A New Top 1,000 List (seriously)

Yesterday I gave my Top 20 list of the most popular girl names from 2010.  The list was based on the social security administration's statistics, but lumped all spellings of the same name together.  Today, I'm ready to discuss my Top 20 list and give you the full and newly calculated Top 1,000 girl name list.  Technically, it's not 1,000 names because after combining all the different spellings of the same name (Haley, Hayleigh, Hailey...etc.) the list was shortened to a mere 672.

First, how interesting is it that Isabella wasn't the most popular girl name of 2010?  Since May, we all (admit it) whole-heartedly believed that Twilight's Isabella Swan was an unmatched pop culture phenomenon.  Little did we know that all the Sofias and Sophias were the real dominating force.  Actually, the percentages were very close between the Top 2 names: 1.3784% of girls born in 2010 were named Sophia/Sofia and 1.3121% of girls born in 2010 were named Isabella/Izabella/Isabela.  Meaning, we can still credit Stefenie Meyer and Kristen Stewart for programming our brains enchanting our socks off.

The purpose behind this wildly tedious project was to find the true percentage of the population that chose each name, regardless of how each member of the population decided to spell it.  By combining the multiple spellings, the percentages for many names increased.  But, even the increased percentages didn't come close to the percentages of the most popular names from 100 years ago.  In comparing the newly calculated 2010 stats to those from 1910, the difference is still glaring.  The top name in 1910 (Mary) boasted %5.4454 of the little lady population.  All the Top 10 names claimed over 1% of the population in 1910.  Last year, only Sophia and Isabella beat the 1% mark.

That's a lot of math...maybe a visual aid will help?

Top girl name 2010 = SOPHIA (1.3121%)

versus

Top girl name 1910 = MARY (%5.4454)

another visual aid:

(Sophia Loren)

versus

(Mary J. Blige)

Popularity really isn't what it used to be when it comes to girl baby names.  A hundred years ago nearly 20% of the girls born were named one of the Top 10 girl names.  Last year, less than 10% of the girls born were named one of the Top 10 girl names.  Relatively speaking, Mary was a more popular name in 1910 than Sophia was in 2010 even though both were the most popular name of their year.

Next up: boy names.  By "next up" I mean in the next few days weeks.

Below is my newly calculated Top 672 girl names.  Like yesterday, where I found more than one spelling for the name, the most popular spelling is capitalized and the alternative spellings follow in order of popularity.

