can be wrong!). Some names he likes will have to be on the list too.
When born, ponder what the wee bundle looks like. Go with a name you chose which you both like. At that point, after labour, he's not in a position to deny you anything :-)
Ok shrink, I'm gonna say that Katie is well within her rights to not include ANY of Patrick's names on the list! I mean, ew. I also think it is a good idea to 1. pick a name before the baby is born and 2. not tell ANYONE what that name is so that people aren't all, oh but I know a Peter and he's a total asshole, etc. etc. 3. Pick an inutero name to call The Turnip although that one just works fine.
I know a number of people who have done the above and they are all still happily married and have great, well-adjusted kids :-)
Well, Katie and Patrick -- as long as you have the hardcore Irish thing going anyway, you could go Celtic with Sean or Colin or Kevin or Michael (I'm assuming that "Patrick" has already gotten the kibosh). With an Irish name at least he'll sound like he can fight.
The ordinary name thing never helped when I was a kid. "Bob" didn't keep me from getting the crap kicked out, and it didn't work for Steve W or Tom L either.
Goofy names are a lot more popular today than they were back then. It might not be so bad. I'm sure I would have been spared a lot of beat-downs if there had been an Otis in my class.
I just wish you'd name the poor bugger something so you can stop calling him "Turnip."
Though it has a kind of a ring to it.
pax
Pennsy
It's been fun reliving my pregnancies through your experiences - but boy, did this post bring back memories! During my first pregancy, Husband and I told everyone that the name we had chosen was "Leon", just to avoid any of the kibitzing from our families regarding the name issues...as it turned out, during labor I got a small amount of Demerol to control the pain related to contractions and subsequently dilated from "4" to "10" in about 3 contractions. I was still a bit fuzzy-brained after our son was born (very shortly thereafter); when the nursing staff started asking about names, I dreamily replied "Leon". Fortunately, Husband was right there to set the record straight...
Good luck as you enjoy this time!
(I'm posting this anonymously instead of under my blog name as too many people know this story! Thanks for your indulgence :) )
I was thinking Milo and Otis as well!!
Where's Megatron?
Since your pets have human names perhaps the wee one could have a pet name, like Rover McHugh! or Fifi McHugh or Spot, Spud or Possum McHugh....
just a thought.
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