I’ve got eight weeks to go until baby #3 arrives, and we are at a standstill.
This baby needs a name. And while we have a few front-runners, we’re not satisfied just yet with the choices.
And frankly, we can’t agree. For example, we both like the name Elizabeth. But he would want to call her Beth, and I like Eliza.
Tomato, to-mah-to. We called that one off.
It’s so bad that my 5-year-old came over to me with the TV remote today and said, “Look Mommy! Here’s a name for the baby — AV!”
AV.
I could not make that up if I tried. (And yes, we couldn’t stop laughing.)
This baby has been a bonus in more ways than one. When we decided to find out the sex, one reason I wanted to know was because I thought it would cut down on the name drama. If baby had been a boy — well, that would have made things a lot easier. We picked out one of those names oh, six years ago.
Maybe we’ll have a boy dog someday to give that one to.
In the past, we’ve had a little more guidance in the names we choose. We narrowed down the field using the Jewish custom of naming a child to honor the memory of a loved one. We named our eldest after my husband’s late father (first name) and my late grandfather (middle). We named our youngest after (well, I sort of broke the rules on that one) my grandmother.
We have other relatives we could pick from, but none that strike us as meaningful. The field, so to speak, is wide open.
So where to look for inspiration? A site I’ve used quite a bit is nymbler.com. I’ve used celebrity baby blogs for guidance on what *not* to do. (Blue Ivy anyone? Really?) I looked at the top names in the state of Illinois, the latest data available from 2010.
The other day I joked to a friend that I should ask all of you for baby name suggestions, and maybe even make it a sweepstakes. Why not? I’ve already tapped out my network on Twitter.
Then it became not so funny. I mean, we can use all the help we can get, right? Right?
I talked myself into it, and here we are.
Here’s how to enter the contest:
Give us your best name suggestion for my baby. I will pick THREE names I like the best, and then next week, chambanamoms.com readers will vote for their favorite name. Each of the three finalists will receive a chambanamoms.com T-shirt; the “winner” will receive a $25 gift card to — where else? — Babyland.
So please leave your name suggestions in the comments. You can enter as many times as you like. I will pick the top three names on Tuesday, Jan. 17, and the voting will take place the following week.
Hit me up, friends. We’re all ears.
Laura Weisskopf Bleill is the co-founder and editor of chambanamoms.com. You can reach her at laura@chambanamoms(dot)com. She reserves the right to pick another name besides the winner. (I’m crazy, but I’m not *that* crazy.)