1. SOPHIA - Sofia
2. ISABELLA - Izabella, Isabela
3. OLIVIA - Alivia, Alyvia
4. CHLOE - Khloe, Kloe
5. EMMA
6. EMILY - Emely, Emilee, Emmalee, Emilie
7. MADISON - Maddison, Madisyn, Madyson
8. AVA - Avah
9. ABIGAIL - Abagail, Abbigail, Abigale
10. HALEY - Hailey, Haylee, Hayley, Haleigh, Hailee, Haylie, Hayleigh
11. ADDISON - Addysin, Addyson
12. ZOE - Zoey, Zoie
13. LILY - Lilly, Lillie
14. RILEY - Rylee, Ryleigh, Rylie
15. LAYLA - Laila, Lailah, Leyla, Leila, Leilah
16. MIA - Miah
17. NATALIE - Nataly, Nathalie, Natalee, Nathaly
18. ELIZABETH - Elisabeth
19. KAYLEE - Kayleigh, Kailey, Kaylie, Caylee, Kaleigh, Kailee
20. KAITLYN - Katelyn, Caitlyn, Katelynn, Caitlin, Kaitlin, Kaitlynn
21. ELLA
22. ALLISON - Alison, Alisson, Allyson, Alyson
23. BRIANNA - Briana, Breanna, Bryanna
24. MAKAYLA - Mikayla, Michaela, Mikaela, Mckayla, Micaela
25. ARIANNA - Ariana, Aryanna, Aryana
26. SARAH - Sara
27. PEYTON - Payton, Payten
28. KYLIE - Kylee, Kyleigh, Kiley
29. AALIYAH - Aliyah, Aliya, Aleah, Aleigha, Alia
30. ALEXIS - Alexus
31. SAMANTHA
32. BROOKLYN - Brooklynn
33. MADELYN - Madeleine, Madilyn, Madalyn, Madelynn, Madalynn, Madilynn
34. GABRIELLA - Gabriela
35. MACKENZIE - Mckenzie, Makenzie
36. JASMINE - Jazmin, Jazmine, Jasmin, Jazmyn
37. LEAH - Lia, Lea
38. MAYA - Mya, Maia, Myah
39. ANNA - Ana
40. ALYSSA - Alisa, Alissa
41. HANNAH - Hanna, Hana
42. GRACE
43. AUBREY - Aubree, Aubrie
44. AVERY - Averie, Averi
45. LILLIAN
46. KATHERINE - Catherine, Kathryn
47. ASHLEY - Ashlee
48. EVELYN - Evelynn, Evelin
49. SAVANNAH - Savanna, Savanah
50. NEVAEH
51. VICTORIA
52. TAYLOR
53. ISABELLE - Isabel, Isabell
54. JOCELYN - Joselyn, Joslyn, Jocelynn
55. CAMILA - Kamila, Camilla
56. AMELIA
57. CHARLOTTE
58. CLAIRE - Clare
59. LILIANA - Lilliana, Lilyana, Lilianna, Lillianna, Lilyanna
60. BELLA
61. KAYLA
62. LAUREN - Lauryn
63. ALEXA
64. SYDNEY - Sidney, Sydnee
65. AUDREY
66. JORDYN - Jordan, Jordynn
67. BAILEY - Baylee, Bailee
68. JULIANA - Julianna, Giuliana
69. JULIA
70. GIANNA - Giana
71. SOPHIE
72. JADA - Jayda, Jaida
73. MELANIE - Melany
74. KAELYN - Kaylin, Kailyn, Kaylynn, Kaylyn, Kaylen, Cailyn, Kaelynn
75. ADRIANA - Adrianna
76. CARLY - Karlee, Carley, Carlee, Carlie, Karly, Carleigh, Karli
77. DESTINY - Destinee
78. MORGAN
79. ALEXANDRA
80. LONDON - Londyn
81. KIMBERLY
82. MOLLY - Mollie
83. MACI - Macy, Macie, Macey
84. BROOKE
85. NATALIA - Natalya, Nathalia
86. TRINITY
87. FAITH
88. CADENCE - Kaydence, Kadence, Caydence
89. LUCY
90. MADELINE
91. ANDREA
92. NAOMI - Noemi
93. ADALYN - Adalynn, Addilyn, Adelyn, Adelynn
94. AUTUMN
95. SCARLETT - Scarlet
96. MARIAH - Miriyah
97. SERENITY
98. KENNEDY -  Kennedi
99. STELLA
100. MARIA
101. RACHEL - Rachael
102. CAROLINE
103. GENESIS
104. EVA
105. ASHLYN - Ashlynn
106. JESSICA
107. DANIELA - Daniella
108. ANGELINA
109. VALERIA
110. JAELYN - Jaylynn, Jaelynn, Jaylin, Jaylyn, Jaylen
111. GABRIELLE
112. ANNABELLE - Annabel
113. JADE - Jayde
114. RUBY -  Rubi
115. REBECCA - Rebekah
116. CALLIE - Cali, Kali, Kallie
117. JAYDEN - Jadyn, Jaiden, Jaden, Jaidyn
118. NORA - Norah
119. PAIGE
120. CAMERON - Kamryn, Camryn
121. LILA - Lilah
122. MEGAN - Meghan
123. ELLIE
124. VANESSA
125. KEIRA - Kiera, Kierra
126. REAGAN - Regan
127. MARY
128. ALAINA - Alayna
129. JAYLA - Jaylah
130. LYDIA
131. STEPHANIE - Stephany
132. AMY - Aimee
133. MALIA - Maleah, Maliyah, Maliah
134. ANIYAH - Aniya
135. VIVIAN - Vivienne
136. ALANA - Alanna, Alannah
137. LYLA - Lylah
138. AMAYA - Amiyah, Amiya
139. KENDALL - Kendal
140. SADIE
141. JENNIFER
142. HARPER
143. NICOLE
144. VIOLET
145. JACQUELINE - Jaqueline, Jacquelyn
146. MICHELLE
147. GISELLE - Gisselle
148. ALLIE - Ali, Ally
149. GRACIE
150. SKYLAR - Skyler
151. REESE
152. JENNA
153. ALINA - Alena, Aleena
154. PIPER
155. CHRISTINA - Kristina, Cristina
156. ELIANA - Elianna
157. LESLIE - Lesly
158. VALERIE
159. ELISE - Elyse
160. CHARLIE - Charlee, Charley, Charli, Charleigh
161. ARIEL - Arielle
162. DAISY
163. CHEYENNE - Cheyanne, Shyanne
164. VALENTINA
165. JULIET - Juliette
166. SIENNA - Siena
167. KIRA - Kyra
168. CASSIDY - Kassidy
169. LEXI - Lexie
170. MELISSA
171. MARLEY - Marlee
172. ANGELA
173. KATIE
174. HAYDEN
175. JANIYAH - Janiya, Janiah
176. ELENA
177. SUMMER
178. MARISSA - Marisa
179. ELEANOR
180. MAKENNA - Makena
181. CLARA
182. JILLIAN
183. ALICE
184. ALICIA - Alisha
185. ABBY - Abbey, Abbie
186. MIRANDA
187. MILEY - Mylee
188. EDEN
189. MARGARET
190. SHELBY
191. JOSEPHINE
192. DELILAH
193. KELSEY - Kelsie
194. KINLEY - Kynlee
195. AMANDA
196. AYANA - Aiyana, Ayanna, Aiyanna
197. DIANA
198. BRIELLE
199. ANGEL
200. DANIELLE
201. TEAGAN - Tegan
202. KARA - Cara
203. CECILIA - Cecelia
204. MELODY
205. KYLA - Kylah
206. PENELOPE
207. AURORA
208. MARIANA - Mariana
209. ANNABELLA - Anabella
210. CASSANDRA - Kassandra
211. Laura - Lara
212. ALEXANDRIA
213. KENDRA
214. DELANEY
215. KATE
216. MILA - Myla
217. ERICA - Erika
218. LOLA
219. TALIA - Taliyah, Thalia
220. ERIN
221. HADLEY
222. SIERRA
223. SABRINA
224. TESSA
225. CHELSEA
226. ANYA - Anaya
227. AMBER
228. BRYLEE - Briley, Bryleigh
229. HEIDI - Heidy
230. MAGGIE
231. CRYSTAL - Krystal
232. KARINA - Carina
233. MCKENNA
234. COURTNEY - Kourtney
235. KARLA - Carla
236. PAISLEY
237. DANICA - Danika
238. ELIZA
239. TIANA - Tianna
240. ALEXIA
241. LINDSEY - Lindsay
242. EMERSON - Emersyn
243. HOPE
244. KAREN
245. NADIA
246. ALONDRA
247. HARMONY
248. QUINN
249. NYLAH - Nylah
