Babies for baptismal?

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I'm wondering if anyone
has any ideas...

I had decided I wanted my kids baptized, and for DD, I'm feeling kind of
trapped. She's already a year old, and I really don't know now. DS was
about 11ish months old when I finally got him baptized.
With DD, I was kind of stuck as to what to do as I really don't have anyone
I would want to ask to be godparents. Here it's not totally a big deal, but
our church recommends that at least 1 godparent be active in the church and
all that. DSs godparents are my cousin and one of my best friends since
grade 4. My cousin is not active in any church, but my friend is, and
always has been.
My aunt had suggested maybe seeing if both DSs godparents would want to be
godparents for all our kids - kind of like keep all the siblings together
with the same godparents. I know for my brothers and I, we all had
different couples for our godparents. I don't know anyone, really, other
than this friend, who is active with the church and faith, and to be honest,
I turned my brain to mush trying to think of who would be good for
godparents.
So, DD is now a year old. We're expecting yet another baby in October,
which will make DD 15 months old when this next one comes. I thought about
asking my friend and cousin if they would be the godparents for DD, and
possibly even this next baby, but I'm wondering if it might be a huge burden
to the same people, even though being a 'godparent' doesn't really mean
extra loads of work as far as your life goes. I don't think my cousin would
have a problem with the idea, nor do I see my friend turning me down with
this either, I just feel a bit uncomfortable with it. I also run into the
problem of my friend has recently (about a week ago) moved half way across
the country to go to school for 3 years. I do assume she will be coming
home fairly often (Christmas, Easter, breaks and summer vacation?) but as of
right now, she is really not available.

I also was thinking around Christmas to get DD baptized, if I do talk to my
friend and cousin and they are both willing, and even getting DD and this
next baby girl baptized at the same time (around Xmas) - at this point, DD
will be around 17 months old, the new baby will be about 2 months old.

I'm just not sure what to do! Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
Any BTDT experiences?

I haven't BTDT but at baptisms I've attended there are always kids of
all ages being baptized so that's not a problem.

I also don't see any issue with having the same godparents. In fact I
know that in some cases the church can help you find a member from
within to be a godparent, I've seen that happen when people either
don't have anyone else religious in their circle or they have moved
from far away and don't have any close candidates.

Good luck with your decision, I think it would be nice to do them both
at once and use the same godparents.

Elle

xkatx wrote:
Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I'm wondering if anyone
has any ideas...

I had decided I wanted my kids baptized, and for DD, I'm feeling kind of
trapped. She's already a year old, and I really don't know now. DS was
about 11ish months old when I finally got him baptized.

Why would her age be a problem?

With DD, I was kind of stuck as to what to do as I really don't have anyone
I would want to ask to be godparents. Here it's not totally a big deal, but
our church recommends that at least 1 godparent be active in the church and
all that. DSs godparents are my cousin and one of my best friends since
grade 4. My cousin is not active in any church, but my friend is, and
always has been.

You don't have to have unique godparents. The kids
can share ;-) How important it is to you that they be very
active in a particular church depends on your beliefs and
how important that aspect is to you.

My aunt had suggested maybe seeing if both DSs godparents would want to be
godparents for all our kids - kind of like keep all the siblings together
with the same godparents. I know for my brothers and I, we all had
different couples for our godparents. I don't know anyone, really, other
than this friend, who is active with the church and faith, and to be honest,
I turned my brain to mush trying to think of who would be good for
godparents.

I don't think there's any reason to have different
godparents. Some people spread it around in order to spread
the honors around, but if you don't exactly have people falling
all over themselves to compete for the position, what's the
worry? If she's willing to take on more godchildren, more
power to her.

So, DD is now a year old. We're expecting yet another baby in October,
which will make DD 15 months old when this next one comes. I thought about
asking my friend and cousin if they would be the godparents for DD, and
possibly even this next baby, but I'm wondering if it might be a huge burden
to the same people, even though being a 'godparent' doesn't really mean
extra loads of work as far as your life goes.

I don't understand why it would be a burden? Would
she be involved with the kids' lives even if she weren't a
godparent? If so, why would it be an additional burden to
her?

I don't think my cousin would
have a problem with the idea, nor do I see my friend turning me down with
this either, I just feel a bit uncomfortable with it. I also run into the
problem of my friend has recently (about a week ago) moved half way across
the country to go to school for 3 years. I do assume she will be coming
home fairly often (Christmas, Easter, breaks and summer vacation?) but as of
right now, she is really not available.

Several of my kids' godparents aren't local (though
one is moving down here soon--yippee!). The
main thing is whether they can be available for the baptism
(and you can schedule that around their availability) and
whether they have the intention to remain connected to the
children.

I also was thinking around Christmas to get DD baptized, if I do talk to my
friend and cousin and they are both willing, and even getting DD and this
next baby girl baptized at the same time (around Xmas) - at this point, DD
will be around 17 months old, the new baby will be about 2 months old.

