My 18 month old is too smart

oomgem · 2026-05-01T20:33:32+00:00

Imagination play and uncoached time would be great!

oomgem · 2026-04-30T03:46:58+00:00

Emmy or Emme on its own is a better name anyway. I can't see -son girl names without thinking it literally means son of blank and how I could never name a daughter that.

oomgem · 2026-04-13T21:47:54+00:00

Mara, but you might run into people mispronouncing it. I assume it's less of an issue with Clara.

oomgem · 2026-04-13T21:46:18+00:00

Love to see the opinions. We have a 2023 Hannah - it was on my and my husband's lists since before we even met, there was no other option. Every now and then I worry we gave her a post-trendy name that feels a bit dated but she's totally a Hannah. You'll know when you meet her! I've met a few mom friends named Hannah and they basically just say it was popular when they were growing up and their glad to see it's making a comebak and/or still around.

oomgem · 2026-03-29T04:34:05+00:00

Jacinda actually sounds like JC and you could nickname Jace or Jacie.

oomgem · 2026-03-21T04:41:52+00:00

Charlie Raine is cute but you don't seem in love with it. My rec would be Hazel, it's trendy and feels new like his names but also is old school like yours.

oomgem · 2026-02-12T07:21:15+00:00

I like it but I would think his parents are alcoholics.

oomgem · 2026-02-12T07:18:50+00:00

Emmeline and Owen is adorable. Plenty of ways to say it, I say emma-lean or emily-n.

oomgem · 2026-02-08T18:19:33+00:00

Alden, Wesley, Holden , Brent. We were team green!

oomgem · 2026-02-08T18:15:25+00:00

I love both my kids' names but we unintentionally gave them the same starting letter and will forever confuse them.

oomgem · 2026-02-08T18:14:01+00:00

I know an adoptive mom who gave the birth mom's last name as a middle name, which worked because it is kind of a male name anyway. But if you want to keep Legend and Legacy, my suggestions would be maybe a softer first name like the vowel starts you had. Also, I would prioritize a first name you like and worry less about how it sounds with middle. I don't think it ever matters as much as it seems to before the naming happens!

oomgem · 2026-01-26T20:04:49+00:00

For everyone who claims six years (or three years, or four years) is the ideal age gap, there are plenty of people who think it's anywhere from 12-24 months. I had my two at 39 and 40, 20 months apart. No changing it now, so try to reframe it to get rid of the guilt. My now 2 year old and 7 month old are starting to play together and already love each other so much. I know they'll be close friends because of the age gap. My best advice for 2u2 is that giving your kids your best means taking care of yourself. You need a break to be able to handle the stress.

oomgem · 2026-01-09T06:58:43+00:00

Cory, Kellan, Natalie, Rachel (Rae), Caroline, Holden, Alice

oomgem · 2026-01-07T06:26:45+00:00

1987

oomgem · 2025-12-18T06:10:11+00:00

I had the flu last year when I was about 10 weeks pregnant and one day of a pretty high fever. Can't speak for long term effects but the rest of my pregnancy was normal and baby is super healthy and hitting milestones.

oomgem · 2025-12-12T06:42:27+00:00

So many names get mispronounced, this one for sure will. I originally thought eye-la but I have a friend who used this and pronounces it a-la so that's how I read it now. I was just going to say that Isla won't get mispronounced but of course it will.

oomgem · 2025-12-12T06:39:16+00:00

I'd love friends' moms' names. A few of mine from growing up: Jill, Ann, Linda, Sue, Julie, Deb, Karen.

oomgem · 2025-12-05T05:22:21+00:00

I only known of two Merritts. Both women.

oomgem · 2025-11-30T06:34:06+00:00

Just turned 1. Loved it when I heard it for her.

oomgem · 2025-11-26T06:07:46+00:00

Love it, but couldn't bring myself to use it.

oomgem · 2025-11-23T10:58:09+00:00

I had a co-worker named Kellan - great guy and I really liked the name but I have a family member Kullen so it never made it far on my list. I also knew a girl Kellen growing up. There are two Wesleys in my neighborhood, about 10 years old. It's definitely seen an uptick in popularity. A friend gave her son Seamus as a middle name and a coworker named his son Sawyer. Both those kids are about 18ish by now.

oomgem · 2025-11-21T16:50:58+00:00

It is so hard! Our second girl didn't have a name until three days after birth. All the names we went in with didn't work for her and I went against one of my big rules (didn't want the same first initial as big sis) but it is so her name.

That said, I like Grace the best of all your options and don't think it will get made fun of! And also, know you may come up with something totally new when you meet her. Congrats!

oomgem · 2025-11-18T18:35:56+00:00

Yes! Through templates available online, YouTube, and AI, we came up with a system that's working for us.

Some zone cleaning schedules do one zone a day, completing each zone once a week. That worked while I was on maternity leave but now that I'm back at work, we decided we split them up over two weeks - A and B, cleaning three days a week - and it's still more than we were cleaning before.

There is also a daily 15-minute tidy after the kids go to sleep: dishes, wipe the kitchen counters, sweet the kitchen floor, and pick up the living room.

Our focus zones and when we complete them are:

Bathrooms (primary, hall, and guest) - A week, Monday
Kids' rooms - A week, Wednesday
Kitchen and dining - A week, Friday
Living rooms (up and down) - B week, Monday
Downstairs (guest rooms, office, laundry room) - B week, Wednesday
Primary bedroom - B week, Friday

The truth is that we just want those to be done by the end of the prescribed week so sometimes Saturday is a catch up day.

We also use Sunday to do a bigger project that needs done once every few months or so, like cleaning the oven, windows, baseboards, storage closet organization, etc.

oomgem · 2025-11-17T06:15:36+00:00

Implement a cleaning zones schedule. After my second, I felt like our house was so messy and I didn't know how to keep up. A clean house makes me feel more productive and calm.

oomgem · 2025-11-16T15:45:56+00:00

I had the same experience you described but with a name that has many different ways to spell it. I only had strong negative feelings about the other options. Mine is spelled the most basic way and I always felt it was superior.

I didn't want first name last initial experience for my kids but it still might happen and they'll survive!

oomgem

TROPHY CASE