Why You Shouldn't Keep Your Baby's Name a Secret
Stop With the Unnecessary Secrecy, and Just Tell Us Your Baby's Name Already
I'm at the stage of my life when a lot of my friends are pregnant. While I'm so unbelievably excited for them, I'm also a little frustrated. As the always single, always a bridesmaid best friend, my job during their pregnancies is to watch the magic unfold, month by month, and help however I can (and by magic, I literally mean watching their bellies grow with anticipation, and not just my friends' insane abilities to transform their guest rooms into Pinterest-worthy nurseries).
I mean, you're not a celebrity, so keeping the baby's name on intense lockdown is pretty silly.
The first thing I usually wait to find out is the baby's gender. I play the guessing game in my head and out loud with my pregnant friends, strategizing with them over whether their baby bump and pregnancy symptoms mean they're having a boy or a girl. The second that piece of news is released to the world, my baby gift-buying spree can finally begin. But the one thing I wish my pregnant friends didn't hold onto so closely until hours (sometimes days) after the baby has entered the world is the name. To me, it's unnecessary and is something that should be shared with friends, family members, and those who troll their social media feeds.
For starters, keeping the baby's name to yourself ruins my monogram game. How am I supposed to embroider a blanket, a set of bibs, or baby towels with the initials of your kid-to-be without knowing the name? Perhaps I want to get you wall art with cool font spelling the baby's name out, or a neon sign (just like the one's we used to see at NYC dance clubs) with the baby's name. Now I have to wait until the baby arrives to do that, and it's just not as good of a surprise.
It's also something that can be celebrated in a big and bold way. You could incorporate the news into your gender reveal party, or, if you're a party enthusiast that likes to celebrate everything, have a separate name reveal party (I might slightly roll my eyes if you do that, though). Celebrating you and your baby is always a good thing, and it would be even better if we knew exactly who we were celebrating. It's fun to live vicariously through you and your exciting baby journey, so let me in on it, OK? I mean, you're not a celebrity (well, to me, you are), so keeping the baby's name on intense lockdown is pretty silly. It's not like you need to keep it a secret for the big magazine spread you're not going to get.
And finally, knowing will help me warm up to the fact that my best friend will have a new best friend, which also means I will, too. I want to call your baby by its name, rather than just "baby," so that it feels more personal and real. With so many of my friends being pregnant at once, I'd like to put names to the future faces of all these babies that will soon be a big part of my life.
So, whenever you're ready, friends, let me know. I'll be here with about 20 monogrammed baby gifts lined up in my online shopping cart ready to go.
Editor's Note: This piece was written by a POPSUGAR contributor and does not necessarily reflect the views of POPSUGAR Inc. Interested in joining our POPSUGAR Voices network of contributors from around the globe? Click here.
