... to be doing everything within my power to subtly put my pregnant cousin off a particular name?

[lolianja]

Long story short - she has a 7-month-old son called Matthew and is 5 months pregnant with another little boy. I have a 2-month-old son called Jimmy.

I say cousin, she's actually the half-sister of my second cousin David and thus not actually related to me by blood but the families are very close-knit and being a similar age (I'm 20, she's 22) and with similar interests, we're very good pals. We spend a lot of time hanging out with our babies and whenever she's in my vicinity (or I'm in hers) we'll head down to the park for a "baby picnic". Very therapeutic - much recommended by the way!

Anyway, I digress. After not minding it too much a few weeks ago, quite liking it a few days later and loving it shortly thereafter, she's now absolutely dead set on the name Carl for her little one in utero. I presume I'll not have to explain this to anybody that regularly watches ITV1 at 7pm on weekdays - but having already had remarks (often in gruff imitation Yorkshire accents) when we've been out with our two babies and passers by have asked what their names are - the idea of telling strangers that the three babies in tow are called Matthew, Jimmy and Carl fills me with a mixture of the unsuppressible urge to snigger and profound, face-clawing embarrassment.

Naturally she's perfectly entitled to call her little one whatever she and her boyfriend desire and Carl's a perfectly nice, sensible name otherwise. And I hasten to add I'm being semi-facetious here, but I confess I've been giving it the "ooh no, it's a bit passé, isn't it? I went to school with one who turned out to be a kiddy-fiddler/burglar/BNP official. No... I wouldn't go with that" with increasing vehemence. She doesn't watch the soaps (devil woman) and so the connotations mean nothing to her.

But I can't get past it. These last few days have been almost solely dedicated to putting her off the name Carl. I feel as though I'm impinging on her unarguable right to name as she pleases, purely to prevent hypothetical future embarrassment over nothing on my part.

Undoubtedly I'm pathetic. But AIBU??

(If I am, please don't shout at me! I'm pregnant as well. Any unreasonableness is entirely down to hormone undulation, I've decided.)

at Merrylegs' post. I like the cut of your jib (and loathe that expression with a passion, so you should feel highly blessed that I felt compelled to use it!)

@foxinsocks - I've just moved, ironically! Essex to Solihull, el boyfriendo got a job up here. Just beginning to settle in - rent is crippling though!

I'm gutted. Normally even if you pledge allegiance to al Qaeda, post in support of Gary Glitter or discuss the positives of eugenics, amidst the backlash there'll always be at least one loon somewhere out there that agrees with you. BUT NOBODY FEELS MY PAIN. hurls toys out of pram roaring at top of voice

I quite like the name Carl (curveball)

How about Mervin?

How about Cain? I hear he's back this week.

Horatio?

You're a bunch of meanies, you lot.

does she watch shameless? [evil]

get the boxset and when carl comes on go 'oh, that's the name you like for the baby isn't it?' and keep mentioning it every time carl humps something, does something gross or basically acts the twat.... should put her right off

@PinkTulips - GENIUS. I think I've got a few of the boxsets somewhere actually. Have to go and dig them out.

@rasputin - Very underhand. Mwahahahaaa.

I applaud your ability to string a sentence together - you are a fine example of oour educational system etc etc - but why the bloody hell would you get yourself het up over the name "carl"??? Methinks you are more worried about the other mummies will think when you have to introduce them to "carl"(?) who btw is related. Yikes.

WhamBam, not sure I catch your drift. There's nothing wrong with the name Carl. If it weren't for her older son's name and my son's name combined I wouldn't give a stuff. I actually think it's quite nice. And in honesty I don't really hang around with other mums very much I'd say my half-second-cousin's the only one in fact. My pre-baby social collection of the loutish males of my schooldays remains intact!

I've come to the conclusion that IABU undoubtedly and completely daft. But I can't help it. We're all fallible - allow me this irrational embarrassment at least!

God-damn... bloody ITV. growls under breath

Oh no! Rasputin (lover of the Russian queen) you blaspheming soul! I couldn't do without my wonderfully comforting, quintessentially British, deeply ingrained Hollyoaks-Emmerdale-Eastenders evening routine. Not ever. Even if it has proved detrimental to my general sanity as indicated by this thread.

I'm going to have two children under a year old at barely 21 - this, I feel, entitles me (temporarily) to lunatic behaviours.

OK fair dues, don't think i got it right... i do that a lot

I tried to put that wee quizzacle emoticon on the end of that sentence for good measure but it wasn't having it.... just saying

No problemo WhamBam. I do it as well, probably even more frequently than you.

@rasputin - my routine has been in place since I was about 8 years old it appears I've already turned into your mother at the festering, archaic, decrepit age of 20. Still - I could pen a tome of War and Peace proportions on how to be embarrassing/uncool so no surprise really. I remember this one time when I was 16, I was walking in some shows in Milan (I swear this isn't just casual lah-di-da braggery, I am going somewhere relevant with this) and a reporter for one of the obscure satellite fashion channels was doing a feature about what models have on their iPods. I had to pretend that I'd left mine at home for fear that, amidst the obligatory heavy metal, rap and other achingly cool tunage, they'd discover my gargantuan collection of Disney songs, every ABBA song every recorded, the theme to Star Trek: Next Generation, the entire contents of Chas & Dave's Jamboree Medley boxset and The Day We Went To Bangor. I come out in a cold sweat just imagining those people had somehow got hold of my iPod.

Gordon Bennet, the stuff we ramble on about online.

Forgive me folks. I do this sort of babbling a lot when I'm sleep-deprived. Jimmy will probably start caterwauling in a minute as well so I'd better haul ass.

Sorry...completely lost on me!

i watched him die yet i cant for the life of me remember the younger brothers name!!! whatever it is, lolianja, you must call your dc 2 it. complete the family!! i also have to admit to being a soap addict since childhod. my mum knows to wait until the ad break before she rings.

Karl is a lovely name....but i am biased it is ds1's name.

Youngest brother was Max.

cheers sowhat, that was really starting to annoy me. now what was the dad called?

I don't watch Emmerdale either so there will surely be plenty of other people who also don't get it...

But more importantly, if you really have been saying 'I went to school with a Carl who turned out to be a kiddy-fiddler' etc, then I would hardly say you are being subtle! She's probably twigged what you are up to and will call him Carl now purely to annoy you in return

YABU. Her child - her choice of name. I think it is mean of you to try to 'put her off' in the way you are. If you are serious about it, just say in a jokey way, 'hey, did you realise that if you go for Carl, our three will be Matthew, Jimmy and Carl just like on Emmerdale?'. Otherwise stay out of it.

I don't watch any soaps but happened to choose a name for my DS1 that was use in a soap just after he was born. For a few months people commented, but I soon put them right and anyway, after a couple of months there was another new character for them to talk about and they forgot all about DS1s name. He is an adult now and nobocy ever comments on it.