Just wondering about the all pink baby gear

[MMEand1]

I work a part time job that allows me LOTS of time to people watch. I have noticed recently that there are a lot of first-time parents that have had a baby girl that are decked out in pink gear like diaper bags, car seats, strollers, etc. My question is what happens if your next baby happens to be a boy? Are you going to run out and purchase all new gear in "boy" colors? Is this just a marketing scheme from the big companies to get you to buy additional stuff for baby #2, #3, etc? Just thought it was interesting being that these big ticket items are not cheap and not really disposable...

[JenChem]

I remember being so frustrated while shopping and registering that the stores around here carry tons of pink gear. It was nearly impossible to find boy or neutral items so I ended up doing most of my shopping and registering online. I was hoping it was just the stores in my area but maybe others have noticed as well?

[truly scrumptious]

I have wondered the same thing. We deliberately bought mostly "gender neutral" stuff for DS (greens, yellows, reds, etc.), and I personally think blue is okay for a baby girl, so I think we're in the clear no matter whether our next is a boy or girl. But I do wonder about folks who went all out on the pink...
On a related note, that is the reason I have stopped assuming the gender of a baby based on the colors the baby is wearing. I usually refer to a baby as "Little one" or something else neutral until the parent tells me the name or says something else to confirm whether it is a boy or girl. Some babies you can tell immediately, but others not so much.

ETA - I agree with JenChem that it is much harder to find gender neutral or boy colors in stores, so yes, we would look at pink items in stores and order the neutral counterparts online.

[elliput]

Originally Posted by MMEand1

Is this just a marketing scheme from the big companies to get you to buy additional stuff for baby #2, #3, etc?

I think so.

[egoldber]

It's definitely a scheme. In fact, when Sarah was an infant, there was relatively little of the gendered equipment: strollers, PnPs, etc. It was pretty much all gender neutral.

[AnnieW625]

I have a friend who just had her third girl, she has gotten almost all new stuff for each child. She sold me most of DD1 clothes (whose 11 mos. older than DD) and then I offered to sell them back to her and she never took me up on the offer. She had a Peg carseat with #2 that was pink and black or brown (I can't remember) I think it's the same one she had for #1 (but I didn't know her then), but had she had a boy with #2 or #3 she most likely would've bought all new. With #3 she didn't even save her changing table but is now looking for one on our mommy group page.

I am the queen of saving money so every big ticket item I own, including diaper bags is gender neutral. The carseats/harnessed boosters are black/tan, black/grey, black, and light green. The diaper bags from DD1 are black, but I'd like to get a new one with #2 that might have a print on it. I will also most likely be replacing my Graco Snugride 22 because it's a back adjust one, but other than that no other big ticket items would need to be replaced if I have a boy.

[BabyMine]

It doesn't matter what color baby item you have people will always say the opposite of your babys gender. My favorite color is blue and I just happened to have 2 boys. I had DS2 decked out in a blue outfit and a blue blanket in a gender neutral stroller. Everyone kept saying how cute SHE was. All of our baby stuff is gender neutral.

[Joolsplus2]

Oh, definitely a ploy. I get lots of people coming in (to BRU where I work part time) to buy new gear because they bought pink stuff for baby #1 (and it won't even be for their own kids, but like, they have to buy new stuff for a new grandbaby or nephew because they can't possibly give them the pink stuff, right?).

[SnuggleBuggles]

I don't get the thought process of the parent of 1st babies buying all the pink gear. Do they plan to use it regardless of sex of future kids or do they treat it as disposable?

Beth

[michellerw]

We're having a girl and this is something I'm struggling with, especially since I've bought so much from consignment stores so far.

I have made the decision -- as a parent -- not to buy into the "pink is for girls, blue is for boys" thing, but it's largely unavoidable and I'll be honest that it is fun to buy cute little ruffled things for my baby girl. Still, I see this as being a highly loaded issue because I don't want to raise a child who believes her only value as a person lies in looking pretty and being feminine.

Anyhow, I'm getting pretty far off the original question here. Our stroller and all of those items will be unisex (black, orange, red, etc) and I'll be making an effort to buy as many unisex items as possible for both practical and philosophical reasons.