Baby Name Poll Results

Dont change your plans because of your daughter, she may be upset now, but she will get over it. A nice idea would be to let her help chose the name or pick a middle name

I know that your trying to make summer feel better but I think that it is a terrible idea. Let this new little girl be her own person and not getting her sisters first name as her middle name. Why don’t you just let summer have a small part in naming her...bit make sure you don’t let her have the whole decision!! Maybe have her help with the middle name. But I think your idea is terrible, sorry!

Is it really terrible to have a name connection with a sibling? We understand the need for individualism, but isn’t this like naming your child after a loved family member? That is something many people do.

We do want to include the kids in the naming process, but we were trying to find a way to especially include Summer since she’s so upset.

Did you adopt Summer when she was older?
If so, I think you should probably get her some professional counseling, including sessions you attend with her.

If she was an infant, then I have to say this reaction is a little over-the-top. It’s normal for older siblings to have some jealousy and fears, but a 7 year old should be able to understand that parents can love a new baby without replacing her.
Again, if this persists, I think some counseling is in order.

Sign her up for the big sister class at your local hospital and find lots of ways to give her special one on one attention, maybe signing her up for a dance class or other special activity.

Emphasize how proud you are of all she can do now that she is older and assure her that she will be a big help with the baby but is not expected to take care of it.

Carve out plenty of time after the baby is born to do things with her alone, even if this means having grandma come watch the new one.

Certainly let her help choose the name, but do not use her name for the baby.
This would be certain to be fodder for sisterly battles in the years to come, and let’s face it, at some point Summer needs to know that she’s not the center of the universe.

gl and hth

Its a nice idea in theory, but not fair. Give the baby her own name! Summer may be upset now, but she will soon see that you still love her even though there is a new baby. Let her help pick a name. She is a child! And quite frankly she should not have this much power over you. Good luck.

We have had Summer for almost two years now. We know she can be emotional now and then, but we have not seen her this upset before.

She is in counseling for her past issues already, and we hate to see this come up when she was doing so much better.

We do like the idea of letting her do something new; get her mind off of the baby and into something else. Wes has been letting her help him when he works on the nursery, and she seems to like helping me pick things out, but we also wonder if we were including her too much. What do you think?

I agree- either let Summer help in the name picking process, or pick a name like hers in meaning,or theme- Spring, Autumn, Winter- something that goes with Summer- Sunny, Sunshine, Sandra ( Sandy), Kendra ( water baby), Marina ( water).... and let Summer pick!

You could also think about doing the same initials, or opposite initials with Summer. Let her be part of the naming process- but I guarantee, if you have Summer one and Summer two, you WILL hear- my name was Summer first!!! Run this idea by the counselor as well. I say a new name for the new baby, but either with the same theme, same initials, and def let Summer help. Let her know her input is valued, but that each child is special because they are DIFFERENT! Talk about how much you love each child because of their special differences!

We are pretty certain our daughter’s first name will be Anna. We like Autumn, but wonder if Anna Autumn Rhodes is too much A. What other middle name possibilities are there to connect with Summer’s without using her name?

I am in agreement with everybody else. You can involve her in naming the baby, or like you are doing, let her help put the nursery together. I also like the idea of giving her one on one time once the baby is born.

Anna Winter/ Anna Wynter is pretty!
Anna Soleil ( So-lay, French for sun)
Anna Helena/Helen/Elin/Elina- all meaning ray of light/sunshine

Don’t really like Winter, Soleil, or Helena.

What do you think of Anna Teresa Rhodes? Teresa means "Summer harvest." Is this too "Mother Teresa" sounding?

Anna Soleil is so pretty! And goes with summer, I like that!

Actually, the more we think about it, the more we like Anna Autumn. Autumn because is’s the season she will be born in (September is gorgeous where we live) and because it commects with Summer’s name as a season.

I meant "connects". Sorry about that.

Go with Anna Autumn! I just had a friend who named her daughter August Anne- took a while to grow on me, but now I like it!

First of all, congratulations on getting pregnant!
Second, I’m sorry Summer is having a tough time with it. I think it’s great that you and your husband are including her with the preparation for the baby. However, I also agree with the rest of the posters on here that giving your second daughter her big sister’s name is a recipe for disaster later on. It seems sweet and a simple solution, but take it from a mother of six and grandmother of four, siblings with the same name will absolutely fight over it.
I suggest mentioning her anger to her counselor and seeing what they suggest. Also, continue to encourage her and support her in whatever she does. Lavish your love on her (within reason of course) and she will eventually overcome her fears of the new baby.
Congratulations and God bless.

Anna Autumn is a great idea! it connects the girls that way, but is still using a beautiful name you love. Congrats, Mom!

Def do not name the baby Summer.... you may see it as honoring her by naming the baby after her, but she will see it as, that’s the real daughter and they have even given her my name because they are replacing me, theyeven gave my name to the baby.

My step daughter is the same way...very dramatic when my son was born.... but it was just all dramatics. I would caution against fawning over her too much, as you are setting a dangerous precident. That this type of behavior gets her extra attention and privileges.

How about Anna Lynne? That way Summer feels like a little part of her is in her sister, though it doesn’t seem evasive on Anna.
I also like Anna Sophia, Anna Belle, Anna Rayne, Anna Claire, Anna Rose, Anna Jade

We’re going to go with Anna Autumn. I appreciate your thoughts very much. Thank you. ~Laura

Anna Autumn is lovely. Congrats!

Using Summer in the new baby’s name would certainly only cause more problems. She feels like she’s being replaced and giving the new baby part of her name will only further this thought of being replaced.