250. FIONA
251. KAIA - Kaiya, Kaya
252. JAZLYN - Jazlynn
253. JOSIE
254. EMILIA - Emelia
255. ZARIAH - Zaria, Zariyah
256. HAZEL
257. LUCIA
258. DANNA
259. ESTHER
260. LELIANI
261. REYNA - Raina, Rayna, Reina
262. FATIMA
263. XIMENA
264. CAMILLE
265. PRESLEY
266. CORA
267. ALEJANDRA
268. GENEVIEVE
269. ANNIKA - Anika
270. BIANCA
271. MALLORY
272. ESMERELDA
273. LENA - Lina
274. ARIA - Ariah
275. BRYNN
276. DAKOTA
277. JAYLEEN - Jaylene
278. WILLOW
279. VERONICA
280. ISLA
281. IVY
282. MIRIAM
283. JOANNA
284. KELLY
285. KINSLEY
286. HALLE - Hallie
287. PHOEBE
288. TIFFANY
289. EMERY
290. JOURNEY - Journee
291. LANEY - Lainey
292. CARMEN
293. IRIS
294. NINA
295. GEMMA - Jemma
296. SANIYAH - Saniya
297. ADELINE
298. HEAVEN
299. KIARA
300. GEORGIA
301. PARIS
302. GUADALUPE
303. SELENA
304. BRAELYN - Braelynn
305. EVANGELINE
306. LIANA - Leanna
307. TATUM
308. ROSE
309. AUDRINA
310. FERNANDA
311. LUNA
312. SASHA
313. SAGE - Saige
314. ANGELICA
315. LORELEI - Lorelai
316. RUTH
317. AYLA
318. ANABELLE - Anabel
319. AINSLEY
320. YARETZI
321. RAEGAN
322. ATHENA
323. MONICA
324. TATIANA
325. GRACELYN - Gracelynn
326. ANASTASIA
327. NOELLE
328. JULISSA
329. BETHANY
330. IMANI
331. KENZIE
332. RAELYNN - Raelyn
333. JAMIE
334. APRIL
335. YASMIN - Yazmin
336. CYNTHIA
337. ALESSANDRA
338. JANE
339. CASEY - Kasey
340. ARABELLA
341. MIRIAM - Maryam
342. NAYELI
343. CAROLINA
344. JULIE
345. GIA
346. JANELLE
347. ANNIE
348. ELAINA
349. JIMENA
350. LYRIC
351. SHANIYA - Shania
352. FINLEY
353. DULCE
354. RYAN - Ryann
355. ANNE - Ann
356. ITZEL
357. HOLLY
358. ANGIE
359. ELLE
360. ESTRELLA
361. ELLIANA
362. SARAI
363. BRENDA
364. BRITTANY
365. HARLEY
366. DAHLIA - Dalia
367. ADELAIDE
368. HELEN
369. KARISSA - Carissa
370. CIARA
371. JOHANNA
372. LACEY
373. SHAYLA
374. BRIDGET
375. TERESA - Theresa
376. LILIAN
377. PAOLA
378. SERENA
379. CELESTE
380. TENLEY
381. NATASHA
382. AMARI
383. BRISA
384. DANA
385. PARKER
386. AILEEN
387. NIA
388. BRENNA
389. KIERSTEN - Kirsten
390. DESIREE
391. JALIYAH
392. ANAHI
393. DAYANA
394. KAYDEN
395. LANA
396. LUCILLE
397. IVANNA - Ivana
398. LOGAN
399. VIVIANA
400. JOY
401. PRISCILLA
402. DAPHNE
403. DENISE
404. SKYE
405. ROWAN
406. FRANCESCA
407. ELISA
408. AMIRA
409. LIZBETH
410. KENLEY
411. KIMORA
412. GLORIA
413. MELINA
414. BRYNLEE
415. LIBERTY
416. ARACELI - Aracely
417. CLAUDIA
418. MIRA - Myra
419. SANDRA
420. JAYCEE
421. NANCY
422. MIRACLE
423. ANNALISE
424. AZARIA - Azariah
425. CINDY
426. MARISOL
427. YARELI
428. ELOISE
429. ASIA
430. HELENA
431. MAEVE
432. JUSTICE
433. WHITNEY
434. OLIVE
435. MARILYN
436. CLARISSA
437. FARRAH
438. ADA
439. AMANI
440. JANESSA
441. SYLVIA
442. MCKINLEY
443. SKYLA
444. BRISTOL
445. GWENDOLYN
446. KALIYAH
447. ROSA
448. TORI
449. AYLIN
450. DYLAN
451. KRISTEN
452. MARIE
453. KIANA
454. RIHANNA
455. WENDY
456. REGINA
457. EVE
458. ROSALIE
459. SLOANE
460. AMYA
461. KATHLEEN
462. JUNE
463. ASPEN
464. ELSA
465. PERLA
466. MEREDITH
467. RAQUEL
468. SAMARA
469. RAVEN
470. VIRGINIA
471. JAYLEE
472. PATRICIA
473. SHERLYN
474. SHILOH
475. ISIS
476. LINDA
477. ANGELIQUE
478. PAITYN
479. ANSLEY
480. DIAMOND
481. MARINA
482. TABITHA
483. SELAH
484. ELSIE
485. LEIGHTON
486. HAVEN
487. AMARA
488. ARELY
489. SARIAH
490. AMERICA
491. BRINLEY
492. TARYN
493. MILAN
494. GRETA
495. MERCEDES
496. PHOENIX
497. CHRISTINE
498. ELLEN
499. VERA
500. TARAJI
501. KEYLA
502. SIMONE
503. AMELIE
504. AISHA
505. CATALINA
506. HEATHER
507. SHANNON
508. JESSIE
509. ZION
510. LUCIANA
511. ADRIENNE
512. IRENE
513. YESENIA
514. PALOMA
515. JANAE
516. JOLIE
517. AMINA
518. EVIE
519. BARBARA
520. MARTHA
521. ABRIL
522. DEANNA
523. ALANI
524. KENYA
525. SONIA
526. ZARA
527. LISA
528. ROSEMARY
529. PAULINA
530. ELIN
531. ARIELLA
532. CORINNE
533. JAKAYLA
534. CHAYA
535. CAROLYN
536. CELIA
537. EMMALYN
538. LUZ
539. ZANIYAH
540. ILIANA
541. GIADA
542. CHERISH
543. GIOVANNA
544. CAMPBELL
545. LARISSA
546. FELICITY
547. JULIANNE
548. TAMIA
549. INGRID
550. YOSELIN
551. BRIA
552. DEBORAH
553. HARLOW
554. TARA
555. FRANCES
556. JENNY
557. SAWYER
558. MORIAH
559. RYLAN
560. SANAA
561. YARITZA
562. SUSAN
563. LIBBY
564. ELAINE
565. MATILDA
566. PATIENCE
567. ANALIA
568. SHARON
569. ALIANA
570. MARITZA
571. TESS
572. KARSYN
573. CHANEL
574. ARMANI
575. AZUL
576. CHANA
577. PAULA
578. EDITH
579. ALIZA
580. AMIRAH
581. EMBER
582. LIVIA
583. LEIA
584. AKIRA
585. BEATRICE
586. EILEEN
587. IRELAND
588. KENNA
589. HADASSAH
590. DEMI
591. MALAYA
592. MICAH
593. ALAYAH
594. ALMA
595. ANGELINE
596. AYLEEN
597. CHARITY
598. NOLA
599. MAYRA
600. BELEN
601. BELINDA
602. BREE
603. KATRINA
604. MARA
605. MILLIE
606. RENEE
607. JOYCE
608. KYNDALL
609. LILIA
610. SHYLA
611. JUDITH
612. MEADOW
613. SALMA
614. TANIA
615. NEVEAH
616. RAYNE
617. SARAHI
618. BRIELLA
619. JANET
620. LANIYAH
621. STACY
622. KARMA
623. LIZETH
624. MARLENE
625. PRINCESS
626. RIYA
627. DOMINIQUE
628. ADELE
629. BRITNEY
630. ADELINA
631. DIYA
632. ESME
633. KAYLEEN
634. DIXIE
635. ROSELYN
636. YAMILET
637. ARYA
638. DAMARIS
639. JEWEL
640. MATTIE
641. YAMILETH
642. EMMY
643. AUDRIANA
644. ESPERANZA
645. JAMYA
646. KINSEY
647. KAI
648. PRECIOUS
649. KIMBER
650. LORENA
651. MINA
652. PEARL
653. WILLA
654. JASLENE
655. JOLENE
656. KAIRI
657. RIVER
658. SHAYLEE
659. INDIA
660. MILAGROS
661. ZURI
662. AMIAH
663. DEVYN
664. DONNA
665. MAE
666. PAMELA
667. XIOMARA
668. LEONA
669. LILITH
670. ALAYSIA
671. VIOLETA
672. DANIA

