A woman who says she's always been close to her husband's pregnant niece decided to stick up for her amid criticism of her chosen baby name. According to this caring aunt, whose name is Astrea, 18-year-old mother-to-be Elizabeth has always loved her name and told her that she wants to choose a similarly unusual name for her own child.
Astrea told her that she thought this was a "sweet" idea, but has since come to regret expressing such an opinion following an altercation with her furious sister-in-law.
Unfortunately, although Elizabeth loves more quirky names, her parents are furious about the name she's chosen for her baby - Cove - and feel that Astrea is to blame for their grandchild having a "ridiculous and atrocious name".
According to Astrea, her sister-in-law has long used her and her siblings' names as negative examples of what not to call a kid and now blames her for Elizabeth choosing a more unique moniker.
Taking to Reddit, Astrea, who goes by the username u/CardiologistSafe7408, wrote: "A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law started ranting and raving at me about how it was all my fault her grandson will have a ridiculous and atrocious name and that she hopes I'm proud of myself.
"That my incompetent, dumb as f*** parents who had no idea what a name is and how to plan for a kid's future had started her daughter down the same path as them and she told me I should never have let her daughter think my name was a good thing or that I wasn't made miserable by it.
"She said I might pretend but even I know my parents were sick for doing it and should be ashamed of themselves for saddling me with it and that I hate them deep down for it."
In response, Astrea's husband told his sister to leave at once and to never come near them again. A little while later, her niece called to tell them how her parents had been trying to talk her and her boyfriend out of their chosen name.
Astrea continued: "I told her that the name she chose was lovely and that I could speak from experience that it is possible to grow up loving your more unusual name and not being held back by it.
"I encouraged her to follow her heart and name him what she chose. She asked to speak to my younger brother, who has the name she chose and is the only person she ever heard of who has it. It made her feel better."
Unsurprisingly, Astrea's sister-in-law wasn't happy about this conversation at all and has since accused her of "undermining" her. Astrea now wonders whether she should have just stayed out of all the baby name drama altogether.
One fellow Reddit user advised: "Your name, and 'Cove' are fine names, lovely names in fact. Your sister-in-law sounds like she knows her ability to control her daughter is dwindling and trying to grab and snatch back some.
"Which is a shame because it could cause her to lose access to her own grandchildren. You've done nothing wrong."
Another commented: "That woman needs to find something else to get caught up on. I mean there are a lot more worthy issues in the world besides names."
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