So I’ve been quite busy processing the whole I’m-about-to-be-a-Mom-of-a-child-of-the-Bizarre-Male-Species thing this week.
It’s not that I was opposed to the idea, it’s just that, after 3.5 years of parenting a girl, I somehow had it in my head that we were a sort of “girl-child” family…but no longer.
But, I’ve thought of some benefits of our upcoming new experience, so I compiled them…
Top 10 Great Things About Having a Boy.
10. I might actually get to use that jumbo-sized box of band-aids in my bathroom cabinet that is taking up way too much room, seeing as Ali’s one occurrence of “Blooding her knees” (that she still talks about on a regular basis with great remorse) didn’t really put a dent in them. I could totally use that space for more makeup, after all.
9. I now don’t feel nearly as disturbed at the alarming rate of my body hair growth and regrowth. I can totally blame it on Newbie and his raging boy hormones that are quite unfortunately seeping into my follicles. Also, my odd craving for buffalo sauce makes a lot more sense now….which means that Chris will be QUITE proud of Newbie’s taste buds.
8. Ali won’t have the “I MUST love Alabama Football or my Father will feel like a failure to his precious team” pressure looming over her head. Newbie can pretty well handle that, I bet.
7. I don’t have to feel guilty about the fact that I REALLY wanted a new baby bedding set…whether it was a girl or a boy.
(They’re kinda like maternity clothes – you REALLY get tired of looking at them after a year or two.)
6. Ali will quit being so horribly traumatized when she accidentally catches a glimpse of “boy parts”.
5. I’ll get to buy those nifty Pee-Pee TeePees. I’ve always wanted to need such an awesomely practical tool.
Although I find the Santa Hat ones a little more than disturbing…
And the Wiener Dog ones even scarier…
…but I bet Chris could totally write a whole guest post on ideas for Pee-Pee TeePee designs.
4. Ali’s Thomas Trains will get properly loved and beaten up, as her slightly short-lived and very coddling love affair with Thomas didn’t really give them the love that they deserved.
3. Ali will not ever have to get mad at Newbie for stealing her clothes and jewelry. I really hope.
2. We can totally treat our two kids differently and completely unfairly, because we will have the excuse of “Well, he’s a boy…it’s different for him” or “Well she’s a girl, it’s different for her.”
(Of course, that COMPLETELY cramped my style as a teenager when my brother got to stay out 3 hours later than me (even when I was riding with him and he would have to take me home THEN go back out), but I totally plan on taking advantage of it.)
And the number one great thing about having a boy…
1. When we’re out in public, it will FINALLY be Chris’ turn to do ALL public-restroom-during-potty-training duty.
And that reason alone makes it OH SO TOTALLY worthwhile to have a boy.
Your number one reason is SO true!! I have an almost-4yo girl, and I have to constantly take her to the bathroom. But when my 13mo son gets old enough to potty-train, I'll get to send him with my husband! Yeehaw!
I, too, was a little baffled when I heard that I had a boy on the way. But it has been an amazing journey so far. At 13mo, he is SUCH a boy, and I look forward to seeing him grow into a man!
I was scared silly when I found out Jackson was a girl beause I had no clue about little boys. Honestly I was even a little disapointed that I wasn't having a girl because I just "knew" that I was having a little girl.
Now, I would give anything to have another boy. They are amazing!
But bad news: You will probably get stuck with public restroom potty training anyways! I do!
I'm an idiot. Re: my previous comment, obviously I found out that my son was a boy. It's been a long week! I'm blaming it on my severe sinus infection.
oh.my.gracious! I literally DIED LAUGHING when I saw those weiner dog pee-pee tee-pee's! & I'm on a public computer! hahaha!
I really enjoyed this post! Thanks for the laugh!
I'm totally lol-ing at Amy!
So, don't count on the men's room thing. I remember MANY times when Jason was going to take Luke potty, but changed his mind after seeing the condition of the men's room. :-/ It's not like we go to bars…these were in fast food joints, gas stations (understandably bad), and stores.
The good thing also about carrying a boy child is that you can blame all bad decisions you make on the testosterone. "Oh no! Why did I eat hot sauce on onion rings?!? Two servings of ice cream!?! 79 in a 55 zone!?! Leaving the seat up!?!" Yes, there ya go, it happens, and WHAT!?! I'm just sayin'.
That's great! Love number two (on your list, not the real number two! Reason number one is great for that kind of number two) that would be a handy parenting tool to have. :). I want a boy but I know it will be completely weird for me after two girls (if we do indeed get one). I definitely think of our family as a "girl family". :)
What?!!? Public potty training of boys falls to Dads alone? Grrrrr…..wish I had gotten this memo sooner….LOL! Rachel I hate to burst your bubble but don't forget you are going to be going places without Chris so you are going to get the pleasure of trying to keep a boy from touching stuff in a public restroom. LOL
You are so gonna love this. 2x's the love from your kiddos. My friend Christie tells me that her favorite part of having two is watching her two children love and care for each other.
:)
And by the way, you look great. Maybe it's because you were sitting behind the table but I would not have known you were pregnant if I was not a blog stalker um er I mean fan.
Oh that #1 reason is the best one and for that one alone I had wished we had a boy, especially when camping. Have you picked out a name?
well, you're right about reason #1 but it's still not fair – all they do is walk up to the nearest bush…if you even get that.