Lesson learned: the silent "h" is almost always the less common spelling.  Other lesson learned: this was the most difficult project I have undertaken in the name of Next Stop Baby.  So, when I wrote earlier that you could expect the boy name equivalent in weeks, make that months...

What did I miss?  Did I lump any names that you would have kept separate?  Should I have lumped more names together?

A New Top 20

I have come up with a new Top 20 most popular (girl) baby name list for 2010.

Last week I received a new comment on an old post.  The post (here) was about how the meaning of "popular" has changed over time when it comes to baby names.  In 2010, 1.0756% of the baby boys born were named the most popular boy's name, Jacob.  In 1910, 5.4920% of the baby boys born were named the most popular boy's name, John.  And so, it would seem, that names are more unique nowadays.

Now, here is the comment (by "S"):

As Katie pointed out with Isabel(le), variant spellings are popular and might mask how common a name is, just going by the statistics.  Also, a lot of people might be going for the same nickname, but choose different longer names.  Like all the Belle/Bella names, the Ella/Ellie names, the Emma names, etc. You still might avoid duplicating names on the coat hanger if they use her full name, but not if you're yelling the nn out in a crowd.  Also, the stats are for the whole of the US.  Frequency of the names can vary by state and region.  You can look up name stats for your state on the SSA website to get a better idea of which names are popular where you are.

A gratuitous picture of Bella.  
I figured with all the Katniss talk lately
(here, here and here) 
she deserved it.

The comment raises three interesting points:

1.  One name can be spelled many ways

2.  Former nicknames are current full names

3.  Name popularity by state and region

I've already addressed #3 in a prior post (here), which is one of my favorite posts of all time because it featured one of my favorite website discoveries of all time.  Points #1 and #2 are interesting ideas that I hadn't thought of when I originally wrote Most Unique Name Ever.  Being the Type A personality that I am, I couldn't just acknowledge the insight and move on.  No.  Instead, I decided to revisit the statistics and check out both theories.  

I started with the consideration of uncommon name spellings.  I looked at the entire Top 1,000 list of girl names (from 2010) on the Social Security Administration website and clumped together single name pronunciations that were spelled multiple ways.  SEVERAL hours later I realized that I wasn't going to get to the boy names any time soon, much less get to point #2.  But I will...some day.

I did eventually finish analyzing the girl names, a few apple cider donuts helped the process.  Big shout out to Stew Leonard's for those delicious treats.  Below is a new Top 20 most popular girl names of 2010 list - my list.  It's more accurate than the list on the SSA website, or so I think, because it accounts for multiple spellings of a single name.  The most popular spelling is listed in all capital letters and the other spellings follow.  Where there is no list that follows, there were no alternative spellings.

1. SOPHIA - Sofia
2. ISABELLA - Izabella, Isabela
3. CHLOE - Khloe, Kloe
4. EMMA
5. OLIVIA
6. EMILY - Emely, Emilee, Emmalee, Emilie
7. MADISON - Maddison, Madisyn, Madyson
8. AVA - Avah
9. ABIGAIL - Abagail, Abbigail, Abigale
10. HALEY - Hailey, Haylee, Hayley, Haleigh, Hailee, Haylie, Hayleigh
11. ADDISON - Addysin, Addyson
12. ZOE - Zoey, Zoie
13. LILY - Lilly, Lillie
14. RILEY - Rylee, Ryleigh, Rylie
15. MIA - Miah
16. NATALIE - Nataly, Nathalie, Natalee, Nathaly
17. KAYLEE - Kayleigh, Kailey, Kaylie, Caylee, Kaleigh, Kailee
18. ELIZABETH
19. KAITLYN - Katelyn, Caitlyn, Katelynn, Caitlin, Kaitlin, Kaitlynn
20. ELLA

There is much to discuss about the list above - how it compares to the list on the SSA website, how the percentages have changed by combining multiple spellings, how there are 8 ways to spell Haley.  And, above is only the Top 20 list.  I have the full 1,000 to show off.  But, for today, I'll leave it at that.  Stay tuned (likely tomorrow) for some deep-ish thoughts on all of the above.

***Don't forget to enter the Little Partridge giveaway (HERE)!!!

UPDATE (11/29/11...some hour past my bedtime): After a few more calculations (joining a couple more alternatively spelled names) I have a slightly updated Top 20 girl name list.  Most notably, Layla joined the Top 20 and Ella was booted.  Olivia also beat out Chloe for the 3rd spot.

SOPHIA - Sofia

ISABELLA - Izabella, Isabela

OLIVIA - Alivia, Alyvia

CHLOE - Khloe, Kloe

EMMA

EMILY - Emely, Emilee, Emmalee, Emilie

MADISON - Maddison, Madisyn, Madyson

AVA - Avah

ABIGAIL - Abagail, Abbigail, Abigale

HALEY - Hailey, Haylee, Hayley, Haleigh, Hailee, Haylie, Hayleigh

ADDISON - Addysin, Addyson

ZOE - Zoey, Zoie

LILY - Lilly, Lillie

RILEY - Rylee, Ryleigh, Rylie

LAYLA - Laila, Lailah, Leyla, Leila, Leilah

MIA - Miah

NATALIE - Nataly, Nathalie, Natalee, Nathaly

ELIZABETH - Elisabeth

KAYLEE - Kayleigh, Kailey, Kaylie, Caylee, Kaleigh, Kailee

KAITLYN - Katelyn, Caitlyn, Katelynn, Caitlin, Kaitlin, Kaitlynn

Cyber Monday Giveaway (Thanks Little Partridge!)

WINNER IS KIM!!!

Thanks to everyone for participating in the Little Partridge.  Kim, the second ("anonymous") entrant emailed me her name and email address (she had trouble using the comment function, damnit!!!).  She loved the nautical pieces from Little Partridge.  Congrats Kim!  

Next Stop Baby is participating in today's cyber Monday fun.

Just in time for the holidays, Little Partridge is giving away a Baby's 1st Christmas set (below).  The set includes everything you see: a long sleeve onesie, a festive tutu, a burp cloth (the cupcake) and gerber daisy hair accessory.  The winner will choose the size of the onesie (0-3 m, 3-6 m, 6-12 m, 12-18 m) and the onesie design (either the heart you see below or a personalized letter monogram).

