AKA, the date where we can safely go into labour ANY DAY NOW with no worries.
Don't go getting ideas, baby. You stay in there and get chubby and give mama time to get her act together before you make an appearance. There are a lot of things I need to do before you get here, namely find a diaper bag that doesn't suck and doesn't cost one million dollars. Really, if it doesn't have giraffes and monkeys marching up and down the straps, it's impossible to find a decent diaper bag for less than the cost of the bloody crib. Is it too much to ask for a diaper bag that doesn't LOOK LIKE A DIAPER BAG?
Fun things we've done with the baby this week:
- Used the bump as a shelf for a water glass.
- Put remote controls on it and watched the baby kick them off.
- Rubbed cocoa butter on it 239570 times a day because my skin is so. itchy.
- Played patty-cake when they stick their feet a good four inches out the side of my stomach.
So, we've finally selected names for the baby - a girl name and a boy name. I really can't wait for that moment when we hear "It's a ______!" and I can say "Hello, ________!"
We get asked about names all the time, and have gotten used to watching people's faces fall when we tell them the names are top secret. We've had our boy's name picked out since before we were pregnant, and we just switched our girl's name in the past week or so after I realized the first, middle, and last names don't sound great together and panicked.
Why so secretive with the names? There are a few reasons. We just don't want people to criticize the names, for one thing, to make a face, or say something stupid. Or to say "OHMYGAWWWWD I know a kid named __________ and he/she is the biggest brat". Or send us Google links to people with the same name as our unborn child who turned out to be, like, sadistic serial killers or complete freak shows. Because for some reason, people really enjoy raining on others' parades.
If we have a girl, we don't want people to snag our favourite boy name, in the event that we decide to reproduce again and have a boy, and vice versa. That being said, we realize there's a finite number of names available, and there are going to be other kids with these names. We tried to steer away from overly popular and trendy names. We also avoided family names since neither of us was blessed with awesome ones. We picked out names we like the sound of, that work well with Peter's last name, and will suit not just a baby but a teen, an adult and an old person as well. And hopefully, whether it's a boy or girl, it won't be one of 10 in its class at school with the same name.
Naming a baby is HARD. You have to look at a lot of factors. What do the initials spell? You can't have a kid going around with the initials ASS, for example. What does it rhyme with? How can cruel, clever children possibly manipulate this name and make my kid miserable for 12 years of his/her life? Are we naming our baby after any sordid soap opera characters, reality show trainwrecks, or famous pets?
Since Peter's last name begins with an F and is pretty Scottish sounding I tried to avoid overly-Gaelic names and anything that begins with F for a first name. This made me a little sad since there are some solid F-names kicking around.
It took a lot of research, debating, even muttering different name combinations out loud, but we've finally settled on two possible names for our little beast and I can't wait to share one of them in a few weeks.
12 comments
A belly pic with the new camera! I've heard some pretty fantastic suggestions for your baby's name over the past week, but I'm excited to see what you and Peter choose.
ReplyDeleteI am sure your name will be absolutely perfect for your little one :-) As for diaper bags - I love the Skip Hop line. Really functional and don't look like a diaper bag. I have two "Duo" style ones and they come in gender neutral colors so dads aren't embarrassed to carry them. :-)
ReplyDeleteNice pic, beauty! :)
ReplyDeleteLug (http://www.luglife.com/Catalog/Moms-Kids-Family) isn't too bad. Still a tad on the expensive side, but I like them, and I am not a mom (or close to being one!) Bright colours, fun designs!
I vote for Skip Hop diaper bags too! They're around $70 but they're worth it. Pretty, functional, lots of space for organizing, and I've been told they last (I just got mine, so I'm not sure!) We didn't tell anyone Topher's name until he was born because we got tired of people telling us they didn't like certain names. The in-laws still won't call him Topher (his real name is Kristopher), but they'll come around!
ReplyDeletemy best friend's sister has a great little etsy shop out of calgary called handmade therapy. http://www.etsy.com/shop/handmadetherapy?section_id=7187394&page=1
ReplyDeleteshe made my best friend the coolest, non-mommy diaper bag ever. you could try emailing her if you dont find any on her etsy site that you like and seeing what she has. she has tons of fabrics and styles and makes them all herself. great quality and actually stylish. just my little plug! check it out i think you'll like it.
i feel for you on the baby name thing. i don't have kids yet but a good friend of mine just had a son and named it the same as his assistant at work's son is named. its weird. he doesn't think its weird, but everyone else does.
This might seem odd, but maybe look at camera bags. They are {some anyway}, kinda expensive, but nondescript and you can use it again. AND they have all the pockets and stuff you need for a nappy bags, a proper one has removable bits as well, so you can resize all the sections.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when my best friend was pregnant she wouldn't share the name, no matter who it was, including her sister and mum!
I am so happy that you made it this far, I was a little nervous after the 32 weeks scare. I'm excited to hear the name you've picked out. You've pretty much convinced me that it is going to be a boy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the diaper bag suggestions, ladies! I ended up getting a portable changing pad today. it has a few little pockets and a wipes container, will attach to a stroller, and fits in any bag. I'm hoping I don't need a diaper bag at all now. I found a good Skip Hop bottle pouch that I can pick up too, if need be.
ReplyDeleteL - I looked at the Etsy shop and those bags are beautiful! I definitely debated going that route :) I saw some cute Skip Hop ones too.
I step away from blogging for a bit and you turn into a lovely, glowy pregnant lady? Man! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom got me the Vera Bradley babybag. I love it!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear his/her name! We are doing the same, I mean not sharing our boy name because we don't want anyone to steal it!
ReplyDeleteI found a diaper bag that isn't too cute-sy and didn't cost a ton but it wasn't one I wanted...it looks a LOT like a diaper bag and I wanted a cute one. Can't wait to hear what you find!
I love that you put thought into what the initials spell and whether it rhymes with anything. I knew someone with the initials SOB or, if you factored in her middle name, SNOB. My mother in law vetoed S names with her kids in case one of them ended up with a lisp (as the last name already started with an S). This makes me rule out any S names for my hypothetical offspring.
ReplyDelete