Choosing your baby‘s name is a major decision. Whether traditional or quirky and unique, picking the perfect moniker can be a bit of a challenge – and at the end of the day, not everyone may love your choice.
Many new mums and dads decide to name their newborn after a family member, or take inspiration from their name. And that’s exactly what happened to one woman who thought she had found a way to honour both grandmothers – only for her own grandma to flip out.
Taking to Reddit, the woman explained that she has a two-month-old baby girl and – in keeping with family tradition – they were preparing to host a little party to celebrate her arrival. It’s also the time that they receive personalised gifts from their loved ones.
“We don’t announce the baby’s name until after the birth to make it a surprise,” she explained. “At the little party we give the parents a bunch of little gifts that have the new baby’s name on them. My grandmother always quilts a beautiful baby blanket and embroiders the baby’s name. She’s done this for all my sisters and cousins. The issue is the name my husband and I chose for our daughter.”
The grandmother has her own unique history with her name. She was born Lucille but at the age of eight, started telling everyone she wanted to be called Barbara – and she even went so far as to change her name legally. When asked why, she simply said it was because she liked Barbara better.
Meanwhile, her husband’s grandmother was a big I Love Lucy fan – the pair would watch it together before her death when he was 19. And so, the couple thought they would honour both women by naming their daughter Lucy. Following the birth, the proud new parents Facetimed the whole family to introduce the baby and announce her name. “A few of my relatives laughed and said it was cute but my grandma was dead silent.
When I asked her what was wrong she demanded to know why I chose Lucy. I was shocked and confused,” the woman revealed. “I began to try and explain but she suddenly hung up. This greatly dampened the mood. My grandma wouldn’t answer any calls from me afterwards. I asked my oldest sister and she said that my grandma was apparently offended and thought we were mocking her. She said she’s not coming to the party in a few weeks to meet my daughter in person and that she’s not giving the baby quilt to us unless we apologise and change our daughter’s name. I don’t know why it’s escalated so much. My grandma has always been kind. I have no idea what to do.”
The upset new mum then reached out to the Reddit community for advice. “There’s trauma there that grandma isn’t sharing. But that’s her issue, not yours. NTA,” someone wrote in response. A second said: “I’m sorry, but no, if grandma had that big of a problem with her name, she should have said YEARS ago, that no one is allowed to use it.”
A third person added: “She wanted to change her name at age 8. Something happened back then, bullied at school, SA, something like that. Maybe a female member of the family could go, perhaps one of OP’s parents or siblings and one of OP’s husband’s family members, and explain why the baby was named this. Find some way, other than changing the baby’s name, that they can move forward.” And a fourth added: “NTA. But there is more to that story. Trauma. People lie to avoid discussing trauma. She probably played it off as a joke why she changed her name, and no one knows the whole story.”
Do you agree? Let us know in the comments.
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