  
Prize: Baby's First Christmas set (onesie, tutu, burpcloth, flower hair accessory).
How to enter (and win): Go to the Little Partridge Etsy Shop and check out all the adorable, handmade baby products.  Then post a comment (on this blog, BELOW) about your favorite.  And that's it. One entry per email address.  "Anonymous" entrants won't count, so leave a name.
Enter by: Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 5 pm (EST)
Number of Winners: One
Shipping: US only
Winner Announcement: One winner will be selected using http://www.random-draw.org/ and posted by Friday (12/2/11). So, check back!


Here are a few of my favorite Little Partridge items: football onesie, gender neutral burp clothes, toy and pacifier clips.

Stuff People Google 28

Today's Stuff People Google hit home-ish for me.  I have a friend who asked how much money he or she (I'm not giving this away) could expect in wedding gifts.  Said friend wanted to make some future spending plans based on their upcoming nuptials.

how much money do people get at their first baby shower

For the record - POOR TASTE.

Gender Neutral Nursery - Brainstorm

I've written plenty of posts on gender neutral nurseries (plenty = five).  There was yesterday's post on an orange nursery (here) and earlier posts on a gray and yellow nursery (here), a fish themed nursery (here), an owl themed nursery (here), and a neutral toned nursery (here).

Remember all these lovely products and images?

Orange and white everything

Grey and yellow art

Fish pillows

Owl bedding

Neutral colored everything

It seems I've instinctively focused my nursery suggestions to color and animals.  Meaning, I've left a lot untouched - polka dots, plaid, Winnie the Pooh, fabric textures, jungle, ocean...and a lot of other stuff.  What have you seen lately by way of gender neutral nurseries?  What unisex scheme did you choose or will you choose?  Do you agree that owls are way overplayed in nursery decorating and baby products in general?

I on purpose accidentally forgot that I also wrote about a Peter Rabbit themed nursery (check it out here...if you want).

Orange You Excited to Decorate a Gender Neutral Nursery?

Another gender neutral color (other than yellow...and green...which is the new yellow) is orange.  Maybe orange will become the new green?  Orange and turquoise is a trendy color combination, but a little too modern and loud for my taste.  I prefer bringing the orange down with white, cream and tans.

1. Macaroni pumpkin crib bedding set by Nurseryworks ($330-$340)
2. Orange slice pillow by Winter Petals ($39)
3. Chunky baby blanket by How Cute Are You? ($25)
4. Owl coin bank by Z Gallerie ($12.95)
5. Orange dandelion photograph by Carl Christensen ($15)

Telltale Signs

Technically, us ladies are physically ready to have a baby the moment we get our first period, but it usually takes a bit longer for our hearts and brains to catch up.  When the stars align and that full mind-body-soul-readiness manifests itself, articulating the feeling can be difficult.  Being "ready" to have a baby is a funny thing.  It's a state of being, an abstract idea that can't really be described in terms of how or why it comes about.  It's like loving someone - you can describe all the things that you love about a person, but describing the emotion itself is hard (if not impossible) to do.  On the other hand, actions tend to speak louder than words (or so the saying goes) and there seem to be a few telltale signs of a "ready" person.

Fiscal prioritizing.  All of the sudden trying the hottest restaurant, buying the newest seasonal fashion trends and planning the next vacation are no longer priority.  Money is more consciously spent and more frequently saved.  Long term financial priorities take front seat and trendy must haves fall to the wayside.

Totally not grossed out.  Vomiting, pooping, boogers and drooling are no big deal.  People love holding babies.  We specifically visit babies for the opportunity to hold them, seeing our friends and family is collateral.  There's nothing better than that perfect baby smell and soft baby skin as you cuddle your new mini best friend.  But, all things come to a crashing halt when your adorable bestie spits up all over your favorite cashmere sweater.  There's usually a quick pass off to mommy and a run to the bathroom to try and minimize the damage.  When you respond by giggling and shrug that you've been in dire need to bring the sweater for a good dry cleaning anyway, that's a serious moment of truth.

Are you thinking - SO cute or SO gross?
(image here)

Virgin margaritas taste the same as the real thing, pretty much.  No one's saying that your taste for Cabernet will suddenly vanish, but the thought of not being able to drink alcohol on New Year's Eve is no longer the biggest downer in the world.

Jealousy (much like imitation) is the sincerest form of flattery.  Every toddler, baby, pregnant lady and stroller in your line of sight is noticed.  People who want to live in Paris watch French movies, eat French food and obsessively eavesdrop on strangers with French accents.  People who want to have babies follow baby blogs....ehem...watch television shows about babies and awkwardly stare at every baby and pregnant lady that crosses their path.

What are the other telltale signs that you're seeing in people around you 

or you saw in yourself when the time was right?

Stuff People Google 27

The "things" reference in this search phrase is fantastic.  It's sort of like a psychological game - whatever word you instinctively replace with "things" speaks to your personality.  Sex? Happiness? Home cooked meals? Grammatical correctness?

does things stop when you have children

2011 Baby Name Predictions - Revisited (Boys Only)

Every year, the Social Security Administration updates their website with the 1,000 most popular boys and girls names of the prior year.  This year, the list was posted in May.  I immediately and intensely studied the list, of course.  By "studied" I mean scratched my head, searched some especially unique names on the internet, asked my dog for her thoughts and made a couple nonsensical spreadsheets.  The end result was a series of posts that note the changes from 2010 to 2011 (girl name post here, boy name post here) and some predictions about the 2011 trends that I think will show up on next year's update (here).

With the year coming to an end, I've decided to revisit my predictions and make a few last minute corrections before my time is up.  If you think this is cheating, then fine.  I'd like to think of the May post as a rough draft and the posts today (and yesterday) as the final product.  Below is a list of the boy names that I predicted would find popularity in 2011.  Like yesterday, I'm going to add some to the list and cross some off.

Boy Names

Everett

Frederick

Kyron

Lathan

Paige

Skye

Wallace

August and Henry.  Before I even discuss the names on the list, I'm adding these two.  I hear them everywhere.  Every baby boy I meet or hear about seems to be named one or the other, though I've yet to meet an August Henry or Henry August.  They are the choices of celebrities, coworkers, friends and strangers.  Both are classic and strong choices (think: August Anheuser Busch, Sr. and Henry Kissinger).

Everett.  I still like it.  A lot.  It's classic and strong like August and Henry, and has the added bonus of sounding like a first name or last name.  This type ambiguity seems to be a lasting trend.

Frederick.  I'm not sure about this one.  People are certainly into the long (read: many letters in length) classics.  Nathaniel, Christopher and Alexander are Top 100 standards.  But, Frederick might be too old classic.  Other than Freddy Prince Jr., nothing comes to mind by way of recent Federicks, Freds or Freddys.

