Five Easy Steps to Picking the Perfect Baby Name

One of the few decisions you'll make during pregnancy thatwill, in fact, last throughout your child's lifetime is thechoice of your baby's name. (Unlike, for example, yourchoice of stroller or whether to use Lamaze or hypnosis toease labor pains.) To choose the best name for your baby,follow these simple tips:

1. Don't try to please other people.

Everyone from your in-laws to the supermarket checkout ladyis going to have an opinion about what you name your child. But the only opinions that really matter are yours and yourspouse's.

2. Keep it a secret!

If you tell everyone names you've chosen before the baby isborn, they won't hesitate to criticize your choices. But ifyou keep it to yourself and announce the name and the birthat the same time, everyone will compliment you on a greatname choice.

3. Consider how your child will feel about the name as he orshe grows up.

Will it be difficult for the teachers to pronounce inschool? Will she be teased because it sounds funny orrhymes with an unfortunate word? Does it sound like a veryyoung or very old name? You want to choose something yourchild will be comfortable with at all phases of his life.

4. Check the initials to make sure they aren't problematic.

One of the moms I surveyed for "The Gallagher Guide to theBaby Years" told the story about her relative who named hisbaby, William Eugene Thompson. A nice name, but theinitials (W.E.T) weren't ideal for monograms.

5. Decide in advance, or at least have a couple of namesunder consideration, by the beginning of the thirdtrimester.

There's so much to do as your due date gets closer. Youdon't want to be under pressure to choose a name because youwent into labor early and had to come up with something atthe hospital. Check out BabyNames.com (www.babynames.com)for lots of neat ideas for baby names.

Stephanie Gallagher is Author of "The Gallagher Guide to theBaby Years: The Real Mom's Survey of Top-Rated Products andAdvice." To subscribe to her ezine, "The Shopping Mom's Weekly Tip, send a blank email to theshoppingmom@aweber.com.