SHE is a girl!

[sidmand]

I know people have posted this before and this is a petty bitch in the grand scheme of things...I don't mind so much, I just don't know what else to do!

DD was wearing ALL pink. She had a pink blanket. And someone still said, "oh, isn't he cute?" What else can I do?

Yesterday she was wearing white and black (with red monkey shoes) but there were hearts all over her pants. And someone called her "buddy." And I know they thought she was a boy.

She was wearing a maroon hoodie with flowers the other day. And jeans with flowers. And someone said, "Oh, what's his name?" "Um, Hannah..."

If it's someone I'm not going to see again and they ask "how old is he?" or something to that effect, I just go with it. And sometimes I have her in DS's old clothes and I know she looks like a boy. But come on! All pink? That would be really mean to be doing to my boy baby! I know she doesn't have any hair and my sitter wanted me to pierce her ears so people would know. I know she looks a lot like DS...BUT SHE'S A GIRL.

[kedss]

yup, my Hannah gets that too! hugs, mama-

[boolady]

Yeah, DD is almost 2 1/2 and (to me, at least) clearly looks like a girl. In the past week, she has been called, "Little guy," and "He." I really don't get it...I mean, she's a "little guy" while wearing a green ruffle-placket hoodie Gap dress and polka dot tights? Really?

[mamaoftwins]

Oh, I totally feel your pain. I guess I have very 'pretty' boys. ;) I think it's b/c my guys have thick heads of really nice hair, and that much hair throws people off. So, maybe it is the lack of hair at this point. I've found that people notice one feature (like the hair) and just stop there before commenting. I've also gotten "oh, what cute girls you have" when both guys were wearing full-on blue.

It is so annoying! :hug:

[frgsnlzrds]

It bothers me too. DD is 20 months old and even her DOCTOR called her a boy! She's so different from her brothers, I just don't see how people make the mistake. I've started putting headbands and bows on her head, which she likes, so it's a win-win. Some people are just clueless.

[salsah]

my dds got that all the time while wearing all pink, pink bow in hair, and ears pierced.

people just don't look before asking.

my friend said that when she was out with her newborn and toddler sons in the double (sbs) stroller, people would ask her if they are twins. she didn't dress them the same, they were both normal size, yet somehow people assumed that double stroller meant twins -- never mind the huge difference between a newborn and a two year old toddler. it is as if they don't even look at the kids.

[mamaoftwins]

my friend said that when she was out with her newborn and toddler sons in the double (sbs) stroller, people would ask her if they are twins. she didn't dress them the same, they were both normal size, yet somehow people assumed that double stroller meant twins -- never mind the huge difference between a newborn and a two year old toddler. it is as if they don't even look at the kids.

I love when people ask me if my boys ARE twins! They are the same size, look a lot alike, etc. Whew, I must have one tiny toddler and one huge baby. ;)

[lizajane]

i don't remember being really annoying when people thought DS1 or DS2 were girls. but i wonder... if i had a girl...

'cause believe me, if i had a girl after the two most boyish boys ever, she would be wearing some SERIOUS pink. i think i would have all pink DIAPERS. ha ha ha. (cloth, i mean.)

i think i would just go with, "yes, she is adorable!" or "yes, i sure do love her!"

[deborah_r]

My little surfer-dude is getting mistaken for a girl quite often lately. I need to get his hair cut but I am stalling.

[Ceepa]

i don't remember being really annoying when people thought DS1 or DS2 were girls. but i wonder... if i had a girl...

'cause believe me, if i had a girl after the two most boyish boys ever, she would be wearing some SERIOUS pink. i think i would have all pink DIAPERS. ha ha ha. (cloth, i mean.)

i think i would just go with, "yes, she is adorable!" or "yes, i sure do love her!"

Sorry for the hijack, but Liza, did you save the boys' homemade clothes so if you are pregnant and have another boy you at least have a wardrobe ready to go?

[AlbrightRC]

WE are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia and in some of his referral pics he was dressed in pink. We were told from a relative "she is a cutie" odd thing the pink outfit clearly says boy on it...pink isnt just for girls haha

[lizajane]

Sorry for the hijack, but Liza, did you save the boys' homemade clothes so if you are pregnant and have another boy you at least have a wardrobe ready to go?

all my kids' clothes are on "auto-save" because they go straight to my sister, who has an 18m old and may or may not be TTC #2. so she won't get rid of anything. but she wouldn't anyway because he knows what i made and knows it is special. (at least the things i smocked or appliqued.)

