I'm trying to keep my business, my triplets, and my waistline under control. I excel at one of those, fail at another one of those, and one is a work in progress. Which is which is day dependant.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Creepy Baby Talk

When I was pregnant with the trio, everyone and his cousin used to ask me if I knew what "kind" of babies I was having. Tongue firmly in cheek I used to say, "Well, I'm hoping for human!"

Recently I met two women who are pregnant - and in each case, they know the sex of their baby and the full name (first and middle) of their unborn children. In the case of one woman, I stood there listening as she said, "OOh! There goes Bob kicking again! Bob doesn't like it when I bend that way!" (Bob = nice name which I'm using in place of the freaky name she really picked.) I found this whole name and talk to the unborn baby thing really weird. In my case we choose to find out the sexes of our babies, mostly because after the shock of triplets not much else can be too exciting. Plus I wanted to plan (as much as one can plan for a hurricane of babies) a little bit, and be somewhat ready for them when they came.

These women, though, are having single babies. And maybe they're total stress-heads and just kinda needed to know about the sex of their baby. But, naming it, and then using that name all the time, before the kid is born? Talking to and about this child as though its right there with you in the room and can hear and see you? Soon after we found out the kids' sexes we decided on their names. Actually, in the ultrasound room we decided on two of them and the third would come later. But we certainly didn't talk to them by their names, didn't tell anyone else their names, or even really used their names until they were literally kicking and screaming.

Talking to little Bob before he's born?

Weird. Totally, utterly, unquestionably creepy and weird. What say you, Internet?

2 comments:

Poppet's mum said...

I'm guilty as charged. With Poppet we decided to be surprised and not find out the sex and we ended up having to come up with a name pretty quickly when she was rushed back to hospital with jaundice before we had decided on a name. With Poppet II we decided to see what it would be like to know the sex in advance and to decide on a name in advance - just to have a contrasting experience. I started calling Poppet II by the name she has when we were alone to see if I liked it and if it came naturally. Of course, as you know, we hadn't chosen a second name because you helped choose that!!! Anyway, I can say from my experience that I enjoyed both ways - the knowing and the not knowing.

emzeegee & the hungry three said...

PM, I totally get doing it in private...but in public? All the time? Seriously ranks up there with people who talk in the third person. "Michelle is hungry. What should Michelle have for lunch today?" Ha!

M