A boy

Warmest congratulations to Emily, who found out this week that she is having a boy.

As an experienced mother with a boy of my own, I thought I would share some of my insights into raising a boy -- particularly in the area of shopping for the little boy. I would like to point out that all of the merchandise advertised in this post can be purchased from jcpenney.com. In fact, the images below are all theirs, and hopefully they appreciate the free advertising. But if not, better read up quick before I have to take this site down for copyright reasons.

First, the joy of having a boy rather than a girl begins with the bedroom decor. With a boy, you have more freedom in nursery decor. Rather than being restricted to flowers and colors, as in the girl bedroom below:
With a little boy, you get to decorate in non-colors. Like camo.

Or Nascar.

And once you have finished stripping the nursery of life and color, as is appropriate for a little boy, you then get to consider the wardrobe. When you begin shopping for baby clothes, you will be relieved to be having a boy. Rather than a myriad of cute choices as is available for girls, in vibrant colors and styles, you will be limited to a few items, mostly sweats, bugs, construction, and the ever present camo and sports themes. Really it saves so much time with so few choices.

Example A. Sleepwear. While a little girl goes to bed dressed as a princess,
little boys get to dress up like their favorite trucks to sleep.
Exhibit B. While little girls might wear something with bows and flowers,
little boys don't have to bother with cute, and instead wear colors like this:
and styles like this:

As for playtime, having a boy will be a huge relief. When it comes to imaginative play, rather than pretend to be magical whimsical nonsensical fairies or princesses, again in vibrant colors and details,
the little boy gets to dress up as a murderer, complete with his own sword.

Naturally some parents don't approve of the murderous costumes in imaginative play. For them there are more patriotic options, like this:
or this:

Lucky for you, your child will never be pressured into playing with this:
Instead, TV and friends will encourage him to play things like this:
Now, for a few parents, the lack of color and choices available to little boys is a little frustrating. Some mothers even go multiple years longing to dress their children in something besides sweats and bugs and trucks and camo, and get annoyed when every toy becomes a sword or gun. If you happen to be one of those mothers, then hold out hope. At least it is far more likely that a little boy will grow into one of these:
than one of these:
Without a hint of bitterness, I will close this post.

(And don't worry, Emily. Your mom is already shopping for the little guy. She is an expert. He will not really be dressed completely in camo and Nascar.)