Sometimes, it's not easy to find or agree on a name for your baby. It's unfortunate that parents can't wait a few months (or years) before they have to name their child. But then, of course, they would have to settle for some kind of identifying temporary name during the interim.
"Baby" would not suffice since that would more than likely also be the interim name many other parents would choose as well. This would cause confusion in social gatherings if a mom called fore "Baby" to come over to her and suddenly nearly half the kids in the room started crawling or walking in her direction.
Numbers are always handy for identifying substitutes. It would have to be a short sequence though, something the child could easily remember (the parent also) since it would awkward to be out in public and not be able to recall what you've named your baby.
If numbers appeal to you, then you could wait until your baby has been issued his or her social security number and save everyone a lot of trouble afterward by using that. Add up all the digits and the sum could be their middle or nickname.
Naturally, this indecisive circumstance of interim-naming would be kept from the child. Afterall, how would they feel later if they discovered their mom or dad couldn't come up with a name for them? Under no circumstances would you want your child to know because you know what they'd say: "Ya needed more than nine months to decide what to call me and ya decided on (insert name here)?" Yes, all respect they'd gained for you up to that point would be lost within that very moment. They would, however, finally understand why they continually felt he urge to play "7-1-8" in the lottery when they hear that the combination had been their interim name. But that would be a small consolation and not worth the respect loss.
But there is a positive aspect to interim naming. It would give you the opportunity to eventually match a name with whatever traits you observe that your baby exhibits. "Look, see how happy she is all the time. We just have to name her something cheerful" Or, "Gosh he's so serious and patient. He might become a scientist one day. I should name him something scientific sounding."
Time to observe would let you zero in on the most appropriate name for your child's personality and behavior patterns. Unless, alas, the happy baby with the cheerful name grows up to be a grouch and the scientist grows up to be an extra in "B" movies. Then their names would seem to be amiss.
Nah. Forget about going the interim name route. Imagine all the time wasted with that temporary name. Besides, they'll find out about it anyway. You know they will. Kids find out about everything. Bottom line...choose a name. Choose a name quickly before he or she senses your hesitation!
