Monday, June 02, 2008

Son of a Mother

Two thoughts I have had recently about being the mother of a boy.

1- Are mothers of boys any different than mothers of girls when it comes to buying them clothes? I ask because retailers seem to think that I don't really care what my son wears and therefore provide me with minimal options. I often longingly glance at the massive girl side of the store not because I long for a little girl but because I long for the selection. I was actually in Old Navy the other day when a brand new grandma turned to me and said, "Is this all there is for boys?" When I nodded she replied with, "Gosh, I thought things had changed." I couldn't have agreed more. Just because grown men, in general, do not desire a massive selection does not mean that mommies buying clothes for their boys don't either.

2- Do the carriers I use to transport my son (i.e. my sling and mei tai) have to be covered in sports paraphernalia? Both of mine are fabrics that I like and yes, they are slightly girl-y. After all, I am a girl. However, when people see my sling fabric in combination with my "pretty" (their words, not mine) son, they assume he's a girl. This has happened repeatedly. Linus could be wearing a "lil sport" onesie with his KC Royals ball cap and they'd still ask. Seriously? I'm wearing the carrier, he's just in it. Most try to make up for it by saying, "He's too pretty to be a boy," as if that makes it better. Would they say that to a grown man? I think not.

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On an unrelated note, Linus now has no less than 5 teeth protruding through his gums. We even think there might be a 6th if only we could find a way to safely assess the situation. The teeth are:

  1. Bottom Central Incisor Left
  2. Bottom Central Incisor Right
  3. Upper Lateral Incisor Left (At this point we called him Fang.)
  4. Upper Lateral Incisor Right (Hoping for a Dracula like appearance, but alas along came...)
  5. Upper Central Incisor Right


4 comments:

Missy said...

Abby, people are idiots! I used to put my boys in blue and they'd still ask if they were girls! I agree that you should wear the sling/wrap of your choice and it shouldn't matter what sex your baby is. Wear him with pride!

Anonymous said...

things have improved soooooooo much since my boys were little. But even as they grew they only wanted to wear T-shirts and jeans... so go figure. I did do some sewing of some really cute courduroy overalls. They were really cute. (Just ask Lisa - she got to wear the hand-me-downs!) gramma B.

the L of L and N said...

Yes! Those courds were adorable.

Anonymous said...

I had to find a cutie outfit for my friend's new baby boy, and it was not easy. I had much better luck at Baby Gap than anywhere else, but who can afford to buy an entire Baby Gap wardrobe? As for the gender confusion, that happens both ways, apparently, as Lily has been called a "little fella" more times than I can count, even when dressed head to toe in pink!