The game

At the beginning, it's exciting. Neither of you has done it before and now you're doing it together. You do it all the time and when you're not doing it, you're thinking about it.
You'll even talk to friends about it, maybe even get their suggestions. You stash away some of those suggestions for possible use; others leave you wondering why you're friends with such strange people.
Then, after a few months, the two of you fall into a routine. It's not as exciting as it once was. You go days -- weeks even! -- without doing it. And when you do, it seems forced and there is pressure. So to fix that, maybe you decide to get a book -- you know, to get some new ideas.
But it's when you realize that you've stopped thinking about it altogether that you start feeling embarrassed and pathetic.
Indeed, the baby name game can take expectant parents on quite a ride.
A few days ago, after weeks or maybe a couple of months of having given little thought to naming Bun, I realized that we're about two months away and, well, if we don't get crackin' that birth certificate's actually going to say "Bun."
It's tough, though, thinking of names. And the pressure's on: The bump-in-the-belly's going to be stuck with this identifier forever. You can't just think of something fun and clever; it's not a pet or car.
The name can't be too old, new, trendy, gender-neutral, strange, boring, tough to pronounce, difficult to spell or tedious to write. But with those self-imposed guidelines, sometimes I think we really will be stuck with "Bun."
Nevertheless, I'm determined to give this lots of thought. I already only half-jokingly say my life's full of guilt and regret, so I don't need to look back years from now and think to myself: "Self, way to go. You played the name game like you were cramming for a test, and neither worked out: Your kid got tagged with a crummy name and you got C's in biology."
So, here we are. There's about 9 weeks left, no time for lollygagging. Now, girl names are a struggle for us. They all sound frumpy, geriatric or pole-dancerish. Boy names are easier. We're kickin' around a few and might have settled on a first name.
What is it, you ask? Can't divulge. Couples have to keep some secrets.
That's what keeps things exciting.