Pinball

This is what I'm calling the boy when I'm not calling him G.

Yes, I have decided to start calling this fetus by what I expect will be his name, provided my dear hubby can commit to it. (I am astounded that he and I will celebrate 10 years of wedded life given his inability to commit to most things.)

There are technically 2 branches of government in our home that usually work together pretty well, but I'm pulling a George W. and claiming executive privilege.

The other day at the pool Norah started talking to a mom with a baby boy (he was maybe 9 months old). She was telling this woman that we are waiting on Daddy to pick the name of baby brother. I thought, "OK, that's it. Time to take action."

G is our top name on the list, but D is worried about its spelling. He fears everyone will misspell it as they misspell N (leaving off the H). I told him, "D, my last name is V*******." I can't count the number of ways people have botched both the spelling and pronunciation of my name, but I've survived.

The other thing is that D is easily influenced by what other people like or dislike, so he is leery of telling people the name. I don't give a rat's ass what other people think of the name. My only concern is that someone else will realize what a fantastic name it is and "steal" it from me (with their baby boy due 2 weeks prior to mine). As I've said before, other people's dislike usually induces me to feel even more strongly about a decision. And besides, if someone he knows named Ernest or Elmore were to say anything, you can't really take him seriously because look at that name.

I like the name Glen, but D works with a Glen, so that name was never even on the list. (Like would people think I had conceived the boy with D's coworker or something?????)
I had to give up Hugh because D didn't like it and my mother couldn't say it.
I like Clive, but D didn't like that one.
We like Roan and Rhys, but are concerned about the fact that they are unisex and might veer eventually to female names (like Ashley used to be a boy's name but no longer).
We've talked about Bennett, but D doesn't like first names that sound like last names.

I am tired of calling him "boy." What is the point of knowing he is a boy if I can't give him a name and start thinking of him as a little boy person with characteristics like those that might come from a name.

Pinball comes from this new little game he plays in my uterus whereby he seemingly holds his hands above his head and pokes one side of me and then bounces across my uterus to the other side, where he pushes off with his feet. Back and forth, back and forth. He does it really quickly too, so it is more than a little unnerving.

So if D decides at the last minute that G isn't going to work for him, I am writing Pinball on the birth certificate.