Naming your baby is one of the most time consuming and frustrating processes leading up to the birth of your child. There are literally tens of thousands of choices. It is difficult enough to find one you are happy with, let alone one that both you and your spouse agree on. But that is nothing compared to what happens when you start to involve other family members.

This situation often occurs when you want to name your baby after a relative or close friend. Perhaps it is a tradition in your family to name children after a grandparent or you simply want to celebrate a favorite relative. Although the intention is good, conflict will certainly arise and feelings will get hurt. As if you didn't have enough to worry about, right?

So how can you handle these difficult family situations? First, remember that it's your baby and, thus, your choice. If you and your spouse agree, that should be sufficient. However, this hard nosed attitude will do little to repair offended aunts and uncles. Naturally, the best course is to keep relatives from being offended in the first place.

A good method is to make an announcement to your family explaining your choice. If people hear it straight from you it's less likely to offend anyone. The family gossip train is notorious for exaggerations. Also, this keeps people from feeling slighted since you took the time to explain things in a non-confrontational way.

Finally, a good course of action is just to keep it secret until the baby is born and people get to see and hold your child. Who will care about family squabbles when the precious child is in their arms. Waiting for this moment will keep the silly name argument from gathering steam and will keep the focus on what matters: your beautiful new child.

Don't let family conflict keep you from honoring a relative or giving your baby the name you want. Keep the focus on your child and go out of your way to appease needy relatives. In the end, you'll be glad you maintained your family relationships. Someone has to watch the baby when you're out, right?