A mum has been left anxiously debating whether to change her four month old baby's name, after coming to the crushing realisation that she no longer likes the name.
The mum has revealed how she felt pressure to come up with a name as she was suffering hyperenesis, which is excessive nausea and vomiting, during her pregnancy and went on to suffer from post-natal depression after the birth, meaning she'd not had chance to find the right name.
"I had hyperemesis and post-natal depression and as a result, coupled with the fact the partner didn't agree with me on many names I still didn't have a name for her when she was almost six weeks old," the mum wrote on Mumsnet.
The only name she and her partner could agree on was Esmé, pronounced like Es-may, so they reluctantly went for that, but over the last few months, the mum has come to the realisation that she doesn't like the name after all.
"Now I really don't like it. She's forever getting Es-me and the accent is a pain," she continued, before asking: "It's too late to change it isn't it? She's four months."
The mum turned to the forum to question whether any other parents had found themselves regretting a name they'd chosen for their children, and many were quick to respond with similar situations.
"I had a very similar experience with my now four-year-old. We hadn't settled on a name for her although I did have one that I kept coming back to. I had a traumatic birth and looking back now realise I was depressed during my pregnancy," one mum commented.
"To cut a very long story short I felt pressured to register her birth at three weeks and immediately felt a crushing regret about her name. I couldn't say it, felt ill when I saw it written down and developed post-natal depression. We eventually chose a name and formally changed her name at four months. It’s very easy to do before 12 months. Now four years later I'm so relieved we changed her name."
Another user shared a similar experience, commenting: "I changed my son's name when he was six months old. At birth, I wanted one name, my ex wanted another so we 'compromised' and came up with a third name. My son was three months old when I left my violent partner - it was a very difficult time.
"Whilst talking to a friend, I mentioned how I wished my son had the name I wanted - she said I should 'try the name on for size' so I started using 'my' name and when he was six months old, I changed it legally. My son is now 23, he really likes his name and it suits him perfectly."
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