Naming babies can be so fun. My husband has a very unique name. I was one of five Julie's in my Kindergarten class. So, when the time came to choose names for our children, we decided to stick with names that not every kid in the class was going to have.
One tricky thing about unusual names is that once you've named two children, you are then committed. You HAVE to name them all something different.
We have one child with a very common name. I have to admit I really dislike the idea of taking a normal name, and giving it a wacky spelling in order to make it unique. I don't like it, but I'm guilty of it. Our #5 has always had at least one other boy in his class with the same name, but we have yet to find one spelled the same way.
The truth is, though, that I'm very glad he has the name he has and not the one the Warden tried to get away with.
Here's the story.....
Back when I was pregnant with #5, we were plumb out of names. We had struggled even with a name for #3, and knowing this was a boy and we already had two boys, we were really working hard to find just the right moniker for this little one.
At that time, the Warden included the teachers at the school where he was working to help come up with a name. For some reason, this became a really fun thing....once someone figured out all you could do with the name "Hess."
Unlike Michael Jackson, we could never use the name "Prince" for even one of our boys because he would quickly be feminized--Prince Hess (Princess), you get it, right?
Oh, after this, they had a BALL!
Some of my favorites were "obsequi," "carol,""dungeon,""blamel." You get the idea. Add "Hess" to the end of any one of these, and this child takes on a whole new meaning. The Warden's favorite was always "X." Although, his mother had always threatened that she would have twins and name them "Melluva" and "Meckuva." 'Nuf said.
So, the story continues.....
I was induced with each pregnancy, and although #5 was a special case, it was no different. We drove out to the hospital early in the morning. It was still dark outside. Because we weren't at our local hospital, our doctor had arranged for one of his associates who works closer to the hospital we were delivering at (I say that as if "we" were delivering. Haha! Yah, right!) to be there to begin the induction.
She showed up, and we were off and running. Things went very smoothly, and a few hours later, our doctor arrived to deliver, and we had a healthy, wonderful baby boy.
After the excitement was over, the Warden left to go get something to eat. On his way back up to the room, he happened across the doctor who started the induction. She was already on the elevator and headed up to see her patients....and me.
She asked, "So, do we have a baby?" to which the Warden replied, "Yes, everything went great."
She continued, "Girl or boy?" He told her we'd had a boy.
The next obvious question: "What did you name him?"
The Warden's response: "Sucks."
The doctor, without batting an eye, replied, "Oh, that's a nice name."
REALLY! But, what would you expect her to say. I'm betting she hears all kinds of things in her line of work.
The Warden came in just a few moments after this conversation practically rolling. He was laughing so hard. He couldn't wait to share what had just occurred in the elevator.
Within about five minutes, the doctor walked into my room. We razzed her a bit as I said, "You fell for that?"
She laughed with us for a long time as the Warden explained that we had great hopes for this boy. How could you lose with a name like "Sucks Hess?"
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