Anyone who has been pregnant or dreamed of one day being a parent, has at least given some thought to what they would like to name their children. Sometimes we have a fondness for a family name, a dear friend's name that we always liked the sound of, or a name we saw somewhere in a book that had a uniqueness to it that appealed to us. Now, I am about to share with you something I wish someone would have shared with us before we named our children.

Whatever name you choose should be practiced. Not just saying it aloud to an imaginary bundle in your arms with your breathy tone of adoration, but used in what will be real life situations over the course of the next 4 years.

At about 8 months, your little one will start crawling and reaching for all of the things that were previously safe on an end table, TV cabinet, or closed toy bin. So, practice saying the possible name with a touch of warning and redirection. Much like you say your husbands name when he is about to put his wet bath towel on the bed.

Then when baby is about 10 months and starts cruising around and falling down almost as often as he pulls to standing, you will need to say the name in a manner that shows concern but since you know he/she will be okay in a few minutes, try to keep it light. This might sound a lot like how you would say your husband's name when he get hit in his manly parts.

Then, as the toddler years approach and the real disciplining starts, there are a lot of new variations of the name you will have chosen for your child. Practice saying your future child's name with a real sense of frustration. Say your child's potential name about 200 times in a row followed by a simple direction. This might sound similar to how you say your husband's name when you really would like for him to pick his socks up off the floor just like you have asked him to do at least 87 1/2 times in the last 6 weeks.

Then, as your toddler becomes more courageous and independent, try saying your favorite baby name really fast, with urgency, and desperation. This will come in handy in a number of instances. Once they have learned that they can run and it is fun, they still need to learn to look in the same direction as they are moving. So say the potential adorable baby name quickly, as one syllable, much like how you say your husband's name when he is about to miss a turn while driving to the dinner reservation that you are already 8 minutes late for.

When you are writing down your list of baby names for your bundle of joy, be sure to practice saying the name in the less than gentle but short of screaming manner. This, sadly, is how it will be said most often. Choose wisely!



Tweet