Kyron is an odd name, in my humble opinion.  It makes me think of Enron or a software company.  On the other hand, it's a mash up - a mash up of Kyle and Aaron - and folks love mash ups (on Glee and with baby names).  I'm going to stick with Kyron, but I find it about as baby name friendly as Katniss (more on that here).  Before I end the discussion on mash ups, I'm adding Brayden to the list.  It's technically not a mash up, but it sounds like one.  It fits somewhere between Brandon, Raymond and Grayson...which is also getting added.  Gray is a hot color and Grayson is a hot name.

Lathan is out.  It's even stranger than Kyron.  If it's trying to mimic Nathan, then there's a major issue: Nate is a great nickname for Nathan, but Late does not work as a nickname for anything, ever.

Paige is staying on the list with a slight adjustment - I'm dropping the "i".  The "i" makes it too feminine to be used as a boy name.  So, Page will stay on the list.  It's gender neutral and neatly falls into the popular category of boy names that are also job titles: Mason, Hunter, Tanner, Sawyer...and Jasper.

Skye is a big YES thanks to fashionista Rachel Zoe.

Wallace may seem like a bad gamble (if I were actually betting on these guesses).  The first Wallace that comes to mind is Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, which doesn't conjure intellect and success.  But, it's also masculine (think William Wallace), vintage and...the kicker...British.  If we learned one thing in 2011, we learned that Americans are obsessed with British Royalty.  Who isn't?  Who didn't wake up at the crack to watch Wills and Kate get hitched?  You at least recorded it on your Tivo or DVR, right?  So, I'm keeping Wallace and I'm adding Harry.  Adding William would be officially cheating given that William has been in the Top 20 list since 1901, and is usually in the Top 10.

The new and improved boy name list:

Boy Names

August

Brayden/Braydon

Everett

Frederick

Grayson

Harry

Henry

Kyron

Lathan

Page

Paige

Skye

Wallace

If you have no clue who Wallace and Gromit are, watch the clip below.  

It's claymation British humor at its finest.

2011 Baby Name Predictions - Revisited (Girls Only)

Back in May I posted my predictions for the names that would be hot in 2011.  Here's the recap for girl names:

Girl Names

Adele

Adelina

Bennett

Finn

Marilyn

Philippa

Pippa

Rose

Suzanne

Tristan

For the reasoning behind this list, and the boys name list, check out the original post (here).  Now that 2011 is almost over, I'm going to revisit the lists.  Today is for the girls, tomorrow is for the boys.  Ladies first, of course.  I'll scratch a few off the list and add a few on.

Adele and Adelina, check and check.

Bennett....eh.  Maybe no for Bennett.  I still think that Masculine girl names will be hot, but Bennett might be too masculine.  Instead I'll add Avery and Emery to the list.  These are both masculine-ish names but with the "y" ending feel more acceptable as a baby girl's name and they both allow for nicknames that are super hot - Ava and Emmy.

Finn I'm keeping.  Call me crazy, but it's cute yet masculine and similar to Quinn, which has steadily climbed the top 1,000 list over the past 20 years (from 942 to 253).

I think I'm ahead of the times with Marilyn.  My guess is that Marilyn might be more popular in 2011 than 2010, but not noteworthy so.  However, I'd wager that Marilyn will be B-I-G in 2012.  In just a week, Michelle Williams will star as Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming film My Week With Marilyn (in theaters 11/23/11).  I suspect that she will remind everyone that Marilyn Monroe is a true icon and that Marilyn is an awesome name.

Philippa and Pippa definitely stay on the list.  Pippa Middleton continues to be an enigma, as does her name.

Rose.  I'm not sure Rose will be making a come back.  I'm going to scratch that off the list too.  People are digging traditional names and feminine names.  But not names that are both traditional and feminine, like Rose.  Traditional names have to be a little less flowery, like Charlotte.  And feminine names have to be a little more unusual, like Azalea.  So, I'm going to add Azalea, Dahlia and Daphne.

Primrose.  While I'm nixing Rose, I think the longer version Primrose might be a hit thanks to The Hunger Games.  If your counting, I've officially written about The Hunger Games three times this month.

Suzanne is a wild card.  I'm going to cross it off the list, though I may regret that.  Maybe Susanna instead?  Hmmm...nope.  I don't know why, but I've changed my mind on this front.

Tristan.  I'm scrapping Tristan too.  It's masculine, or at least gender neutral, which is good.  But, like my Bennett nix, it may lack intrigue.  Instead I'm adding a different category of masculine names - nicknames.  What were once nicknames for boys are now full names for girls.  Example, I have a friend who named her daughter Frankie.  Adorable!  So I'm adding Frankie and Joey.  (Not Franny and Zooey, which I openly admit went over my head.  I needed a book club for that one).

Girl Names

Adele

Adelina
Azalea

Avery

Bennett
Dahlia
Daphne

Emery

Finn
Frankie
Joey

Marilyn

Philippa

Pippa
Primrose

Rose

Suzanne

Tristan

Click here to watch the trailer for My Week With Marilyn.  Who plans to see it in the theatre?

UPDATE (11/18/11) - The Huffington Post (with a writer from nameberry.com, my favorite baby name website as you know) came out today with an article on the Top 12 baby name trends for 2012.  Let me say this: You read it HERE first!!!  Here is the article.

A Common Name

I have an important question, but before I get to it you should know that I've unofficially decided that ALL this week's posts will be about baby names.  There's no specific motivation behind this choice and it's unofficial because I tend to change my mind.  If you have any topics of interest regarding baby names, shoot me an email (nextstopbabyblog@gmail.com).

Back to the highly crucial question - how do you feel about common baby names?  I don't mean to ask how you feel about naming your son Aiden or your daughter Sophia.  By "common" I mean famous or well known to the general public (versus popular).  I've come up with three categories of names that fall into this definition:

1. A name that is the exact name of someone famous (i.e. Michael Jordan)
2. A name that is the exact name of someone fictional (i.e. Betty Boop)
3. A name that is sorta kinda a noun (i.e. Ruby Stone)

My guess is that you're thinking NO.  No you cannot name your son Michael if your last name is Jordan.  I saw an Oprah episode several years ago when a little girl came on the show because her name was also Oprah Winfrey.  The Oprah Winfrey wanted to meet the other Oprah Winfrey.  It was intended to be a cute and funny segment before the main show, but I kind of felt bad for the little girl.  She was honored to share the name, but I couldn't help but think of all awkward introductions she would suffer...for the rest of her life.  Imagine reviewing a resume from Oprah Winfrey?  Or being the mailperson who delivers Playgirl to Oprah Winfrey's house?

Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey are extreme examples.  What about lesser known celebrities and more common names.  I doubt there are too many Woods parents who are obsessed with the name Tiger.  But what about Mr. and Mrs. Roberts who love the name Julia?  Or Mr. and Mrs. Williams who love the name Michelle?  Chris Martin is both a common name and a lesser known celebrity, as compared to Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan.  Would you think twice about choosing Christopher if your last name was Martin?

I knew a guy in college named Tom Collins.  It should be no surprise that his favorite drink was a Tom Collins.  He embraced the intrigue.  Was that easy for him to do because Tom Collins is the name of  a tasty gin drink versus world famous actor (i.e. Tom Cruise)?  Or maybe he was just a laid back guy and a more uptight individual wouldn't have been able to enjoy recognition.

HERE is the perfect Tom Collins recipe,
according to Esquire.com

I'll move on to the third category of names.  When your last name is a noun do you have to avoid first names that are nouns?  Some examples:

• Chase Fox
• Jet Black
• Forrest Green
• Piper Song  

Are these names cool or not so much?  For those who think these are absurd names, what about throwing in a middle name that breaks it up - June Elizabeth Day.  Does that make help?  Or are certain names just off limits despite how much you love them?  Must you give up your dream of naming a daughter Scarlett because you married John Letterman?

Okay, I've officially posed a dozen questions.  Thoughts?  (#13)

Katniss Backlash

I recently declared that Katniss is not a real name (here).  A couple major things have occurred since that post.

First, I started reading The Hunger Games.  I've only finished a few chapters, so I can't yet tell you if I love it or hate it.  But, I can tell you that I'm enjoying it much more than I did the first book of The Twilight Saga.  This has no connection to whether Katniss is a real name, but I thought it was worth following up on.

Second, I've since looked into the number of names that have been derived from written works.  There are tons.  This just makes sense.  Before there were telephones, television or internet, people communicated through writing - newspapers, poetry, letters and books.  In addition to spreading ideas and information, written communication introduced and popularized names.  While I'm not going to take back my declaration (because I'm stubborn and I wouldn't personally name my child Katniss), I will share a few details of my findings. 

Jessica.  The first documented use of the name Jessica was in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.  Who knew?  Bill Shakespeare also created the name Miranda in his work, The Tempest.  The name Pamela was invented by Sir Philip Sidney in The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia.  Poet Jonathan Swift originated the name Vanessa for his 1713 poem "Cadenus and Vanessa".

There are also a handful of names were made popular, though not invented, by a writer.  Wendy.  You've heard of this name, yes?  J.M. Barrie popularized the name Wendy in his little known book, Peter and Wendy (the story of Peter Pan).  Charlotte Bronte popularized the name Shirley in her novel entitled Shirley.  Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, didn't invent the word Katniss, but she will most certainly be responsible for popularizing it as a name.

Katniss is a plant. 

Here is a guide on how to grow the katniss plant...

if that strikes your fancy.

(image here)

Technical Difficulties

A number of faithful fans and first time readers have let me know about some repeated technical difficulties that Next Stop Baby has suffered.

Commenting - There was a long standing issue with the commenting function.  I got many an email (nextstopbabyblog@gmail.com) informing me that a comment had been attempted and failed.  It took a lot of researching and tweaking, but I think I've finally resolved this one.  Yes?  Anyone have commenting issues lately?

RSS Feed - Recently I've been getting feedback that my RSS Feed is busted.  I haven't a clue how this happened or why, but I wanted to update you that I'm working on it....which could take a while.  The commenting fix came about after 6 months of efforts.  In the meantime, you can subscribe to Next Stop Baby: there is a "Follow by Email" function on the right side of your computer screen (scroll down).  By entering your email address you will receive an email every time I post something new and once in a while when I update or correct an old post (grammar mishaps get even the best of us).  

Thank you for letting me know when things don't work and please continue to do so.  AND, come back at noon for a real post!  

Stuff People Google 26

Associating certain names with certain personality traits or physical attributes is natural.  For example, Betty makes me think of a 1960's housewife and Olga makes me think of a large eastern European woman.  I wonder what name associations came up from this google search.

smelly coworker names

Look, DON'T Touch

Today's post was inspired by a good friend's awkward encounter with a rude person.  This good friend, also a good mom, read last week's post (Rude People and Socks) and immediately emailed me the following story:

My friend (Mom) is in the grocery store with her tiny, beautiful, perfect baby girl.  Baby Girl is happily hanging out in a baby carrier, checking out the tomatoes along with mom.  A woman unknown to Mom and Baby Girl approaches them in a tizzy.  Mom assumes she's overtaken by Baby Girl's adorableness (you would be, I swear she's just the cutest baby ever) and must comment.  Not so.  Woman proceeds to berate Mom for letting Baby Girl be in the grocery store without warmer clothing.  Mom isn't too ruffled, she's become familiar with aggressive advice from strangers, but it's still pretty annoying.  Then Woman grabs Baby Girl's shirt sleeves and tugs them down and around Baby Girl's fingers.  Strange, rude Woman is apparently trying to shield Baby Girl's hands from the brutal cold of the produce section.  

This may be two too many stories about rude people in the last couple weeks, but I had to share because there is a bigger story here.  Rude people will be rude people.  This is true no matter how much I complain about it (here, here and here).  New and old moms alike can learn to deal with nosy questions and inappropriate comments.  Everyone can (and must) learn to deal with social ineptness in general, because it's inescapable.  But, touching a baby without permission or touching someone else without permission (i.e. a pregnant belly) is unacceptable.

If some stranger put her paws on my non-pregnant belly I'd call her an asshole and judo chop her jugular.  I shouldn't have to explain this point, but I will: people are entitled to privacy of their person.  This is a social rule and I'm pretty sure a legal one too.  Meaning, touching a stranger's baby bump without permission is wicked rude and illegal (or should be).  The same goes for touching a baby without permission.  Just because babies are non-verbal and therefore unable to enforce their own privacy rights, doesn't mean you may take their silence as a "Sure, make my sleeves into makeshift mittens."  Unless you ask and mom gives you the green light, keep your mittens to yourself.  Period.

Speaking of mittens - I love these (by Birda, $38)

Top 10 List - Baby Carriers

It's time for another item on the Top 10 Most Essential Baby Products List (longest list title ever).  A month ago I asked for your thoughts on the truly, seriously, absolutely most essential baby products (here is that post).  The idea behind my inquiry was that when my baby craze turns into baby mama I'm going to need to get some baby stuff.  BUT, I live in a tiny apartment and I won't have much space to store said stuff.  Hence the list.  I'm on a mission to find the most compact versions of the most essential baby products.

A baby carrier is today's essential product.  It's second on the list and no, you're not crazy, I've never posted the entire list.  If you give away the cow for free, nobody is going to buy the milk.  And, truth be told, the list is sort of a work in progress.

