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For The Cool Price Of $100, This Business Will Help You *Name* Your Baby

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Can't decide on the perfect name for your baby? Stumped by whether to go classic or non-traditional, to honor a family member or your favorite character from Big Little Lies? Well, stress no more. Future Perfect, a boutique baby naming consulting business, will provide all the inspiration you need to give your child the perfect name. Created by Macaire Douglas and Cara Sullivan, two moniker-loving mamas, the business came from their shared love of "namestorming" (I have to admit, that's clever). With a variety of packages offered, the service is being billed as the perfect baby shower gift for future parents with a seemingly endless list of baby preparations to complete before their little one arrives.

I must admit, my husband and I did not struggle much with naming our daughters. We kept it classic, with a goal of searching through our respective family trees and staying away from trendy names that seemed like everyone else was naming their babies (you can actually check name popularity on the Social Security Administration's website). As a result, Emma and Harper were cut from our list, unfortunately. I did have to fight hard for our second daughter's name — Vivian. I just loved the name, period. Eventually, I sold my husband on it, only for him to discover years later that Julia Roberts's character in Pretty Woman is named Vivian. "You named our child after a hooker?" I hadn't thought about it until that moment, actually, but I quickly reminded him that she was a hooker with a heart of gold, so that smoothed things over. Ha! And now that she's here, Vivian, Vivi, or Viv, as she's often referred, couldn't possibly be anyone else.

The personal nature of deciding your child's name is one that Future Perfect really takes under consideration and honors when you work with them. Sullivan tells People magazine, “We want to give you a bunch of options so you still feel like you’re naming your child. We respect that everybody likes different things. The point is not to give our favorite names, it’s about giving them (future parents) the name they never knew they really wanted.”

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When you hire Future Perfect, you will choose between five packages of name consulting services, like “The Riff”, which includes a quick questionnaire (questions range from style preferences to family history) and a 15-minute phone consultation to discuss your name ideas and any possible concerns you might have ($100). With "The Works," you will receive the same questionnaire and consultation, 10 first name and middle name options and the reasons behind their selections, a follow-up conversation if needed, and a personalized gift when baby arrives ($350).

If you're struggling with what to name your child (and yes, naming a child is a big decision), then Future Perfect might be the perfect service for you. In the meantime, try to have a sense of humor about the whole baby-naming business. So much of bringing a child into the world is serious, life-affirming stuff. Naming your child is a time to think about what and who you love, a time to be creative, and to have a little bit of fun. I don't personally think a service is needed for this type of thing, but I can also understand the importance of asking for help when you need it.

One last note: a special shout out to Future Perfect's mantra that "every baby is the future." A portion of profits from their packages go to Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that works tirelessly to prevent the illegal abandonment of newborns nationwide.

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