Ommg! Im due December 28 too lol (sorry i had to!)
My cousin and his wife not once but twice was able to leave the hospital with their daughter's without having picked a name. They were given 10 days/2 weeks to pick a name out this was the state of Michigan so I don't know about other states. When both my niece's were born my brother in law had to sign a letter stating at he was signing the birth certificate with out a DNA test because him and his girlfriend (now fiancee) were not married, again state of Michigan. My husband did not need to sign a letter before he was allowed to sign the birth certificates for our son's. Now my husband has enlisted in the Army and is away on a deployment and he may not be able to come home for the birth of our 3rd son. So I asked my midwife what will happen with our baby's birth certificate and him not being able to sign it after the delivery, she told me that they (the Army) will have him do it when he gets home. That he will be allotted time to take care of it once he returns. I don't know how it is for civilian fathers.
As for dad signing they made my fiance leave the room and asked me 1 on 1 if i wanted his name on it i also had to sign a form stating I gave consent for him to sign. Not sure of that's because we aeren't married yet or if that's normal procedure.
This is my 2nd with our first we filled it all out after she was born. Our daughter was 6hrs old before we decided on a name. They we're respectful of our waiting but also said they cant submit it without a name and the sooner its submitted the better, no idea why. They also said it had to be submitted prior to leaving otherwise the state (nh) will require extra proof since its coming from an outside source.
I heard you had to put something before you leave the hospital, but you've got a certain window of time you can go back and change it if you want.
They give you the paperwork at the hospital but you have some time not sure how long but some people don't name their kid for a week or 2 after
This is my first too due Dec 27/28 so figured maybe some experienced mom's would know. If the dad isn't able to physically be there I wonder how he can sign it also
From what I've heard you have to get that done before you leave the hospital I could be wrong though this is my first baby it's just what I've heard from others