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The days following childbirth aren’t what you see in the movies — you don’t usually grin from ear to ear with a calm and peaceful cherub in your arms. Instead, your body is in pain, your lady parts are screaming; and your baby is far from angelic, determined to rob you of the luxury of sleep. I mean, there’s no love lost, I’d do it all over again for my baby, but I’m not going to sugarcoat it either: it’s one hell of a ride! So when there’s so much happening. I didn’t exactly give a lot of thought to what my baby would be called.
You see, I refused to think of a name during my pregnancy — I wanted to hold and get to know my baby before deciding the perfect name that just fits so well, so I decided to wait until after birth. It isn’t weird; many parents choose to name their baby a few days after their child’s birth. If you happen to be like one of us, let me say something: while spending all the time looking for the perfect name, forget not what the initials spell! I learned it the hard way, but you don’t have to repeat my mistake. Thank me later (maybe in the comments below).
Striving For The Perfect Moniker
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I was in a whole other world of my own. Drugged with all kinds of postpartum medication, anxiety about my little one, plus the lack of sleep all contributed to my dazed mindset. But I was super excited about the whole baby naming process. Also, there was a lot of pressure from family members and friends, so I knew I had to get down to business. My husband and I wanted something elegant, cute, and fierce at the same time. Let me tell you something: we had a thing in our family, where a child is given a first name, two middle names, and a surname. Why two middle names? One was an actual middle name, while the other was a family name.
Sasha Hope Iverson Turner.
I loved it, and so did my partner…and what’s not to love? Every time I looked at my baby, I was filled with a sense of pride and joy because she had the perfect name. Or so I thought.
The naming ceremony is a big deal. I wanted it to be a big deal. I started my very own social media campaign, hyping everyone for the big-name reveal. I was going to hold a name reveal party and it was going to be great! Despite my body aches, sleep deprivation, and newborn baby duties, I was fully pumped and excited about the big day. The world would see what a beautiful name my baby had, and I was waiting for it!
Baby Name Reveal And A Realization
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The big day was here! My social media handles were super active with constant updates, my baby was dressed as a princess, the house was beautifully decorated, and all my loved ones were here. When my husband and I revealed the baby’s name, everyone cheered, and I wanted to cry because I was so happy!
Apart from my husband and me, my mother was the only one who was let in on the big secret of what the name was going to be. She loved it so much that she decided to make a beautiful gift for my baby instead of buying one.
So when my mother brought me the gift for her grandchild, it was a special moment because I knew a lot of hard work was involved. I opened the beautifully wrapped gift (she really does go all out), and my jaws dropped. The gift was beautiful — it goes without saying, but that’s not why I was shocked. It was a knitted baby blanket with my child’s name on it. While the entire name was knitted onto the blanket, the initials of each name were much more pronounced than the other alphabets. And it read as “S.H.I.T”.
That’s when I realized what I had done: my baby’s initials were a disaster, and my precious little bundle was stuck with it forever.
It got worse — soon after my baby’s name was revealed, friends and family, especially the blissfully unaware ones (or should we say insensitive ones?), started using hashtags and comments on social media that spelled out my baby’s initials. Before long, messages started pouring in, people began pointing out the fact that the initials weren’t a great idea and that I might want to consider changing one of the names!
And change the name I did — my daughter still has a beautiful name: Sasha Ava Iverson Turner. But this time, the initials weren’t a cause for concern. I saved my daughter from potential social embarrassment, and I’m so glad I did. I just wish I had been careful in the first place, but hey, cut some slack for a new mommy! Plus, I just saved you the trauma I went through, so learn from my mistakes! Did you have a similar experience? Share your experience with us in the comments below!
