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June 8, 2010

The Great (nick) Name Debate

I am seriously stressing out about what we are going to call this baby.

She has a name - Katherine Elizabeth - and we both love it! 

Too bad we don't agree on a nick name. 

When we picked out the name, Alex didn't really express his disdain for the name Kate.  However, over the past 12+ weeks he has become more and more vocal about how he simply will not call her Kate and does not want us to use Kate as her nn.

Um, honey, that would have been wonderful to know 12 weeks ago. 

So, I feel like we are back to the name drawing board.  No, we won't be changing her formal name.  But, I have a feeling I might be on the losing end of a marital battle  for the first time ever.  Yes, that's right, I like to win when I fight/ argue - no one should be surprised by that! 

I want to keep calling her Kate.  Alex wants to call her Katie or Katie Beth.  My mom is siding with Alex on this one (yeah, she flipped teams - really Mom?  I kid...kind of).  My ILs are just going with the flow on all of this.  But, I secretly think all of the MS family would love a double name - that's just my suspicion though!  And, my BFF is calling her Katie Beth (but I think that is b/c she is a bit biased since she is Erin Beth)!

This has made monogramming items extra hard.  I would hate to have a ton of stuff with Kate all over it only to call her Katie Beth.  But, I want stuff with her name plastered all over it.   Sigh...

Anyone wonder why we are doing a monogram over her crib?  Um, yeah it's because we don't have a name to go over it!

I'm hoping she just comes out and we say "Ah ha, she has to be called this". Because of this hope, I am avoiding the nick name talk like the plague. I have no desire to argue about this (and let's get real, I don't want to lose this battle) so I simply avoid.

But, this uncertainty is absolutely killing this Type A control freak...

8 comments:

MJ said...

Oh I understand that would drive me crazy too. Can't you each have your own nicknames for her? You call her Kate and DH calls her Katie?

Lindsey B said...

MJ - We've talked about that. But, then it gets into what do we introduce her as, what does she go by at school, etc.

We would much rather just be on the same page!

Catherine said...

Just happened upon your blog, but wanted to say that my name is Catherine (Ann is my middle name). It is a family name, my grandmother, aunt and cousing were all Catherine's before me. My grandmother was called Kate, my Aunt Cay, and my cousin Cathy. My mother always insisted I be called Catherine, and I love it. Many people have called me Cathy through the years but I never liked it. I think Katherine is beautiful just the way it is!

~Brit said...

I agree with above person (Catherine). I think it's a beautiful name but I do understand you wanting a nickname for her. You two will figure something out that you both love :) My problem is.... I've gotten so used to hearing Kate due to this blog haha!

Megan and David said...

I just have to believe that you guys will get a feel for her when she is born. FWIW, I love them both. Super helpful, I know : )

Kate said...

Another Katherine chiming in... My full name is Katherine Eliza (named after my great aunt, Catherine Elizabeth). As a kid I was always Katie, but my dad always called me Kate (who knows, maybe my parents had a similar feud). Anywho, when I got older, I started going by Katherine because I thought it sounded more professional, especially given my maiden name. Well this made everyone crazy because everyone wants to shorten it to Kathy. And I'm not a Kathy. So now I go by Kate/Katherine, since Katie a diminutive and I don't like the way it sounds like a little girl. So long story short, Kate is more "versatile" (can last for life) while Katie a great kid's name (though there were like >5 Katies in my class). But she can always choose a different nick name or go by Katherine if she wants to later. GL!

Anonymous said...

My name is Kathryn (my mum is British and so they went with the British spelling). I was always Katy, but now that I am graduating law school I am switching it over to Kate. I dont think you should stress too much, I know lots of people that started out as one nickname and switched it over when they hit school because of other kates/katies/kayes in the class. I love Kate now (my fiance is the one who started calling me Kate) but try not to worry. Wait until you meet her, as long as you have something to write on the birth certificate you will be fine and then you can choose the nickname that works best when you see her little face.

Oh and I think if you call her different names that is fine! I have a friend named Caroline and one of her parents says Caro-lynn and the other Caro-line and she is still normal :)

Anonymous said...

Just came across your blog today and thought I'd share our experience. I always wanted my kids to have names that would have a nickname so we could have "baby" names and then they could have "professional" names when they grew up. Throughout my pregnancy I struggled with choosing a name. Finally decided on Samuel and figured he'd be Sammy as a baby. His personality has been so serious from the moment he was born that Sammy just doesn't fit. He's Sam or Samuel to me. His dad calls him Sam-Sam. And, at age 3, he refers to himself as Samuel. My daughter's name can't be shortened, but at 7 months, she responds to Little Bear as much as she does her name. For me, I needed a name for my babies before they were born but loved the flexibility of finding the "right" nickname based on what I learned about them after they arrived. And because my kids' personalities change a bit when they are around different people, it seems "normal" for everyone to have their own nickname for them.

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