Mum who named her baby after the Coronavirus lockdown says she has 'no regrets'

A mum who decided to name her baby after the coronavirus pandemic says she has 'no regrets' over her choice.

Jodi Cross, 36, from Bedfordshire, found out she was expecting a baby in 2021, during the second covid-19 lockdown. She and husband Rob, also 36, had been trying to start a family for a year, and on 28 November, they welcomed their baby girl, born at 5:28am, weighing 5lbs 2oz.

"We had been trying for a year to get pregnant and lockdown meant I was furloughed and Rob was working less," says Jodi.

"I think we just relaxed a bit because we had so much more time than we normally would, and then we found out I was pregnant.

"When she was born there was the new strain of covid coming about - Omicron - so we knew she'd be a lockdown baby."

After having their lockdown baby, the couple decided they wanted to name their daughter after the pandemic.

Jodi, who works a hairdresser, credited lockdown as the reason they finally were able to get pregnant - because they had more time to try for a baby.

She said it was a 'really good time' in their lives despite the pandemic, which is why the couple have 'no regrets' over their name choice.

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"So we named her Lockie for lockdown - we really liked the name, and lockdown was a good time in our lives because it was so relaxing," Jodi adds.

"People might not like the name, but I don't care what they think."

Jodi and Rob - who were in the same class at school - met up via Tinder in November 2019, and quickly started dating.

She explained at the time the pandemic started, they were living separately, so Rob - who has one child from a previous relationship - moved into her flat with her.

"I ended up taking over a little salon during lockdown because I had been on furlough a long time," Jodi explains.

"By this point we had been trying for a year and thought pregnancy wasn't going to happen so started to focus on work instead.

"A week later I found out I was pregnant. We know lots of people didn't enjoy lockdown but for us, it was a good time.

"We actually had the best time in lockdown. With both of us being home, we had no worries and found it really relaxing.

"We named her after a good time, not a bad one."

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Jodi also explained that while 'Lockie' was based on lockdown, there also were several coincidences leading up to her birth where the word kept appearing again and again.

"There was a girl who came into the salon whose surname was Lockey at the time we were considering names - and then we got married in Gretna Green in Scotland, where there are lots of locks," she says.

"The primary reason was definitely lockdown, but the name just felt right."