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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

My DH has changed my baby’s name….

549 replies

Lilysienna1 · 15/03/2024 21:52

… or at least, he’s TOLD everyone a different name. I’m pretty sure I am not being unreasonable. This is more of what would be a reasonable response. Because right now I’m ready to LTB.

I have recently given birth to our 3rd and final baby. I had a difficult birth, and have just got home from hospital after a 10 day stay.
As we did with previous births, we’ve not allowed any visitors and as I’ve been so unwell, I’ve actually only bothered with my
phone to snap a few photos, in between sleeping and feeding etc. Not announced the birth on social media, and only spoke with my mum and sisters.

I arrive home today and started opening cards and presents that family and friends (from DH side) have dropped round. All with congratulations on the birth of ‘Georgina.’

This would be lovely, if her name was Georgina. However, it isn’t or at least it wasn’t. We had agreed on Emmeline. Georgina was a top contender, but I just didn’t love it as much as Emmeline. DH had not expressed how much he loved the name Georgina - he was very much ‘I like all the names on the shortlist. You can choose.’ Which I did. Emmeline.

so of course, I confront him on it. We didn’t share any names with friends and family, so I knew they hadn’t just taken a wild guess. He looked a bit sheepish and said ‘I was going to tell you. I just don’t think I can imagine calling her Emmeline. Georgina is a better fit.’
Oh and ‘Everyone agrees’ he said. (his mum then basically)

‘I was going to tell you’ doesn’t really cut it here does it? I will admit neither of us were really using her name in the hospital, we were calling her ‘little bean’ which was a silly but sentimental name we had for her when she was just a bump. But of course I’ve said Emmeline a few times and I’m sure he has as well.

He said he was really sorry, but ‘everyone’ was asking for a name and he felt he had to make a decision (that we had already made) and so he ‘went with Georgina.’
He says he can understand why I am upset but as we both like Georgina, why can’t we use it. Seeing as she doesn’t ‘feel like an Emmeline.’

if this had been discussed, then sure, we both have to feel comfortable with the end name, but that decision can’t be with one parent alone, behind the other ones back. He says I was too unwell to really decide. Yes, I was unwell. But perfectly capable of a conversation.

oh and his mum has already ordered ‘Georgina’ a personalised baby blanket 🥴

OP posts:
ArrrMeHearties · 17/03/2024 19:31

Register her birth so you can have her rightful name on her birth certificate

wellington77 · 17/03/2024 19:33

If he hasn’t registered the birth yet I would do it ASAP and then make him send out messages to correct everyone- it’s his mess to clear up and then he needs to do some major begging and lots of nigh feeds to win you back if he doesn’t want marriage counselling- that’s what I would say to him. I’d be absolutely livid!!!!

NotQuiteNorma · 17/03/2024 19:35

Perhaps better communication is the moral to this one. The fact he has changed 'my' baby's name rather than 'our' baby's name suggests this was never an 'us' decision in the first place. Perhaps he never like Emmeline from the start and felt railroaded into agreeing.

Lilysienna1 · 17/03/2024 19:37

Thank you for all the comments - I’ve read them all through the sleepy zombie new baby days.. 😬 My DH has also been reading the comments and says he can see how unreasonable he has been, and that he was swayed with Georgina after his mum expressed a dislike of Emmeline. Feeling both names are tainted now, we have settled on another of our shortlist names… so we are now the new parents of Louisa Clementine. 😊 (DH’s mum was disappointed but she’s changed the order on the personalised blanket) we’ve announced her new and final name to all friends and family!

OP posts:
Bringtheweatherwithyou · 17/03/2024 19:39

Louisa is a much nicer name than Emmeline!!!

Twazique · 17/03/2024 19:39

Congratulations! Lovely name! Flowers

Beautifulfriend · 17/03/2024 19:40

Beautiful name ❤️ congratulations on the birth of your lovely new daughter😊

Alargeoneplease89 · 17/03/2024 19:40

Congratulations... love the new name.

Lilysienna1 · 17/03/2024 19:40

Bringtheweatherwithyou · 17/03/2024 19:39

Louisa is a much nicer name than Emmeline!!!

Funnily enough, I think so too! I love it. And I can already see this being a funny story to share with Louisa when she is older! 😬

OP posts:
CestLaVie123 · 17/03/2024 19:41

Happy for you OP! Enjoy your lovely new baby! X

PossumintheHouse · 17/03/2024 19:41

Yay. Louisa is so much nicer than Emmeline. (It screams cleaning product to me.)
Glad you got it sorted, OP. Your husband still deserves a smacked botty, though.

SignoraVolpe · 17/03/2024 19:47

Louisa is a gorgeous name.
Congratulations to all of you. X

DisabledDemon · 17/03/2024 19:48

Brilliant! Glad it's all worked out.

wellington77 · 17/03/2024 19:50

I loved that you showed him the messages! I hope that is a lesson to him!

mightydolphin · 17/03/2024 19:50

I ĺike Louisa best of all too. Great choice. I'm glad your DH realised he was a knob.

HoHoHoliday · 17/03/2024 19:54

What a lovely name! You will laugh about this one day, I guarantee it. Congratulations on the new baby.

Fireangels · 17/03/2024 19:55

My DF is in his 80s. His parents decided on a first and middle name for him, and his DF went off to register him. Whether by accident or not, (This has never been proved!), his DF reversed the names. Family history relates that his DM swore she would never use his ‘new’ first name, and she never did! All of his family use his middle name, but as an adult my DF decided he preferred to be known by his first name. Therefore my mum, all her family and all of their friends know him by his first name.

Commonsense22 · 17/03/2024 20:00

@Lilysienna1 that's a lovely update and an absolutely beautiful name :)

Lilysienna1 · 17/03/2024 20:01

I will also add, that in general, I get on well with my MIL, and I don’t think she would have given her opinion if DH hadn’t actually asked her for it. I think it was a stressful situation all round and it brought out some out of character behaviour. 😅 The children are pleased as well… they’ve already taken to calling her ‘Lulu.’😬

OP posts:
Persipan · 17/03/2024 20:02

This whole thread has been very reminiscent of Marmalade Atkins (in which her orange-obsessed father intended to name her Clementine but got distracted at the registry office) and if you don't now nickname your child Marmalade then really, I feel it's a terrible missed opportunity. Just saying.

Anameisaname · 17/03/2024 20:15

Lovely name ! Great idea

Tinysoxxx · 17/03/2024 20:21

Lovely update and nice your husband understood too. Louisa is gorgeous.

LuluBlakey1 · 17/03/2024 20:26

Lilysienna1 · 17/03/2024 20:01

I will also add, that in general, I get on well with my MIL, and I don’t think she would have given her opinion if DH hadn’t actually asked her for it. I think it was a stressful situation all round and it brought out some out of character behaviour. 😅 The children are pleased as well… they’ve already taken to calling her ‘Lulu.’😬

Oh well Lulu is a lovely name - I think so anyway. 😁

FeedMeSantiago · 17/03/2024 20:26

Louisa Clementine is a beautiful name, congratulations OP.

I'm glad you were able to resolve it so well and DH quickly realised he was out of order.

SharonEllis · 17/03/2024 20:29

Pipecleanerrevival · 15/03/2024 21:57

What an asshole. I’d change his name to Richard until he sorts this out.

This!