Bennett's Name

It's official.  Bennett can legally be a Bredford!

Although we've known for years that we wanted to use the last name Bredford for any children we have we weren't sure if we legally could.  And it seems to be a question that stumps people when we've mentioned it here.  In fact, when Chris went to fill out the registration paperwork for Bennett and he explained what we were going to do, he was asked, "Does the mother know?  And is she ok with it?"

Yesterday afternoon someone found me in my room at the Brigham.  This in and of itself is a challenge- it seems as if I'm rarely here.  Anyway, I had to give her first and middle names and had to change what she had for last name.  Interestingly, they had his last name on the paperwork as Tedford, while everywhere else he has been listed as Baby Boy Breecher.

So I cross out Tedford and write in Bredford.  She asks if it had been spelled wrong.  I say no, we're giving him a new last name- and I explain that Bredford is a combo of Breecher and Tedford. "Can you do that?" she asks.  And this is where I started to get defensive.  Maybe because I don't know if I legally can.  But as Chris and I have told numerous people now, how is it any different than making up a new last name by hyphenating.  Breecher-Tedford is still a new name.  It's just more common.  I explained this to her and she said she'd call City Hall to verify.  A few minutes later, she calls me.  No problem!  Woo hoo.

She comes back a little while later with the actual certificate for me to sign.  I review (and second guess the spelling of my birthplace- does Anniston have one N or two?) and sign.  Now we just need to wait a few weeks and we can get our copy.  She gave me a letter in instructions on how to do that, and it also included social security info.  It says I requested that as well, but I don't remember doing so.  It must have been a box that was checked or initialed or something that I assumed was something else.  I had been a little distracted during all of this as I was making phone calls during parts and had a visitor (thanks for coming by, Mel) when I had to review and sign the final copy.