Sounds like a good solution to me. My kids send gifts
to their godparents on Mother's Day and Father's Day and Christmas,
so frankly, having the same godparents would have made *that*
a lot easier ;-) Of course, never being one to do things the
easy way, we instead have 5 godmothers and 4 godfathers to
deal with! Fortunately, they are all a blessing to us, near
or far.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
. ..
xkatx wrote:
Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I'm wondering if anyone
has any ideas...

I had decided I wanted my kids baptized, and for DD, I'm feeling kind of
trapped. She's already a year old, and I really don't know now. DS was
about 11ish months old when I finally got him baptized.

Why would her age be a problem?

It's not really a problem. I know that my parents (and immediate family)
were asking and asking about DS, starting from when he was about 4ish months
old. I felt kind of bad because that thought hadn't even really crossed my
mind. It was, I remember, mid-December when I finally got around to doing
it. It was after a major headache where I had called the church closest to
home (as I didn't have a car at the time) to see about it, and I was denied
a baptism for DS because DH and I were currently NOT together. They
basically refused because DH and I, at the time, were not married. Soon
after this fairly disappointing event with a church, oddly enough my friend
(the one that is DS's godmother) had called and asked if I was interested in
our childhood church father doing it for me, as he wouldn't and doesn't
judge children and their parent(s) and families. She gave me his recent
number and it was a go, and by that time, DS was about 11 months old.
I just think of a baptism and age in relation to what I have been used to -
I know it was Mother's Day when my youngest brother was baptized... He was
born end of March, and it was mid-May when he was baptized.

With DD, I was kind of stuck as to what to do as I really don't have
anyone I would want to ask to be godparents. Here it's not totally a big
deal, but our church recommends that at least 1 godparent be active in
the church and all that. DSs godparents are my cousin and one of my best
friends since grade 4. My cousin is not active in any church, but my
friend is, and always has been.

You don't have to have unique godparents. The kids
can share ;-) How important it is to you that they be very
active in a particular church depends on your beliefs and
how important that aspect is to you.

It's not so important to me, really, how active the godparents are in the
church. Father M, who did DSs baptismal, recommended that at least one
godparent be of that particular faith, and the more active they were in that
faith and church the better, but he had made it clear that it was entirely
up to me and my preference. I was not going to be sent away or looked down
on if I had chosen godparents from Mars.

My aunt had suggested maybe seeing if both DSs godparents would want to
be godparents for all our kids - kind of like keep all the siblings
together with the same godparents. I know for my brothers and I, we all
had different couples for our godparents. I don't know anyone, really,
other than this friend, who is active with the church and faith, and to
be honest, I turned my brain to mush trying to think of who would be good
for godparents.

I don't think there's any reason to have different
godparents. Some people spread it around in order to spread
the honors around, but if you don't exactly have people falling
all over themselves to compete for the position, what's the
worry? If she's willing to take on more godchildren, more
power to her.

That's basically it. There's not really all that many people I would see as
suitable. One thing I had never ever wanted to do was just pull random
friends for godparents. I had asked this one girl friend, the one from back
in elementary who still remains a good, close friend, because she is the one
and only friend for basically the longest time that I've kept the best
relationship with through the years. I also do believe she comes from a
good family with a good background, and that's something, for some reason,
that was important to me. She has a very supportive and loving family, and
I enjoy going over to her place to sit outside and talk with her AND her
parents!
Also with my cousin, I had a feeling that he would see it as nothing less
than an honour to be a godparent. He's an only child, the oldest of my
cousins and the one I have, by far, the best relationship with. I also
don't think he will have any children of his own ever. I just found that
this friend and this cousin would be ideal - my aunt (cousin's mom) was also
joking that maybe my girl friend and cousin would possibly hook up! LOL

So, DD is now a year old. We're expecting yet another baby in October,
which will make DD 15 months old when this next one comes. I thought
about asking my friend and cousin if they would be the godparents for DD,
and possibly even this next baby, but I'm wondering if it might be a huge
burden to the same people, even though being a 'godparent' doesn't really
mean extra loads of work as far as your life goes.

I don't understand why it would be a burden? Would
she be involved with the kids' lives even if she weren't a
godparent? If so, why would it be an additional burden to
her?

No, I don't think so at all. We've been fairly close all along. We've had
periods where we didn't talk but only because of our own busy schedules.
She's never missed a single birthday, Christmas, dance or school concernt,
event of some sort... We even stop by her house on Halloween to show of
costumes lol

I don't think my cousin would have a problem with the idea, nor do I see
my friend turning me down with this either, I just feel a bit
uncomfortable with it. I also run into the problem of my friend has
recently (about a week ago) moved half way across the country to go to
school for 3 years. I do assume she will be coming home fairly often
(Christmas, Easter, breaks and summer vacation?) but as of right now, she
is really not available.

