The Great Name Chase

Being an expectant mother brings on more emotions than one person should be allowed to experience at one time.  Its both wonderful and cruel.   I work in an OB/GYN office so I'm surrounded daily by mothers, small babies, and the hormones of all the above.  One would think that after a few years, you would become accustomed to the hormones and daily changes in feelings.  Just wait until it happens to you.

Know that we are for sure this little person will be a Girl, the name chase is on.  How does a mother and father go about naming a child?  Are there stead fast rules that must be followed? is there a guideline somewhere that lets you in on all the little secrets that a first time mother should be aware of when naming a tiny person?   The more you ask around, and the more you search on the Internet....the more terrified I have become. 

Everyone has an opinion and everyone has that one perfect name.  I unfortunately have neither.  There are a few family traditions I plan to stay with, like giving the first boy the fathers name for his middle name.  While I love my job, I often drive home wondering what kind of drugs some parents where on when they picked out the name of their new little life.  I don't want my kindergartner to struggle learning to write his/her name on the paper and making it fit on the line. I also don't want the playground bully picking on him because i choose a name no child should have to live with.

These are the kinds of things i stay up at night thinking about.  The dreams of a nameless child wondering through life... the thought of "what if i pick a name and the baby comes out looking completely different"  "what if i can't agree on a name"   Am I alone in the name chase? completely over-hormonal and emotional to pick a name and be happy with the way it sounds and flows?  What will my nameless baby be?