‘I told my dad the name of my baby – then he ruined my birthday party’

A father picked the worst possible moment to make a joke about his future grandson’s name. A woman took to Reddit to share an awkward encounter with her dad during a pre-birthday celebration.
The soon-to-be 24-year-old, who is also 30 weeks pregnant, met her father for a coffee date. At the cafe, he surprised her with a gift – a rarity now that she’s grown up.
Inside the bag were baby essentials like bottles, pacifiers, and a bottle warmer. While useful, she was hoping for something for herself on her last birthday before motherhood.
She wrote: “I know I should be grateful. He’s trying to help me out, but this is my last birthday before I become a mother, and my own mother has told me that it should be about me.”
During the outing, her younger siblings and cousins were eager to learn the baby’s name. When she revealed it would be Cody, her dad couldn’t resist making fun of it.
He pronounced it like Cod-y, the fish, and joked that it sounded too American for their British family. He even suggested she must want to be American to have chosen such a name.
He then proceeded to ridicule the name further, encouraging her sisters to join in. “Then my dad said ‘even the name Bob sounds better than that! So that’s what I’m calling him!'”
She finally lost her temper and shouted at him for his lack of respect as he continued to mock her, spurring on the younger children to do the same.
He dismissed her anger, assuring her it was just humor, but she shot back, explaining that it’s not humorous when it leads her siblings and cousins to mimic his behavior.
The online community supported her stance, emphasizing the importance of her wishes being respected.
One commenter highlighted a significant concern: “It’s always a huge red flag when people dismiss your feelings and opinions by saying you are being too sensitive or that they are just joking. It’s the language of a gaslighting person.”
Another offered solidarity and advice: “For what it’s worth, you are allowed to cut toxic people out of your life. You’re also allowed to celebrate the hell out of your birthday. Forever! Do your own thing.”
A third chimed in with support for her family choices: “Congratulations on your baby! Cody is a fine name.”