Common - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes

We (mostly I) had no intention of using nicknames for our children.

So how did we end up with a Bubba?

When deciding on names for our two children, Charlotte and Isaac, I was clear with my husband that I preferred names that didn't have a variety of options for shortening. I didn't want different people calling them different names. I didn't want them to have a version of their name that they preferred but was different from the given name. I didn't want them to have endless conversations asking their friends, teachers, co-workers, etc.. to call them by a specific name.

It's my issue, I know.

But since I was part of naming our children I suggested only names that weren't too easily shortened or prone to nicknames.

So we're not calling Charlotte Char or Charlie. We're definitely not calling Isaac Ike (I didn't even know that was a thing until after he was born!)

Yet, Isaac is Bubba. I call him Bubba more than I call him Isaac. I refer to him as Bubba with our family. It's his name at this time.

Bubba.

It sounds so common. I feel childish saying it out loud in public. I would never have called him Bubba on my own. 

But Bubba is his name.

We owe this thanks to Charlotte's speech therapist. (And I really am grateful for her!) When we brought Isaac home from the hospital Charlotte could only sign "baby." She would sign "baby" over and over again. When he cried, she would sign. When she wanted to hold him, she would sign. When anyone came to see him, she would sign. She loved him from the beginning. Always signing "baby."

As Charlotte progressed in speech therapy the therapist worked on getting Charlotte to say the names of her family. She helped Charlotte first say mama and dada. She taught her puppy. And for Isaac - Bubba.

When Charlotte first started saying his name, Bubba, I couldn't help but beam with pride. Here was my 3 year-old daughter with apraxia of speech naming her family. Finally.

"Bubba, Bubba, Bubba!"

Charlotte still can't say Isaac, but it doesn't matter. Her brother is Bubba. 

My son is Bubba. 

**All month I'll be participating in 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes. Each day I'll take some time (sometimes 5 minutes and sometimes a little more) to sit down and write. It's about the discipline of writing each day. It's about listening to the words from within. It's about letting creativity work in me. I'll share my writing at some point during the day on my blog. Thanks for reading.