He is a BOY!

[Britt]

DH and I had a meeting for housing today and the lady who was doing the meeting with us just rubbed me the wrong way. I know she probably didn't mean it, but still. First she asks whether my son was a girl or boy. Ok that's fine. But then she turns around and says she thought he was a girl and he doesn't look like a boy at all he's such a cute girl. Then she turns around and asks another lady there if she could tell if our son was a boy or a girl cause he looks like a girl. The other lady was awesome saying it's a boy and he looks like a boy too. My husband is 20 and I'm 19 and the lady then proceeds to turn around and say oh it's like babies having babies. ARG I know we're a little younger than your average parent but honestly lady stop patronizing us. I know I'm probably getting annoyed over nothing but still.

[fortato]

You have every right to be offended.
Don't you wish you could have had a snappy comeback, like "Aren't you a little old to be out of a nursing home" or something just as offensive.

What a jerk.

[elektra]

My 9 mo DD can be wearing something with pink stripes, sitting in her bright pink shopping cart cover, and people will ask me, "is it a girl or a boy?" Now I know there was a thread recently about boys who may want to wear a dress or wear pink, but please! If a baby is wearing pink, it's safe to assume she's a girl.
It also irks me when somehow comments on how small DD is. One lady practically demanded an explanation as to how my daughter could already be 9 months.
But I just have to tell myself that people don't mean to be rude, they are just not paying attention or don't realize how much it may bother the parent.

[MamaMolly]

Ahhh, the fun has just begun!

I had one lady tell me she thought DD was a boy because I have a blue stroller. Yeah, it took me a few minutes to stop shaking my head on that one.

And we didn't rent a house from another guy because he went on and on about how fat DD was. Um, she's in the 12th % for weight. Her pediatrician says she's healthy, but she is certainly NOT fat! Then he recommended the Sugarbuster's Diet. She was 8 months old at the time. MORON!

I don't know what it is, but some people just look at a baby and the stupidest things come out of their mouths. I'm keeping a list because as time goes on these get funnier and funnier.

Blue stroller, indeed!

Now as for the babies having babies comment, we need to help you come up with some witty replies because you will be hearing this one a lot. How about: We've been married six years. In my homeland it is customary to marry at 13.
or...you could turn to your husband and in this totally fake cheery voice say "Honey I TOLD you the Botox was worth it!"

Any suggestions?

[kijip]

Well, as the mother of a very pretty boy who everyone thought was a girl for well over a year (whatever) and who had him at 23 (in a city where 35 is more typical in my social circle), I can say I feel your pain/irritation/amusement.

Learn now to take all of these comments as ridiculously funny. It will be a lot easier and more fun.

[JoyNChrist]

Today, at the park...DS was wearing blue pants, a light blue shirt, blue hooded jacket, blue socks, blue shoes...being pushed in an electric blue stroller. 4 different people commented on my "adorable little girl". I swear, you just can't win.

And yay for young moms! I had DS at 21 (DH was 24).

[KBecks]

She was acting like a rude b*tch who hasn't learned to keep her thoughts to herself.

I don't think you're annoyed over nothing. Sorry you had to listen to that, and if it happens again, I'd ask the person to get back on the topic -- "we're here to about housing, so let's talk about that now"

[lizajane]

when i asked for a "fit mom's" class schedule at my YMCA, a bystander who overheard told me that i am "too young to be a mom!!!"

i was 27.

TWENTY SEVEN.

you just can't win.

[StantonHyde]

oh I can think of several comebacks on the age comment. I was 37 when I had DS and 40 when I had DD. Anybody over 35 would feel a smack if you said:

Yes, thank goodness we're young, that's how we have the energy to get up all night with the baby and still function well enough during the day to remember our manners!!

I LOVE the Botox one !!!!!

Good parents are good parents and bad parents are bad parents no matter the age. Besides, how the heck can you make any assessment of somebody as a parent when they have simply kept an appointment to discuss housing!

If it makes you feel better, I was obviously an older mom and I live in an area where MANY people have babies by the time they are 20. I love it when I hear kids talk about how old their grandmas are--they are usually something like 40. I am still waiting for somebody to ask my kids if they are enjoying a day with grandma when they are with me. Hasn't happened, yet.

The bottom line is that just because somebody is different than somebody else does not give them the right to make comments on said difference to that person's face--that's just a matter of being civil fer cryin out loud.

The best one was some lady in her 70s who got kicked off the bus because she had harrassed some poor woman (same people--on 2 different occasions) who had 6 kids. The lady said, "You could tell she was having difficulty handling them, they were being unruly. So I just said, You know, there are ways of limiting the size of your family, you could use birth control so you don't have that many children." And then proceeded to give her a lecture on how large families are bad for the environment. Ok, I am all for people planning their families (Planned Parenthood volunteer) and I personally believe that 2 kids is about the max based on what I see as the need to curb population growth. BUT do I think that lecturing some poor mom with 6 kids on the bus is going to change that mom's family planning????? or help in anyway????? NOOOOOO. If I were that mom, I would have the smacked the lady. If the old coot wanted to help, she could have taken 2 kids and entertained them for crying out loud!!!

[babysophia]

Both of my DD's had their ears pierced at 4 months, wore almost exclusively pink, and were still mistaken for boys! I think it's about hair length for the unobservant bystander. Until my DDs had hair that was clearly not "boy cut" and was long enough to put in barrettes, they were consistently called girls.

Susan