[Melaine]

Someone actually referred to DD as a boy the other day and she is over 2 with fairly long hair and was WEARING A DRESS. It was very weird....the lady was old, but not blind, that I could see.

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

DD got this for more than the first year of her life. Yes, she was bald but we ONLY dressed her in pink. I mean, I remember times she would be wearing pink dresses and people still called her a boy. I never got it! I honestly think some people just have a gender in mind and run with it. An older man called her a "he" at Panera the other day. Not sure how it was hard to tell at this point, but I figure he probably has a grandson and is just programmed to say he or something.

Haha, but yes it drove me batty when DD was younger! I think I may have even posted here once or twice about it so I feel your pain!

[frgsnlzrds]

'cause believe me, if i had a girl after the two most boyish boys ever, she would be wearing some SERIOUS pink. i think i would have all pink DIAPERS. ha ha ha. (cloth, i mean.)

That was exactly my line of thinking when I found out DC3 was a girl. I just couldn't stop shopping. Pink, pink, pink! She wore something pink every day. I finally branched out when my family came over and peeked under her purple shirt to see her onesie, saying, "Aahhh, THERE'S the pink!"

[MoJo]

I get this ALL the time. The thing that seems to help the most is a big pink lacy hat (I even have a really nice warm fleece one). Otherwise, even in a pink embroidered dress, most people ask "How old is he?"

Most people say it's because she still has really short hair. Some people say I should do the bows/headbands, but that's just not my thing, and DD doesn't like things (including hats) on her head.

[ladysoapmaker]

to pierce her ears so people would know.

It won't stop the comments. A friend of mine growing up pierced her baby daughters ears and was told "Oh how sweet you pierced your son's ear."

[nicanddrew]

Dontcha hate that??

When DS was a baby, I would dress him in totally boyish things, he had short hair, but because he is Asian (and everyone automatically assumes White Mom, Asian child, must be a girl from China) he was called a girl constantly!

[gobadgers]

Agh, I totally feel your pain.

Why anyone would say 'he' or 'she' outloud unless it was COMPLETELY obvious what the gender is, just blows my mind. Let alone calling a babe in a pink dress 'he'. There are so many nice things you can say about a baby that do not assume a gender. If you're not sure, come up with a new line!

At 18 months, my DD's hair is finally long enough that the default is 'girl' instead of 'boy' for most unobservant folks in the world. But we got so many really ridiculous comments too.

[stefani]

WE are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia and in some of his referral pics he was dressed in pink. We were told from a relative "she is a cutie" odd thing the pink outfit clearly says boy on it...pink isnt just for girls haha


I feel for those of you whose DC were mistaken to be of the opposite gender often. When DS was younger a few times people thought that he was a girl, although he has always had short hair (and sparse until around 4 years old). He wore (and still wears) a lot of red.

Talking about pink for boys though, I think that is an American thing, so for someone from another country, pink does not mean "girl". I heard that pink actually means "boy" in some countries, but I don't know which ones. So if the people commenting did not grew up here, then the code will not be understood.

[C99]

Honestly, it doesn't bother me. People think DS2 is a girl all of the time, just as they thought DD was a boy when she was a toddler (and DS1 was a girl). The only reason I could think of was that the general population attributes blond hair/blue eyes to girls and brown hair/eyes to boys.

I also don't think colors or flowers on clothing mean much -- has anyone seen any Eloise Wilkins stories? They regularly depict babies in pink and the text reads, "He ____." I also have a number of vintage Good Lad outfits that I would say are for a boy, but have floral detail down the placket or on the collar.

[Ceepa]

Sometimes people just default to a certian pronoun, KWIM? My dad is older and every tiny baby is a "he" or "him" It's not like he's assigning gender, just referring to the baby in that "neutral he" that was taught in English class.

[AlbrightRC]

I feel for those of you whose DC were mistaken to be of the opposite gender often. When DS was younger a few times people thought that he was a girl, although he has always had short hair (and sparse until around 4 years old). He wore (and still wears) a lot of red.

Talking about pink for boys though, I think that is an American thing, so for someone from another country, pink does not mean "girl". I heard that pink actually means "boy" in some countries, but I don't know which ones. So if the people commenting did not grew up here, then the code will not be understood.

The relative that made the comment is from America. The child is from Ethiopia. The pink outfit he was wearing did have blocks on it that spell out boy so i'm assuming it is not an outfit that came from the U.S. WE gently told the relative in the next email that yes our son was the cutiest thing ever.