Prior to getting pregnant, I would ask Jerry what names he liked for babies. He would always say, "You're not pregnant, so why does it matter? Let's talk about it when you are pregnant." Um, hello? Have you MET me? I love to daydream, to brainstorm, to plan ahead! Not that I expected to pick a name prior to getting pregnant, but I just wanted to get an idea about what names Jerry liked. What a bummer Jerry was. (I'm sure there are some of you that are just shocked that I, Kelli Neely [now Campos], did NOT have names picked out since I was five years old?! I know, I know.)
And then we got pregnant! I was finally going to get to talk baby names. So I asked Jerry again what names he liked. His response was, "Can't we wait to find out if it is a boy or a girl? That way we only need to do half the work!" REALLY!!! I did get my way on this conversation though and we talked names for months.
Everyone would suggest names and we would shoot them down really fast. We had downloaded apps on our phones, read books, searched the internet, had people write suggestions (at the Gender Reveal Party), and brainstormed with friends and family. We looked at thousands of names. And when I say thousands, that is no exaggeration.
One of the best resources we found was the Social Security Administration's webpage: http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/
Did we have any favorites? Jerry and I could not agree on boys names. Girls names came much easier (which we won't get to use unless we get a girl!). My favorite name was Liam, but Jerry hated it. I wanted William Michael. Jerry said no. I also liked the name Chase, which I had tried to convince Marissa to name Cooper. When I would ask Jerry what he liked, he would suggest goofy names that he would honestly never choose to name his child. To be fair, I didn't have a ton of names that I was in love with either.
So here is how our baby boy finally got his name:
Jerry had spent a weekend in California celebrating Oleg's bachelor party at the end of July. While he was there, he took a walk on the beach with a couple of our friends. They asked Jerry what we were thinking in terms of names. Here is how it was explained to me: Jerry told them I liked the name Liam and they said no way. When Jerry told them I also liked the name Dean, they all got excited and told him that was a great name. Michael would be the middle name. Jerry also pointed out to me that if he was an athlete that we could get him t-shirts that said RUN DMC! Sold. I thought it was hilarious that Jerry had to go to a bachelor weekend, take a walk on the beach, and run the name past his boyfriends to figure out that he really liked the name Dean. Haha!
I have to admit, once Jerry told me he liked the name Dean, it made me really nervous. Did this baby really have a name?? It made it so real. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I felt anxious, scared, excited, etc. all at once. OUR baby was REAL. And he was possibly going to be named Dean Michael Campos. Dean. My little baby boy, Dean. And I was in love. However, I would not 100% commit myself to the name until I saw him with my own eyes. The name was by no means a secret and we would always tell people when they asked, but I had to make sure it fit for him. I had to make sure that this little guy was really a Dean. Luckily, he was. =)
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