When you had your children did you 'feel ready' to name them?

[SausagedogplusVera]

Like you were confident in your choices?

Yes, we were very sure as soon as we knew the gender.

Have a few possibilities then pick the one that feels right. Have had to get used to all three kids names and always feel a but odd telling people for first few weeks as they are different but grow to love them completely

Yes - named him immediately and are very happy with our choice.

No, not at all.

It took us 5 weeks to name DS! We had a short list and got down to 3 fairly quickly once he was born, but we just couldn't decide. He came into himself at 4 weeks a bit more and the name sort of chose him...

Yes.The moment they were all born we could tell the midwives their names!

We had a boy and girl name for dd1. We did umm and ahh a bit though and her hospital bracelet said 'Baby Girl' We decided she looked like the name we had chosen. Dd2 didn't have a name for 3 days, the only one we agreed on didn't suit her. After reading a name in a name book, we changed it a bit and I couldn't imagine her called something else.

I'm 8 weeks pregnant and totally sure for the girl.

Boy is a different story! If it's a boy, don't think he will be named until after his birth.

We had chosen a girl's name for all four of ours well before they were born, but never decided on any boy's name. Just as well we had all girls.

Mind you, picked dd3's name months before her birth like the others, but I changed my mind in the hospital after I had had her and gave her a completely different name that we hadn't even previously discussed! I think it is my favourite name of the four now.

Yes.

DS was named as soon as he was whipped out.

DD was a planned c-section and I scribbled, "Baby 'Meglet' arrives!!" on the calendar a month before she was born. My inner control freak loved having the name, date and sex sorted out in advance. I felt I knew her before she was born .

weeks every time
once 8 weeks
once named him then changed mind 3 months later

no way! DD1 was a week for her name, DD2 was an hour after the birth for the first and 6 weeks for the second (started getting letters from the registry office), last daughter wasn't allowed home until she had a name - other medical and practical issues helped delay the return home, so I had a week to paly around with names. All the cool names I had thought of didn't suit this rounded soft child on my lap. Again, we were six weeks before we chose a second name.

I think the names got better with the longer decison time.....

Not at all.... and I'm someone who has obsessively compiled lists of my favourite names (actual lists, not just mental ones!) since the age of about nine! When I was actually pregnant, and the names I was picking were actually going to be for a real baby, none of them seemed special enough, and I so desperately wanted the baby to have the 'perfect' name, a name that was just 'okay' wouldn't have done at all!

When DS was actually born, all DP and I could agree on was that he definitely didn't look like any of the names we'd shortlisted! He ended up with the family name we'd originally chosen to be a middle name as his first name, and a completely different middle name. Six months on, I'm still not entirely sure we made the right decision :)

With DS1 we had a shortlist of boys' and.girl's names (didn't know what we were having). DS1 was born at 2.00 and was named at 10.00 that day. His first name was the top of our boy's shortlist, but his mn hadn't even been considered until.he was born.

With DS2 we again didn't find out what we were having and again had shortlist. Neither of the top two names on our shortlist felt right for him so he was nameless for 3 days. We then choose a name that had been on.our shortlist, but lower down. We weren't sure it was the right name for him until my DM said how much she disliked it and asked us to change it. It would have been easy to change and potentially would have saved us some grief, but DH and I both felt that DS2 was his name and it was the right name for him. In other words having to defend our choice strengthened it for us.

Currently expecting DC3 and again have shortlists. I like to have thought about names but can't imagine definitively naming a child before I met them and unlike other posters, I.do thinl some babies look like some names.

We have 4 dc, 2 boys, 2 girls.
With ds, we knew he was Amos forever, and that was his name when he was born. I adore his name, it is (and always has been) my favourite boys name of all time.

With the other 3, we took a shortlist of about 4 or 5 names in, and chose one after dc was born, within 10 minutes of birth. We picked the one that 'felt' as though it belonged to dc. No regrets with any of them (although 11, 9 and 6 years later all these dc names are getting more popular, but still wouldn't change them for the world as they have religious and family significance to us)

We had a boys name 100% before we even concieved and then we found out it was a girl we had a shortlist and thats it but when I was in labour I just shouted - Please get out minicowboy!

Lucky my DH laughed and agreed saying I had decided which was a good job as I didnt get to meet her for a while and she didnt feel real when I was ill as I wouldnt like the thought of her being nameless.