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Home / Lifestyle

'Incredibly selfish': Grandma shocked by 'sordid' baby name

NZ Herald
20 Jun, 2019 08:07 AM3 mins to read

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Most people agreed the grandma made a good point. Photo / 123RF

Most people agreed the grandma made a good point. Photo / 123RF

A woman has revealed how her mother said she was shocked at her and her husband's choice of name for their baby.

The woman posted on Reddit asking for advice on how to handle the tricky situation. She explained that both her and her husband had agreed on the name Catalina for their unborn baby, which meant a lot to her as it'd honour a friend who'd recently passed away.

However, when she excitedly told the grandma-to-be that they'd settled on a name for their baby girl, she didn't get the reaction she was expecting.

In fact, her mum said she was shocked and protested against the name.

"My mum is very serious and insists that we cannot name her that and to please think of something new," the mum-to-be wrote.

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Her mother went on to explain why she was so vehemently against the baby name. She confessed it brought up old wounds as it was the name of the woman her husband had had an affair with.

"The year I was born my dad had an affair with a woman named Catalina. It was an affair that lasted around three months and almost broke up my parents' marriage. I wasn't aware of the fact till very recently," she wrote.

The mum-to-be feels stuck between a rock and a hard place as her partner isn't particularly sympathetic and says her mum just needs to "get over it".

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However, one aunt agrees the grandma's feelings should be taken into consideration.

The woman says she loves the name but doesn't want to inflict "emotional damage" on her mum.

Most people on Reddit suggested the woman find another name for her baby.

"I know it's your kid and you can choose any name you wish but do you really want your mum to be reminded of something emotionally painful every time she sees or hears her name?" someone asked.

"There are very few situations where I'd say someone should change the name they plan for their baby. This is definitely one of them," someone else said.

"That's incredibly selfish of both you and your BF (boyfriend). Your mother will want to cry literally every team she sees your granddaughter. Why do that to BOTH of them?"

In the end, the woman says she sat down with her mum and agreed on the shorter version "Cat" and agreed to use it as a middle name.

"All in all she doesn't want my father's ex affair to have a grip on her life any longer and did indeed decide to take up therapy after her breakdown," the woman said.

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