You should find the Pee-Pee Tee-Pee that says Whizzzz Kid on it! I, too, have always wanted a reason to use one of those. By the time we adopted Abiah he was potty trained. Maybe next time around!
Those pee pee tee-pee's are hilarious! A friend gave us some before Luke was born and I was determined to use them because I was just sure he was going to pee on me everytime I changed his diaper. I tried to use them a few times our first week home, but they didn't work, they always fell off in mid stream :)
Thanks for the laughs. This was hilarious! Didn't even know what a pee-pee teepee was. I had to click on the description. Such the life of only a girl.
hmmmm….perhaps I should be hoping more for a boy….
I suspect you'll generally take public potty duty for the same reason I do – mens' rooms are nasty, kid's touch everything (as you know) and daddies just don't always have the same attention to cleanliness as mommies. On the up side, boys can pee EVERYWHERE discreetly and easily. When we were potty-training we often stopped in empty parking lots or even on the side of the road. I'd just open two doors of our sedan to make "walls" and have him pee between them – fast, easy and clean ;)
Those pee-pee tee pees are… wow. :D
But if you don't have time to put one on and then constantly put it back on every time he kicks his legs, I highly recommend the following procedure:
1. Undo the front of the diaper
2. Briefly let air touch the man parts
3. Quickly cover said parts back up
4. Wait 5–10 seconds and enjoy little boy's expression of intense satisfaction
5. Proceed with diaper changing experience
I'm with Christen on the peepee teepees. Great idea, but they don't really work as well as you'd hope.
And don't count on him not stealing her clothes and jewelry. Eli loves walking around the house wearing my high heels. (sssshhhh. Don't tell J.C. I wrote that! :))
We had a boy first, girl number two. My son never peed up, down, near or far while getting a diaper change. My daughter peed a puddle ever other diaper change until about 3 months old.
Have fun with Baby Boy!! The differences are amazing!
Isaiah shot Andrew the first time he EVER changed a diaper.
In. the. hospital.
…and he's never done it since. (almost a year later)
Read Dobson's "Bringing Up Boys."
Such great (and funny) wisdom on what makes boys tick, how to attempt to stay out of the emergency room, and how to handle various man-hood things.
I think he just came out with "Bringing Up Girls", too. :)
Either one, I highly recommend!
peepee teepees makes me teeheeheehees
Oh my those teepee things are hilarious. didn't have those when my kiddo was a baby. we just used those little baby washcloths.
And #8 is so true. And I hate to burst your bubble, but you will still get stuck with the public restroom deal. You don't want your sweet boy to go into a men's restroom. And besides once my kiddo saw his daddy standing up to go potty the potty training became a nightmare. He didn't understand that he wasn't tall enough to do his business standing up like daddy. Okay. Enough of that. I'm having nightmares about potty training again.
HA! Regarding the bathroom duty for Chris – I'm still in charge of bathroom duty….mens restrooms are SO disgusting I have a feeling you'll still have full restroom duty at least for a long time. Not that women's restrooms are a ton better though…
One question – have you done something different to your blog lately? It takes it a long time to load it each time I visit. So long, in fact, that I'll go to another site then come back later to finally have your page loaded. I've not counted how long it takes, but if it takes more than 10 seconds I don't have the patience. It used to load really fast, so that's the only reason I'm asking. And nothing has changed on my home computer either…so I don't think it's me.
Love this post!
I know what you were feeling when you mentioned that you had felt like you were a girl-family.
I had FIVE daughters. It wasn't until my 6th baby that I found out I would be having a boy. I think I was in shock about that until well after his actual birth. LOL! And then we went on to have one more baby – another boy. :)
There are definitely differences between raising girls and boys!
uhhhh…what is a pee pee tee pee? I have a 5 yo boy and have never heard of one.
Also, I didn't realize that you will have the same age difference between girl and boy as I have. It's awesome!
If he's anything like MY boy you will go through those band-aids so quickly! I've often thought about taking pictures of his many injuries and posting them. He currently has a black eye, scabbed elbow, at least 2 stubbed bloody toes, bruises all over his shins, and probably more.
All excellent reasons, but I just want to warn you…not all boys require monster boxes of bandaids. My son is almost as careful as yours.
We've used exactly 5 bandaids in his 2.5 years, and 3 of those only due to his desperate cries for a "banny" after he remembered that he had once-upon-a-time skinned his knee.
The band aids may still not be used if he is like his Daddy and sister (that sounds so nice to say sister). The Peepee Teepees are hilarious. Ali will still HAVE to be for Alabama. Will she be willing to share "her" Thomas. Wait until Ali dresses him all up like a doll in girly things. Treating them differently because of sex is sexist. And last but not least, when you are out with them during the day you still will have to do the potty thing. Nothing like an Aunt being a downer, huh?
Pee-Pee TeePees? Really? That's such a disturbing product on so many levels. But funny.
My mind is still being blown from discovering pee-pee teepees.
I'm so with you on #1! My dd is so dramatic about having to go. I'm hardcore and tell her she has to wait, but my dh is oh so ready to volunteer my services.
She's 7 now, so I don't feel too bad about telling her to hold it. :)
Can't wait until he gets his turn… although I know he won't be watching to see what nasty things are touched like I do.