You may have noticed that I often refer to girls, and princesses, and the thrilling array of shades of pink. That's simply because I have daughters, so I'm coming from a personal frame of estrogen reference. They are like miniature versions of me, in the way they look, they dress, their shyness (yep, you'd never know this big mouth of mine was at one time painfully, dreadfully shy). I get to do me all over again, just hopefully a little better this time. I know from having so many friends with little boys, having a brother myself, and by just observing boys in public, that the experience of mothering boys is a lot like mothering girls in some respects, and vastly, undeniably different in other ways. And I'm not just referring to the difference in their clothing options - haven't met a mom yet who hasn't complained about the lack of cute boys' gear. Communication, expectations, learning styles, social habits - can all require different skills (and degrees of patience), depending on whether the stork dropped off a pink or blue bundle on your doorstep. There's a recent article from Parenthood.com, that may shed some light on how to turn your tadpole into a prince: Ten Ways That Parents Can Help Their Sons.
Just a sidenote - stop asking my husband if he's disappointed that our new baby isn't a boy, or if he's going to try for a third kid in order to get his son (which is always asked with a polite little laugh). He's not, and he isn't. He's still getting the hang of one gender. No need to overwhelm the man.
I tried to include the article here, because I do try to make my readers' lives easier. But, apparently the computer/internet/copy & paste Gods are not willing to make my life easier today. Do click on the link I provided above, and take a minute to check out the article - I promise it is worth the read.
