Load up on Baby Name Books . It is fun to keep them and look back at what if choices. Also a fun keepsake for your child.

Think about name. Do you want a name that's long or short? old-fashioned or modern? Mainstream or one-of-a-kind? Pay attention to what other people are naming their babies. You don't what your child to be one of 3 David's in his class!

What are initials? Colin Orson Newman, for example, would probably never monogram his towels.

Does it have a rhythm? Can you sing to it?

Have you spell-checked it? Remember that an original spelling of an old standard can look pretentious to outsiders. Also, do you really want to burden your child with correcting everyone she meets?

Have fun. After all picking out your baby's name is one of greatest joys of becoming a parent and proof positive that there really-and-truly is a baby on way.

I remember one time when we had preacher over, and he got on a roll, talking for well over two hours. My mom sat there entire time in rapt attention, and my brother and I were completely miserable. I noticed that Ernest was getting sort of squirmy in his chair, and finally pressure got to him, and he reached down and scratched his butt right out in front of everybody. My mom was appalled, and immediately ordered him to leave room. As soon as he did, preacher went back to talking, and I can remember thinking that something just wasn’t right - I was being good, and as a result was being forced to listen to preacher, and my brother had just misbehaved, and he was as free as a bird. I then realized there was only one thing to do - I burped, really, really loud. My mom cried, “Edward,” and, with a horrified look, marched me out of room and told me that she would deal with me later. When preacher did leave, my mom told me that I had royally embarrassed her, and then proceeded to warm up my heiny like a bowl of grits. She did nothing to my brother, which led me to believe that butt scratching must be less sinful than burping.

So you see what I mean? Any room that you can’t sit down in, walk floor in, or even scratch yourself in is not a room - it‘s a prison, only decorated better. Maybe that’s something to consider - if prison overcrowding continues, maybe corrections officials would consider leasing out living rooms for cons to be housed in. If slick floors, National Geographics, and long-winded preachers don’t set ‘em straight, nothing will...