While some parents spend the full nine months brainstorming baby names, others know exactly what they're going to call their child before they're even conceived. But one teen mum has spent seven months regretting the name she gave her firstborn son - claiming she only agreed to it to please the father.
Taking to Reddit, the woman explained how she has spent her entire life pleasing others and allowed the "fear of disappointment" to impact her little one's name. She said: "The reason I want to change his name is because before I became a mother I was very weak. I let people walk over me, persuade me, and I sacrificed a lot of my own happiness in order to please others. I lied to my parents a lot because I feared disappointment, I gave my partner a lot of my time and would always go the extra mile for him, I had friends who would constantly treat me like a second choice.
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Getty Images/iStockphoto)"Well, becoming a mother changed me. I have a little more ways to go, but I'm stronger now and I voice my opinions, I no longer let people take advantage of me."
While the mum did not reveal her son's name on the social media website, she explained how she allowed her son's father to come up with it.
"When I was pregnant, his father came up with the name and I said I wanted to keep looking," she added.
"He begged me a little and I said 'Yes' because being a pregnant teen brought up a lot of more important problems at the time, I couldn't handle extra stress about a name."
Although she "never liked the name", she thought it would grow on her following her son's birth - but this didn't quite work out.
The woman added: "Now I hate it even more. It makes me so sad that I couldn't choose a special name for him, something that really meant something to me.
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Getty Images/Tetra images RF)"I spent all my life pleasing others and I ruined that special opportunity to name my child something that has significance to me because I was weak."
The woman sought out the dad's permission to change their son's name before going through with her idea - and was surprised he agreed to the change without making an issue.
"After a conversation with his father, he agreed to change his name. After I asked him if he would be sad or resent me, he said he'd only be sad for probably two days then get over it," she explained.
"He wants it to be something special for both of us, and that in itself means a lot to me seeing how much he's matured in just seven months.
"Well, my mother took the news badly. She said it would be selfish to change it because his dad loves him so much, and it would hurt him a lot. She also said it would hurt his other side of the family and that its wrong to change a babies name."
After hearing her family's thoughts on her intention to change his name, she is now in two minds about going through with her plan.
Backing her decision, one user said: "Change it! You and the baby's father have discussed it and agreed on a solution. Your baby won't remember and it will save you years of possible resentment.
"Kudos to you for embracing that voice inside. I also struggled to advocate for myself until I had a baby. I say trust your gut!"
Another user added: "Quite honestly - your mum's opinion doesn't matter here. You and your co-parenting partner have come to an agreement. Period.
"Change it to something you love for your baby. Just be sure to keep the original birth certificate, social security card if you're in the states, and name change documents so when your child grows up they will have it all. Some background checks might require that paper trail."
A third user said: "I changed my babies name at nine-months-old. The name we chose during pregnancy just didn't fit him and felt wrong.
"His name now fits him perfect and it was like a puzzle piece falling into place and all is right with the world. I'm so happy we changed it."
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