Is it a boy is it a girl

I Don’t Know… Find Something Green! Purchasing shower gifts without foreknowledge of the baby’s gender: There are some things we take for granted in today’s world. Day in and day out we know the sun is going to rise in the morning and set at night, the freeway is going to be jam packed with traffic every Friday afternoon from about three pm until six or seven, and people who are having a baby shower will be able to tell us whether the cute blue sailor suit or the pretty pink dress will be an appropriate gift. Until, of course, we learn that the drive home on Friday was smooth sailing and the expectant mother whose shower we’re attending has no idea what the gender of her baby is. Eyeing the sun superstitiously, we head to the mall and try to figure out what sort of shower gift to buy when we have no idea whether we’re buying for little Jerry or little Elaine. Interestingly, we forget that its only been about twenty-five years or so since we even had the option of knowing in advance whether the new arrivals in our lives would one day use the “his” towel or the “hers” towel and shower gifts were always either androgynous or delivered with a store receipt included. Because we now take the medical technology of an ultrasound for granted we forget that purchasing shower gifts without the advance knowledge of the combination of X and Y chromosomes included in the pending package was once the rule rather than the exception. A great many people today either choose not to know the sex of their babies before delivery (“Don’t point anything out to me on that weather map, doc”) or, for whatever reason are unable to know (“Is that my son, Doc?” “No, Mr. Jones… that’s the umbilical cord.”). For these reasons gifts are still readily available in “unisex” varieties, making them equally appropriate for baby girls or baby boys. Purchasing unisex gifts is easier than many people may think. The first rule is to simply avoid anything that is decidedly pink or blue. Those two colors will forever have the gender bias unmistakably attached to them. Pale blues may be appropriate for either gender, but there’s no getting away with putting any shade of pink on a baby boy. We’ve just not come that far yet. Whites, reds (dark reds, crimsons, and scarlet hues, no fuchsias), and greens work fine. If it’s on the flag of Mexico or Italy, run with it. Clothing items can be avoided altogether in favor of nicely androgynous layette sets with white onesies, white socks (no “frillies”), and completely asexual spit-up towels or some similar purchase. Of course, if you prefer, it is still acceptable to purchase a gender specific gift for the expectant mother who does not know the sex of her unborn child… just remember to save your receipt.

Who should i invite to a baby shower

It's often a challenge to decide just who to invite to your baby shower. What is the proper etiquette and how do you avoid hurting someone's feelings? When determining your guest list, it's important to define your target group. Is it your idea to host the traditional women only gathering or will you include children? Today it's becoming increasingly popular to invite couples and/or complete families. When you decide on the type of shower you are going to be hosting make sure your invitations are precisely worded, such as "women only", "children welcome" and so on based on your decision. If you are planning a specific theme make sure this is included on your invitations as well as any special instructions such as what to bring, how to dress, and directions to the party location. This will save you countless telephone inquiries regarding the specifics of your shower plans. Always ask your invited guests to RSVP and keep in mind that typically about 20-25% of those confirming will ultimately fail to attend for a variety of reasons. Baby Showers held at an office, social club or church have a pre-determined guest list of co-workers, club members or fellow church members but make sure that you find out if your shower is the only one being held for the mom to be. If it is, then you may want to extend invitations to her personal friends and family. It may take a bit of discreet probing to find out if there are additional showers planned. Alternatively, if you are a friend or family member planning the only shower, it's a thoughtful idea to make a call to the prospective mother to be's employer to find out who should be invited from her workplace. In most cases her husband should be able to supply contact information for her friends and work associates. Don't forget that if your shower is the sole party planned, you should extend invites to the mom's family as well as her husband's family.

Baby quotes

To become a mother is one of life’s greatest blessings. It is a lifelong event that forever changes you. Becoming a mother changes your heart, your thoughts, and your actions. However, you may soon wish you had a few extra hands. As a mother, you find that they first tug on your sleeve and later on your heartstrings. To share in some of the joys of newborns, here are some popular baby quotes: A baby is an angel whose wings decrease as his legs increase. ~Author Unknown Babies are always more trouble than you thought - and more wonderful. ~Charles Osgood Babies are such a nice way to start people. ~Don Herrold When babies look beyond you and giggle, maybe they're seeing angels. ~Quoted in The Angels' Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994 It was the tiniest thing I ever decided to put my whole life into. ~Terri Guillemets A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. ~Carl Sandburg Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities. ~ Eda J. Le Shan A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for. A baby is born with a need to be loved - and never outgrows it. My friend has a baby. I'm recording all the noises he makes so later I can ask him what he meant. ~ Stephen Wright I can't think why mothers love them. All babies do is leak at both ends. ~ Douglas Feaver Laughter is like changing a baby's diaper. It doesn't permanently solve any problems, but it makes things more acceptable for a while ~ Unknown If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? ~ Milton Berle I always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted baby food. ~ Robert Orben Parents have the glorious opportunity of being the most powerful influence, above and beyond any other, on the new lives that bless their homes. ~ L. Tom Perry The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children. ~ Elaine Heffiner Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be. ~ David Bly

What to do when your baby won t wear clothes

A lot of time and energy goes into clothing your baby during the first year. From the color debate, to the rapid speed at which most infants outgrow their clothing, new parents have their plates full with keeping their babies clean, comfortable and clothed. So what do you do when all of a sudden, the baby doesn't want to wear any clothes at all? How do you deal with the exhibitionist stage of your toddler? At about fourteen months, your baby will most likely want to romp around in the buff. This is completely normal, and in fact could help a little bit with potty training. Obviously, however, it can be a bit troublesome when trying to introduce social norms, and of course when having company without children over for coffee or lunch. So how does a new parent deal with a naked toddler? The best thing to do is not discourage this behavior entirely. Set limits about where and when your toddler can be naked and enforce them. It is tedious, but repeatedly re-dressing your toddler may be the best way to get the message across. Keep an especially close eye on your toddler in public. Not just because of the obvious, but because you don't want to lose expensive items like shoes or jackets. Setting a "naked time" where your child is free to roam around the house for an hour or so a day is a good way to set limits on acceptable behavior. Make sure this time is a time when you can be around to monitor them very closely and make sure that they don't hurt their more exposed areas. Also, it's probably best if naked time is a time when your home doesn't see a lot of traffic. Your toddler may be comfortable with their naked time, but friends and neighbors may not be. Use your child's newfound freedom to encourage them to choose their own clothing. Let your toddler dress him or herself a couple of times a week as a special treat. Soon they might like to get dressed as much as they enjoy disrobing. Make getting dressed fun, and stress the importance of where and when it is okay to take off your clothes. This way your child begins to understand the important role that clothing plays in the day-to-day life of grown ups. The most important thing to remember is not to let your discipline about clothing become about your child's body. It is easy to make your child feel ashamed of their naked body, even if it is not intended. This kind of discomfort can go a long way in determining how your child feels about their body in the long term, right up into adulthood. Making play dates for right before or after naked time can be a good way to demonstrate for your child the difference between private time and public time, and let them begin making their own boundaries in their mind. This time in their life is a lot about exploration. So even though you've been there, it's important to let them figure out some stuff on their own.