Stuff People Google 54

Some people want a couple of beers on a hot summer night.  Others want a couple of friends to commiserate with over a bad breakup.  Still others would enjoy a couple of days off of work to relax.  I think it's safe to say that very few (maybe just this one typist) wants this: 

couple of plesiosaur

In case you don't know, a plesiosaur is a dinosaur and because it's fun to explain, I did write a post that involved a plesiosaur (here), which is likely why the google searcher found NSB.

You Wanna Name Your Kid What?!!!

Choosing a baby name is truly the first act of parenting.  Well, for those that sit on the birth certificate for a few days unable to decide, maybe not.  Even so, it's at least one of the first acts of parenting. 

It's a choice that has become slightly more complicated over the years.  A hundred years ago the pool of commonly used names was relatively small and parents were, generally, less creative in their choice.  Nowadays, there are many, many, many commonly used names and parents are inspired to make unique choices.  Why the change?  My guess it twofold.  First, the world is becoming smaller thanks to travel and technology, so we're sharing and comparing naming ideas like never before.  Second, being unique is a modern and highly coveted characteristic.  We want to be unique (by choosing a rare name) and we want our children to be unique (by being named something less common).

I'm a modern lady and a fan of interesting names.  I like names that make me pause and consider, like Jessica Simpson's Maxwell and Alicia Silverstone's Bear.  But, once in a while, even I can be thrown by a name choice and find myself feeling judgy.

Who felt judgy watching this video?

Last week I was checking out Nameberry.com as I often do and noticed the following "Names Searched Right Now": Whizdom and Tequila.  I probably don't need to explain why I felt judgy toward both of these names, but I will anyway. 

Part of my problem with Whizdom is that I can't stand unnecessarily strange spellings of commonly use names (and words).  Especially if you're choosing a rare name, go with the least rare spelling.  That's my 2 cents.  Of course my other problem with Whizdom is that, regardless of the spelling, it's a self-important.  Typically, I love names that are nouns (i.e. Violet, Hunter).  But I also hate braggers (more on that here).  Choosing a name like Wisdom...or Whizdom...forces the child to live up to the parent's ego or suffer trying.  

Next up, Tequila.  Tequila happens to be my favorite alcohol, but I don't appreciate it as a name.  I wouldn't appreciate a child named Bourbon or Rum or Vodka either.  Whiskey might be a cool name for a rockstar, but you can't really plan for these things at birth.  I just think it would be hard to take someone seriously if she introduced herself as Tequila.  "Hi, I'm Tequila Smith, your daughter's 3rd grade teacher."  Hmmm...

Reasonable minds may certainly differ.  I don't doubt that some people think Whizdom and Tequila are fantastic names.  I bet there's someone out there that thinks alcoholic beverage baby names should be the next big trend.  So, maybe it's all just a matter of opinion.  Or is it?  Are there any names that are just universally wrong?

It's Voting Day, Again

It's a quick and boring post to solicit some votes for NSB on Top Baby Blogs.  If you are inclined, click HERE and then click on the owl to the left.  You can technically vote once a day, everyday, all year long, but I only beg for votes once or twice a year.  I'm shameless, but not that shameless...

Cute(ish) Gender Neutral Clothes

The decision to find out the baby's gender is a big one.  If the decision is yes, a sonogram between 17 and 20 weeks does the trick.  A sonogram technician checks out the baby's nether regions and determines whether there's a third leg (ahem) or not.  In fact, nowadays, sonogram machines are so high tech (especially those 3-D ones) that you can see all the parts, whether boy or girl.  Still, I've heard that prudish little ones who keep their legs firmly closed can make it difficult to predict gender with certainty.  But, that's the exception.  More often than not, a woman's uterus is like Bourbon Street - baby feels free to show off the goods.  

Based on the pregnant ladies and moms I know (good friends, coworkers, acquaintances, friends of friends, etc.), the current and clear trend is to take advantage of modern technology and learn the baby's gender.  But, of course, some do opt for the surprise.  There's no wrong choice, but there are pros, cons and general considerations.  I've previously written about this big decision (here) and while I won't rehash that entire post, below is a list I came up of some of the important considerations:

Siblings

Baby Shower Gifts

Mistaken Predictions

Names

Nursery Decor

Curiosity 

Today I'm going to focus on item number two.  Specifically, how gender affects the gifting of baby clothes.  When gender is known, people tend to gift the mom-to-be with baby clothes.  It can't be helped given all the adorable baby girl and baby boy clothing out there - pink tutus, navy overalls, princess onesies and sailor hats.  When gender is a surprise, people tend not to gift the mom-to-be with baby clothes.  It's avoided because gender neutral clothes are not all that adorable.  Right?  This is the assumption of most.  This is (was) my assumption.  With this in mind, I made it my mission to find adorable, gender neutral baby clothes.  

Let's start with a little quiz that I myself faced early in the search.  Below are two adorable babies.  Who is a boy, who is a girl?  Are they both boys/girls?      

Monkey Organic Jumper
by My Little Pakora ($28)

Towelling All-in-on
by Mini Boden ($36)

If you guessed that they were both BOYS, you're probably right.  I have no way of knowing for sure (I don't know these babies personally), but both of these outfits are the boy version.  I'll prove it to you with the girl version below.

by My Little Pakora

by Mini Boden

This first little experiment made me feel like gender neutral clothes were either going to be boy clothes that girls could get away with or vica versa.  That discouraged me.  I wanted to find true gender neutral clothes, not makeshift gender neutral clothes.  My search continued and I think I found some winners. Below are the results.  Let me know what you think.  

Clockwise from the top left:
Striped Duck Creeper by Carter's ($5.99)
Seahorse Footie Onesie by Kate Quinn Organics ($38)
Little Bundles 3-Pack Bodysuit by Old Navy ($15)
Ocean Amigos Romper by Kissy Kissy ($34)

Where have you have found adorable gender neutral clothes?  What brands?

Stuff People Google 53

While we all know that the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain, there are some unanswered questions about lightning in Florida...or so thought the typist featured in today's Stuff People Google.  Right?  Florida is the most reasonable interpretation of "fl"?

lightning in fl