Choosing baby names can be stressful. You are hearing suggestions from friends, family, and total strangers. You spend time discussing names with your spouse, and sometimes get the look, that look which says “No Way”. Should you tell anyone your choices of baby names?
There are a few good reasons you may wish to share the baby names. You may be hoping to get personalized clothing, blankets, and decorations for your new baby. Obviously if you do not share the baby’s name no one can have a personalized gift made for you and your newborn. They could wait until after the baby is born, but most of your gifts come at baby showers held before the birth.
A second reason you may wish to share your ideas on baby names, verification. If you want your baby’s name to be unique in your family, you may need to share it with the future grandparents. They will know about the names of uncles, aunts, cousins, and other relatives you are forgetting about.
There are some very powerful reasons not to share the baby names you are considering. Most importantly, the added stress others will give you. You and your spouse have been pouring through names for weeks trying to come up with names you love. Then at the first mention of the baby names, you get someone raising an eyebrow, crinkling a nose, or saying “Oh, You like that name?”. Suddenly your mind is twisting and turning again trying to decide if it is really the name you want.
One of the best reasons you may choose not to tell anyone the baby names you are considering, it is fun to give them a surprise. To have your parents, siblings, and friends hear the baby’s name for the first time when they are seeing the baby at the hospital helps bond the name to your infant. It is fun to watch their faces as they are saying the baby’s name, holding your newborn son or daughter. It is a much more satisfying feeling than just blurting out the name when everyone asks.
The final, and maybe most important reason not to share the baby names, you may change your mind. Once you start sharing the name, you feel obligated to use it. You may discover at the last moment a new name which slipped past your searches before, and fall in love with the name. If no one knows your plans, you feel free to change it quickly. There is one other important reason to have the flexibility. Even if you asked to know the sex of the baby ahead of time, you may have a big surprise and discover you little boy is a girl, or the other way around.
Should you tell anyone your choices for baby names? It is really up to you, just do it for the right reasons, not just because everyone is being demanding. It is your baby, your choices, and your opportunity to have the adventure.