I knew it wasn’t going to be received well, but at least it’s over. My 4 year-old spilled the beans tonight on the baby’s name and FIL’s reaction was, “[name_m]LINUS[/name_m]?! That’s an AWFUL name. You can’t be serious!” Um, yeah. sigh I have to keep in mind this is the same guy that gave me a list of about 10 names that he deemed “better” than [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] when he heard her name after she was born. [name_f]MIL[/name_f] was at least diplomatic. She said, “Like [name_m]Linus[/name_m] Pauling? It’s… um… distinguished.” I know they’ll get over it, and it was about the exact reaction I expected, but I still feel deflated. Now to tell MY parents…
[name_m]Linus[/name_m] Pauling is definitely distinguished. It’s a strong, quirky name, offbeat but not odd. You’ve picked a winner. Ignore your parents. What matters is that you and your husband like the name.
The only association I have with [name_m]Linus[/name_m] is [name_m]Linus[/name_m] van Pelt, which is an awesome association to have, I think. [name_m]Linus[/name_m] is on our list. SO really wants to use it if we have boy/girl twins and name them [name_m]Linus[/name_m] and [name_f]Lucy[/name_f].
[name_m]Linus[/name_m] is a great name! I worry about my in-laws reaction to our name choices, especially [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f]. Family seem to think they have a right to weigh in on a babies name!
This is why my [name_f]MIL[/name_f] isn’t allowed to hear our name choices. Last time she was so negative about so many of the names it made us a bit heartbroken :(.
This time we’ve let her recommend names, but we aren’t telling her our favorites. I’m pretty sure she’d hate our #1 boy name, since I think she is expecting us to name him after her.
I’m so sorry that happened to you. Sounds like your FIL doesn’t realize he’s stepping over [name_m]MAJOR[/name_m] boundaries of appropriate behavior. [name_m]Just[/name_m] know the rest of the world thinks the names [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] and [name_m]Linus[/name_m] are fabulous!