who should name the baby?

Is it a good idea to let a two year old name a baby? Well, that's debatable. If you ask my parents, its a terrific idea. In fact, my brother (2 years and 10 months my senior) chose my name. My parents were smart though, because they gave him three options from which he could select: Kristin, Lauren & Julia. His decisive two-year-old self determined that his new little sister would be Kristin, and I must say I have always liked my name and have given my big brother credit for his excellent choice! (Way to go G-Brother!)

Truth be told, I know my name came from my Mum's favourite evening soap - Dallas. For those of you who can remember the famous "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of the series, the answer is Kristin. Kristin shot J.R. And yes, I know the series well - I watched it in reruns with my mum when I was old enough to!

So now, almost 30 years later, I find myself at the same stage - with a two year old, who has come up with a brilliant name for her sibling-to-be. The only difference is, I haven't given her three choices. She has simply made the decision for us. Whenever you ask her what the baby is going to be (as in boy or girl), although she originally chose a gender each time, she now goes straight to the name: Ella.

She has decided that when the baby arrives in April, it will be named Ella...Cinderella.

Although giving naming power to a toddler worked for my parents, I'm not sure we can - in good conscience - name our child Cinderella. But, there are still a couple months to go, and Lady M is a persuasive little girl, so who knows what will happen!