And we pick from a list of names after birth. We had 2 boy names and 5 girl names for Gabriel, and 5 and 5 for Brendan. We figured we’d know what his name was after we met him face to face, not before. It seems odd to me to pick out a name beforehand, when you haven’t actually ‘met’.
Gabe was definitely not a Nicholas. Not a chance (Nick had been our first choice, but it didn’t fit at all).
And while I really wanted to use the name Colin, when Bren was born, he just wasn’t a Colin, either. Definitely a Brendan.
It was too early to name the ‘baby’ when I miscarried the first time. The second, while also early, had a ‘feel’, so I nicknamed her (gender also unknown, but dreamed of one particular girl). The nickname helped.
Specifically, my brother was Junior before he was born. We didn’t know if he was going to be a boy or a girl. So while names had been picked out, nobody used either of them before he showed up on the scene. I’m assuming the names were open for revision post-birth if the picked one didn’t click, though we didn’t.