The List so far (in no particular order):
1. Place to Sleep
2. Carrier

At first I wondered if a baby carrier is in fact essential.  Why can't one just carry her baby in her arms? From my non-mother point of view, a baby carrier seemed like a convenience, a bonus gadget.   Realizing that I couldn't rely on my outsider perspective, I asked some new moms about baby carriers.  Did they have one?  How often did they use it?  Is it really essential?  Every new mom (without exception) told me that she had a carrier and she used it often.  The moms unanimously agreed that carriers are essential.  I also started to notice how many baby carriers I see on a daily basis.  They're everywhere.  I would wager that carriers are used just as much as strollers, if not more.

Why are baby carriers essential?  Because there are a lot of activities that require two hands.  The carrier keeps the baby warm, cozy and peaceful while the mom can grocery shopping, get a coffee at Starbucks and travel on the subway.  You know how I feel about strollers on the subway (more on that here).  Carriers, however, are welcome on the subway.  And, for apartment dwellers, carriers are far more compact than strollers.

La Stella Blu ($45)

Maya Wrap ($74.95)

Belle ($109.95)

Happy NYC Marathon Day

Today is the NYC Marathon and I'm about to go watch a friend...or, rather, try to find a friend amongst the tens of thousands of people who are running this year (over 45,000 ran last year).

Thanks to Amber Miller, I'm keeping my eye out for some pregnant runners.  You may remember Ms. Miller being the 27-year-old who ran the Chicago marathon earlier this year while 39 weeks pregnant.  Shortly after running (it took her a little under 6.5 hours), she gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

This is the Miller family post marathon and childbirth.



What do you think: Crazy or Amazing?

Stuff People Google 25

I feel for this lady.  I hope it's not the same person from Stuff People Google 9.

pregnant and i am going to vomit

Katniss Is Not a Real Name

The title of this post says it all - Katniss is not a real name.

It's an answer to a question that I feel is plaguing my favorite baby name website, Nameberry.  I check it out on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis.  I love the witty blog articles.  I love scrolling through all the name lists like "Geezer Names for Girls" and "Nouveau Names on the Rise".  And, I love checking out the "Today's Most Popular Name" feature, which is a cluster of the most searched names on Nameberry on any given day.  It's a great website to kill fifteen minutes or two hours (click here for other websites that I kill time on).

For the past several months, Katniss has been a name featured in Nameberry's "Today's Most Popular Name".  It's always there.  Front and center, large and pink.  The larger the name the more times it's been searched.  Everytime I pop over to check out the latest in baby names I see Seraphina (thanks Ben and Jen) and Katniss.

A screenshot from Nameberry yesterday.  

You'll notice the prominence with which Katniss is featured.

For those of you who are thinking, KATNISS?  WTF?  I can explain its popularity, in part: The Hunger Games.  You've heard of The Hunger Games, yes?  It's followed in the footsteps of the Twilight Saga as the next, best, cheesy, teenage, science fiction, drama, romance series.  The heroine of the Hunger Games series, who will be played by Jennifer Lawrence when it comes to movie theaters everywhere in March 2012, is Katniss.  Just as Bella and Isabella became wildly popular baby names thanks to the Twilight Saga, it seems that Katniss is becoming a top baby name choice thanks to The Hunger Games.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss.  Fierce.
Looks like she could kick Kristen Stewart's ass.

The part I can't explain is why people have decided that Katniss is a real name (versus the name of a science fiction heroine).  Katniss is like Spock - it's a character, not a name.  People didn't have to make that distinction with Bella or Isabella, because both had been within the top 1,000 most popular baby names (per the social security website) since 1880.  Katniss has never been on the social security website's top 1,000 baby names.  Will it join those ranks in the next couple years?  If it's popularity on Nameberry is any indication, then yes.

What do you think - is Katniss a "real life" name?  Am I being a baby name party pooper?  Will I be eating my words in a couple decades?  And, more importantly, have you read The Hunger Games and how does it compare to the Twilight Saga?

Rude People and Socks

I've previously written about my astonishment at how rude people can be to pregnant women (read about that here).  By "people" I mean strangers, acquaintances, co-workers, neighbors friends and family alike.  By "rude" I mean everything from critiquing dietary choices to admonishing birthing plans.  It seems that being visibly pregnant gives others a ticket to judge.

But the rudeness doesn't end with the baby's birth.  My formerly pregnant friends are currently new mothers (no shock there).  With this transition, I've quickly learned that the ticket to judge pregnant women becomes a season pass to humiliate and belittle new moms.  It's awful.

My quick letter to all the judging, belittling, humiliators that are so rude to pregnant ladies and new moms:

Dear Everyone, what are you thinking?!!!  As Teresa Guidice and Melissa Gorga say (to at each other) - ZIP IT!

Teresa Guidice versus Melissa Gorga
Who's already excited for Season 4 of RHONJ?!!

And now, a short(ish) narrative of some unsolicited advice from a rude, rude lady.

A young mother is walking down the sidewalk on a warm fall day.  Her 3-month-old son is happily strapped into a baby bjorn, facing his mothers chest.  His chubby little legs are kicking and he's doing that adorable drool/gurgle thing, which is only adorable because he's a baby and not a 40-year-old man.  A woman and her husband approach the new mom and baby.  The couple is visibly older than the new mom, by several decades.  

The older woman says, "I just have to say something..."  

The new mom readies herself for a sweet compliment about her son's perfectly rosy and round cheeks.  "Those socks are much too small on his feet," says the older woman as she shakes her head in scorn.   

Record scratch.

The older woman continues, "They just are.  I had to say something.  Look at the color of that baby's legs!"  

The new mom's eyes dart to her son's legs in a moment of genuine concern.  They appear just as chubby and cream-colored as they were that morning, when he was sockless.  Nothing concerning.  Nothing concerning at all.  The new mom stares at the older woman, desperate to end the awful exchange.  

The older woman turns to the older man and repeats, "I had to say something, just look at those socks." 

The new mom walks away.  Pissed.

Shame on this older woman (also something Melissa Gorga would say). 

Socks and sandals - a true crime. 
(image here)

In case this older woman happens to be an avid reader of Next Stop Baby, let me offer some advice of my own: When you see a mother doing something that you don't agree with, STOP.  Take a moment.  Would you verbalize this same concern if the situation wasn't between a mother and a child?  Would you tell a grown man that he was wearing his socks too tight?  Probably not.  You probably wouldn't have even noticed the grown man's socks in the first place.  You're not the mommy police, so stop sniffing out non-issues and harassing people.

Have you ever witnessed one of these awkward exchanges?  When, if ever, is it okay to say something about someone else's mothering skills?