Baby has a name.
- Camera: Canon EOS 60D
- Aperture: f/4.5
- Exposure: 1/60th
- Focal Length: 56mm
23rd April 2012
Notes: 27
When we found out we were pregnant again, my initial thoughts on the name were that we weren’t going to tell anyone. I was still harboring some uneasy feelings about our last name reveal, and wasn’t sure I wanted to do it again.
Then we picked a name. I loved it. It was perfect. I told my coworkers first because they’re a trendy group, and I knew they would approve. That weekend I was on such a high from their reaction that when my mom asked me for the umpteenth time what name we had chosen, I told her I would tell her - but only if she wouldn’t tell anyone. And she promised, so I told her.
She cried because she actually liked the name. It was a huge, magical relief to know she didn’t hate it and wasn’t going to send me an email asking me to reconsider. I spoke to her two days later and she confessed that she told my dad the name. Meh, okay they’re married, it’s okay. Then she said she told my sister as well, and I lost it. Maybe it had something to do with holding in all my anger from her reaction to Beau’s name, but I was (and kind of still am) full on angry. The woman said she wouldn’t tell.
Also, why didn’t my sister just ask me? It was my kid’s name, not my mom’s. I really wanted to tell my her in person to see her reaction. It may sound lame, but I didn’t get to tell any family members Beau’s name in person because we were across the country, so I was really looking forward to the excitement of revealing it to her. We’re probably not going to have another baby and once again, what should have been a happy moment during pregnancy, ended with a huge cloud hanging over it.
My mom apologized for telling, and my sister apologized for asking my mom in the first place, but it doesn’t make it better. It doesn’t give me that moment back. Am I being dramatic? Maybe. But damn, this was really important to me.
I’ve wanted to share the name we have chosen for Baby Blanton #2 for a bit now, but for some reason naming a baby has never come drama free for us. So before we finally announce it, I’d like to share a couple stories with you.
Let’s start with Beau Danger.
We chose the name within an hour of finding out we were having a boy. We loved it. It was simple but exciting at the same time. I was on cloud nine, giddy about putting a name to the baby wiggling in my belly. My mom found out because I slipped up and called him by name during a phone conversation. After she had heard the first name, she immediately asked the middle name. I told her, and we continued to chat like everything was fine.
Not even an hour after our call ended I got an email from her.
In the email she told me that she, and other undisclosed people, would like it if we would “please try to find a better middle name for him.” She was concerned by the middle name Danger for a little boy and thought kids would make fun of him because they are mean. And she just knew he would be cute and loving like me, but apparently a name like Danger could interfere with the cuteness. (That last part is paraphrased, but the message was clear)
At the time, I took this email like a champ. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t bother me. Did she mean well? Sure. Should she have kept her mouth shut? Absolutely. Even Southey was impressed that I wasn’t throwing a hormone-fueled hissy fit all over town.
I moved on, but it is something that has always stayed at the back of my mind. I even printed the email and put it in Beau’s baby book. I thought he could look back on it eventually and laugh. Because what else can you do at that point other than laugh? Older people were never really on board with Beau’s middle name, and that’s okay, but there’s still something deep down that hurts knowing that my mom, of all people, disliked my kid’s name enough to ask me to change it.
- Camera: Photo Booth
At least once a week Southey and I have a serious discussion about naming our next child Cameron Poe Blanton. Is it too much?
In choosing a name for Beau we used the following criteria.
1. We knew from day one that if we had a boy, his middle name would be Danger. We thought it was awesome, but also semi-sane sounding. It wasn’t an inanimate object or anything, I’m talking to you Gwyneth Paltrow. Besides, how great is it that he’ll be able to say “My middle name is Danger,” and be able to bust out his driver’s license and prove it.*
2. We found ourselves drawn to names that were simple to say. I liked the idea of having a nickname for our kid, but if we were going to call him by a nickname just because his name was longer, we figured we might as well go ahead and give him a shorter name.
3. We wanted a name that was easy to pronounce. Southey has spent his life correcting people on the pronunciation of his name, (FYI - it’s suh-thee like southern, not south) so we wanted something that people would just read and pronounce without assitance.**
*Side note to Beau, I know having the middle name Danger is very cool, but it gives you no right to be a douchebag. Also, please don’t feel the need to live up to the name. If you decide to live on the edge and risk your life on the daily by doing terribly dangerous things just because of your middle name, don’t think for a second that I won’t go back and change it to Perfect, MamasBoy, or BehavesWell.
**Unfortunately, we didn’t take into account that west coast folks have no idea how to pronounce the name Beau. As of right now, Beau has been called Bean, Bew (like ew, that’s gross), and, my personal favorite Boo.
There you have it. Our first born will be Beau Danger Blanton. We think it’s the perfect blend of our Southern past meeting our Hollywood present, and we couldn’t be happier.