Several of my kids' godparents aren't local (though
one is moving down here soon--yippee!). The
main thing is whether they can be available for the baptism
(and you can schedule that around their availability) and
whether they have the intention to remain connected to the
children.

This is why I was thinking Christmas. I don't know for sure, but I assume
she'll come back home for Christmas break from school. This one friend is
one that I know I will have for life, and that was one of the most important
things of all... She's also just going to school in Ontario (we're in
Alberta) for 3 years and does have plans to come back home. School right
now across the country is more for an experience, spend time with her
grandparents who live out there and just get away for a while.

I also was thinking around Christmas to get DD baptized, if I do talk to
my friend and cousin and they are both willing, and even getting DD and
this next baby girl baptized at the same time (around Xmas) - at this
point, DD will be around 17 months old, the new baby will be about 2
months old.

Sounds like a good solution to me. My kids send gifts
to their godparents on Mother's Day and Father's Day and Christmas,
so frankly, having the same godparents would have made *that*
a lot easier ;-) Of course, never being one to do things the
easy way, we instead have 5 godmothers and 4 godfathers to
deal with! Fortunately, they are all a blessing to us, near
or far.

You know... I've never thought of some type of gift for Mother's/Father's
Day... We do make up cards, and my cousin always wants to take DS out in the
afternoon for Father's Day once we're done our own Father's Day
breakfast/brunch/BBQ/whatever the case may be. The gift thing never came
across my mind, and now I kind of feel like a jerk lol

Best wishes,
Ericka

xkatx wrote:
"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message

Sounds like a good solution to me. My kids send gifts
to their godparents on Mother's Day and Father's Day and Christmas,
so frankly, having the same godparents would have made *that*
a lot easier ;-) Of course, never being one to do things the
easy way, we instead have 5 godmothers and 4 godfathers to
deal with! Fortunately, they are all a blessing to us, near
or far.

You know... I've never thought of some type of gift for Mother's/Father's
Day... We do make up cards, and my cousin always wants to take DS out in the
afternoon for Father's Day once we're done our own Father's Day
breakfast/brunch/BBQ/whatever the case may be. The gift thing never came
across my mind, and now I kind of feel like a jerk lol

Don't feel bad about it--it's certainly not something
everyone does. We're close to all the godparents and are
pleased to do it and those seemed like good times to us.
Some people remember the godparents on the anniversary of
the baptism, but I never seem to get it together to do that,
though I do get the altar flowers at church in honor of the
anniversaries of each of their baptisms. Also, out of all
the godparents, many of them don't have (and won't have)
children of their own, so I think it's a nice little treat
for them to get something on Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Best wishes,
Ericka

I do not see an problem with the age thing because I myself is 27 and I have never been baptised. I how every am going to be baptized on Sept.3 along with my 3 year old. I do know that in my church my pastor says Jesus always is with you know matter what. Looking over you and your children.
As far as the god parents I know that you do not really have to have god parents there. You should talk to your pastor and let him know that you would like all your children to have the same god parents and if they are unable to be there that you could have someone else in there place if it is ok with him.
Jennifer

Originally Posted by xkatx

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I'm wondering if anyone
has any ideas...

I had decided I wanted my kids baptized, and for DD, I'm feeling kind of
trapped. She's already a year old, and I really don't know now. DS was
about 11ish months old when I finally got him baptized.
With DD, I was kind of stuck as to what to do as I really don't have anyone
I would want to ask to be godparents. Here it's not totally a big deal, but
our church recommends that at least 1 godparent be active in the church and
all that. DSs godparents are my cousin and one of my best friends since
grade 4. My cousin is not active in any church, but my friend is, and
always has been.
My aunt had suggested maybe seeing if both DSs godparents would want to be
godparents for all our kids - kind of like keep all the siblings together
with the same godparents. I know for my brothers and I, we all had
different couples for our godparents. I don't know anyone, really, other
than this friend, who is active with the church and faith, and to be honest,
I turned my brain to mush trying to think of who would be good for
godparents.
So, DD is now a year old. We're expecting yet another baby in October,
which will make DD 15 months old when this next one comes. I thought about
asking my friend and cousin if they would be the godparents for DD, and
possibly even this next baby, but I'm wondering if it might be a huge burden
to the same people, even though being a 'godparent' doesn't really mean
extra loads of work as far as your life goes. I don't think my cousin would
have a problem with the idea, nor do I see my friend turning me down with
this either, I just feel a bit uncomfortable with it. I also run into the
problem of my friend has recently (about a week ago) moved half way across
the country to go to school for 3 years. I do assume she will be coming
home fairly often (Christmas, Easter, breaks and summer vacation?) but as of
right now, she is really not available.

I also was thinking around Christmas to get DD baptized, if I do talk to my
friend and cousin and they are both willing, and even getting DD and this
next baby girl baptized at the same time (around Xmas) - at this point, DD
will be around 17 months old, the new baby will be about 2 months old.

I'm just not sure what to do! Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
Any BTDT experiences?