I changed my DD's name

[ifinallydidit]

There have been a number of posts from MNers considering changing the name of their baby recently. I have recently changed my DD's name and thought I'd share my experience.

My DH chose her original name. I was always unsure of it, but went along with it for various reasons. As time went on, I found that I was becoming increasingly unhappy with the name we had chosen, and I ended up getting myself into quite a state over it. My DH was extremely understanding and supportive, and we eventually decided to change it. This wasn't an easy decision and we almost didn't do it. It was easy to change legally as my DD was only a few months old, but I was very nervous about telling people.

I found that while it felt like a huge thing to do for me, nobody else really seemed to really care what we call our child! They have their own lives and their own things to worry about. Everybody has just accepted it and started using the new name. As our friends, they are just happy that we are happy. We are also lucky that we had the support of our families.

I am really pleased that we made the change; I don't think her old name would have ever felt right. I still wonder if it was a crazy thing to do - but my DH and I are both happy with it, which I think is all that matters. My DD is still too young to know, but I hope she agrees that we made the right choice when she is older It has been a little strange getting used to her new name, but it is becoming easier all the time.

I hope this helps anyone who is also considering changing their baby's name. I'd also be interested to hear from others who have done the same thing

thanks for that edam - we plan tell DD as soon as we think she is old enough to understand, and I hope she won't be too confused or cross with us.

I know there is no point dwelling on this, but I have really been beating myself up about it. Maybe I am am over thinking it too, but I am so annoyed with myself for getting it wrong to start with. I don't regret the change, as the original name just did not sit well with me at all - but I don't know how I could have been so stupid as to agree to a name I knew I wasn't keen on.

Concordia - did you feel this way at all?

I would say i feel a bit irrirated that i got it wrong to start with. It all links back to some horrible experiences around the time of the birth in my head. As soon as that had settled down (around 3 weeks) i realised the name was wrong, but then had the problem that i didn't know whether i was just anxious, and worrying about the name was a symptom of that, or whether the name was a cause of my anxiety. DH said i changed a lot as soon as the name was changed.

In some ways having the original name as an extramiddle name is a reminder of my mistake which i would not want (as i never wanted two middle names) but as DH wanted to keep the original name i had to respect that.

Yes, i guess i am a bit cross with myself (the original name was 8th on my preference list and 9th on DHs and I should never have agreed to it)but this is overrided by the fact i feel so much better now.

It also felt easier as soon as she had had the new name longer than the old one somehow - the new name was part of her for more of her life iyswim. Also by this point i was starting to introduce her to many more new people who had never known her old name - this made it really feel hers.

In short i have no regrets really, and thanks to mumsnet, as i would probably have never changed the name without their support

Concordia, I hope I haven't dredged up any negative feelings that you had already put behind you. This is all quite recent for me, and I appeciate your assurances that it gets easier.

Still, changing her name has been FAR easier than I expected, especially in terms of other peoples reactions (as there has been hardly any reaction from anyone at all). The most difficult parts come from myself in terms of beating myself up for putting myself in this position to start with. Honestly - I am my own worst enemy at times.

I guess we all make mistakes. Mine comes from just not being prepared enough. I had only just finished work, and just wasn't ready (she was a couple of weeks earlier than expected). Afterwards, I was so phyically and mentally exhausted, that it was just easy to go with DH's name choice - and I just thought that I would get used to it.

I feel like the mistake is fixed now - I just need to get on with it. Having the original name as a middle name feels like a reminder of my mistake to me too in some ways. But I think it will make it easier to explain when she is older, and it does make the transition feel a little easier I think too.

Thanks for your support on this - and actually to mumsnet in general. I thought I must be crazy when I first started to consider changing her name, and it was a relief to read some of the other threads on this and to realise that it does happen and that I wasn't the only one