naming a baby

The following post from DesignMom couldn't have come at a better time. It was about two or three weeks after the baby was born, just as all the post-partum hormones in my body were surging. I was going through those ups and downs that happen after sleepless nights on end, and having the kind of days where the wrong question at the wrong time could send me into a tearful fit. And then this post came along, and sounded so much like our own story. This lady didn't even sound crazy. I stopped worrying about what people might be thinking of me. I knew we would indeed give our little guy an official name, and it wasn't the end of the world that we hadn't decided yet. Thank goodness for this post.

Here's the post (or find it here):

from the designmom blog, photo by bluelily photography

The lovely Gina recently posted about baby naming in Sweden. We exchanged a couple of emails about the traditions there and she explained that Swedes will sometimes take many months — even a year! — before they name their babies.
It got me thinking about my own baby naming stories. As soon as we knew he was a boy, we picked Ralph’s name. But Maude’s first birth certificate said Miriam (seems so strange now, it wouldn’t fit her at all!). We ended up changing her name to Maude the day after we filed the Miriam paperwork, but we didn’t get around to getting a new birth certificate for a few months.
I remember standing in line at a bland government office, arms full of little toddler Ralph and tiny baby Maude, going through the red tape to get the new certificate, feeling completely overwhelmed, and promising myself that if we had any more babies, we’d have the name figured out before we left the hospital — so that I’d never have to refile that paperwork again. Hah!
What about you? Did your baby’s name come to you right away? Or did you have to search for it? Are any of you like the Swedish? Did you spend a few months after the baby was born trying on names until you decided?

P.S. — I find Swedish child-rearing endlessly interesting. Remember the preschools that are entirely outdoor? Also, remember tiny Baby June?