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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

The Name Game

I was surprised at how many people thought I was lying when I said that Dan and I hadn't been able to agree on a name for BB2.0 prior to his birth.  I got so many calls and texts that said things like, "So, you have a name and you just aren't sharing it yet, right?"  Nope.  That was the #1 question of the day after we shared news of the birth and photos with friends and family: what's his name?  You'll know as soon as we do, people.  My sister actually resorted to threats, which did nothing but give us some entertainment while we were trying to agree on something.

We both really liked family names, it's just that we liked different family names.  And I don't care who you are, I think boy names are a MUCH harder decision than girl names.  At least with Lilly, we had a strategy.  Actually, with Lilly, we had agreed on four names that both of us liked, but just couldn't narrow it down or make a decision.  This time around, we were not anywhere close to being on the same page.  At one point, after the induction had been scheduled, I was close to an anxiety attack over it so we both sat down and made a list of the names we liked for a nice, healthy discussion.  We compared our lists and literally not one name overlapped, which ended said healthy discussion promptly with me in tears because the whole thing was stressing me out.  The night before I was induced, Dan was scouring all sorts of internet lists to see if anything jumped out at us.  Nothing.  I'm not sure whether it has anything to do with the fact that boys names are more permanent, or what.  Like with a girl, if she gets married her last name will change at a minimum, and her middle name could be dropped as well.  Boys are stuck with what you give them.  We wanted the name to be strong, and also a reflection of both of our families.  It didn't seem like it should be so hard!

Craft was one name that consistently came up, but never as a first name - always as a middle name.  Craft was my paternal grandfather's middle name, and Dan and I both just really liked it but we were worried it might be weird as a first name.  We also couldn't come up with a first name that we liked to go with it.  Some other contenders were David (my choice - my Dad's name), William or "Liam" (my choice - Dan's Dad's name), Edward or "Ward" (Dan's choice - his maternal grandfather's name), Cullen (Dan's choice - his maternal grandmother's maiden name), but nothing sounded right.  I had been lobbying really hard for David William (after our Dads, and Dan's name is Daniel William so they would have shared the same initials), but Dan didn't want the name to be so similar to his.  I kept hoping he would just let me win after I labored out the whalephant, but no such luck.  

Anyway, so we continued to discuss the name situation while I was laboring.  We discussed it with my doctor and the nurses.  Literally at one point Dan said, "Hey, Dr. T. has delivered both of our babies now, his first name is George, George isn't a bad name."  I miraculously was not anxious about it anymore at this point - I knew we'd eventually have to come up with something before they'd let us leave the hospital, even if it was Nemo or Grover (Lilly's choices) and had to be changed later, but it was apparently really putting Dan into a panic.

Later in the afternoon on the day Craft was born, Stephanie dropped by to see us and we discussed all of our options and bounced some ideas off of her.  It was so funny, because even though I'd wanted him to be David William for the entire pregnancy, the whole day in my head when I looked at him I was referring to him as "Craft."  At one point we were pretty close to Edward Craft, but couldn't decide whether we'd call him "Ward" or "Craft," which led us into a whole different discussion about how if we were going to call him by his middle name we may as well make that his first name.  We (I) agonized over whether Craft was weird as a first name, until finally we decided that we didn't care what anyone else thought.  Once we decided on Craft as the first name, the rest was pretty easy - Robinson (Dan's mother's maiden name) just seemed to fit perfectly.  

So, there you have it: Craft Robinson Baum.  We think it's pretty perfect, and it seems to fit our little man pretty well.

Squishhhhhhhhhhhh.  Those lips!!!  I die!!!
I've been amazed at the number of people who have told us how much they love the name.  Although I'm not really sure what I expected - I'm not sure anyone would have said, "Wow that name is hideous."  I guess I expected more of, "Oh, interesting, is that a family name?"  Anyway, we love it and that's all that matters - and so does big sister.  She usually calls him "Craft Robinson" - rarely does she just call him Craft.  It's pretty cute and I need to try to get it on video!

I'm off to attempt a shower before it's time for piggy to eat again (he does that a lot).  Maybe if I'm lucky I can squeeze in some time to dry my  hair too?!?!  A girl can dream...

Sarah

2 comments:

  1. Love love love the name! And the story behind it. We're having the hardest time coming up with a name for baby girl. Nothing sounds right. We'll probably be like you guys and wait until after she's born to figure it out. Nothing like waiting until the last possible minute!

    P.S. Sorry I haven't been commenting lately! I promise I'm reading, just on my phone late at night and not where I could comment. I feel bad I never sent you an official big CONGRATS on the baby!

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    Replies
    1. I think you'd probably agree that Sara(h) is an excellent girls name. :-) And NO worries mama, I know how much work it is growing a sweet babe AND taking care of a toddler, and commenting via iPhone is the worst. Thanks for checking in! I love following along to see what you guys are up to as well. :-)

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