Like any expectant mom having her sixth baby, I was prepared. I went to the hospital with a list o’ names. We don’t like to have our babies named months before they make their appearance; in this high-tech age, some things have to be left to the last minute to make it exciting.
I wasn’t prepared to have each and every name shot down by my older boys when I whipped out that list on the day my baby was born. Here’s a handy hint for those of you bringing a new baby into a family with older children: DO NOT give your teenagers veto power in choosing names, because if you do, YOU WILL NEVER NAME YOUR BABY. Mistake!
Now I had a big problem. We had to choose a name in three days, starting from scratch, with the primary name chooser drugged and riding on about four cumulative minutes of sleep per night. Sounds like a recipe for choosing the wrong name under duress. And that’s pretty much what happened.
I never could admit to myself that no matter how many times I said it, “Cameron” felt wrong. I played endlessly with nicknames and was irked beyond what was reasonable when I met other Camerons his age and realized he might be relegated to “Cameron G.” in kindergarten. I assumed he would “become” his name over time, as all the other children did, and what was taking so long?
Joe and I finally looked at each other when he was ten months old and said “We should have named him Dane.” This had been the name we’d picked with hours left to go in the hospital and changed with the paperwork in front of me. And then I realized, why not? We can’t be the first people to change our baby’s name months after birth. Sure, it would be a little awkward at first, but everyone would get over it, and then he would finally have the right name. Can I tell you, I felt like a huge weight was lifted.
Oddly enough, the boys thought it was a great idea….we were prepared for some protesting but got none. It took us about two months of transition to call him Dane all the time and we still slip, even though we are keeping Cameron as his middle name. It’s going to cost $165 at the city court to change it legally, which we haven’t gotten around to but plan to do soon.
Happy first birthday, Dane! We can't be the only people who had this experience: I’d love to hear what everyone has to say. (However, if you’re a teenager saying you don’t like it, keep walking!)
