From the moment I shared the news that I was expecting a little boy, people would say things like, “wait until you see, boys are SO much different!” Now here we are, my son almost 11 months old, and people are still talking the gender talk – only now they want to know, “isn’t it SO much different having a boy?” “Isn’t he SO much different than the girls were?”
I have to admit, I am somewhat baffled.
He has different equipment, sure. People buy him blue clothes instead of pink and toy trucks instead of dolls, yes, but that’s about all I can think of as far as differences due to gender go. Now, he’s different than my daughters in the sense that he is an individual. However, my daughters are different from each other in this same way. My son is a bigger baby and he eats more than my daughters did at this age but surely that is not what people are talking about since that has nothing to due with the fact that he is a male. I totally get that later in life, the bond between a mother and a son is different than the mother-daughter relationship but that still doesn’t explain why people are asking me NOW about how much different my little boy is.
So far, it has not been different having a boy. We have changed diapers and relived the 0-11 month milestones. He’s made me laugh. He’s made me cry. He likes to play and snuggle. He is my baby and I love him unconditionally but I can’t say that it’s been a whole new experience any more than having my second daughter was a whole new experience from having my first.
For me, having a little boy has been just like having a little girl. He’s another little miracle.
CT Working Moms 
During the infant stage there really weren’t any differences. I have a girl who turned four in July and my son will be Two in October. I was nervous to have a boy because I wasn’t sure how I would relate, since he is a boy after all. But that all went out the window once he was here. We bonded immediately. He is a wonderful child. Very loving and funny. He loves to make others smile. He has a bit more energy than my daughter did at his age and he likes to get into more things. He is a better climber and whisper…(listener). He is a little more rough with his toys as well. Those are really the only differences. My daughter is more moody but then again she is two years older.
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My girl is 3 years and my boy is 3 weeks so I don’t have much experience under my belt yet but I agree – he’s not much different!
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Patty, this is a favorite topic of mine. Women act like boys are little alien creatures. I have 2 birth sons and a stepson, and they are unique individuals, very human, with some traits that I recognize and identify with and some that I don’t. Would this be different if they were females? I don’t think so.
I had friends who thought I was missing out on something because I didn’t have a child whose nails I could polish, but I did get to go to the ear piercing place and share earrings with my sons! This huge angst over the “perfect family” amuses and annoys me. The perfect family is one that is filled with love and where each member is celebrated for his/her own wonderfulness.
No, boys and girls aren’t exactly the same, and there are some universal truths about sons (I recently commented to a friend whose daughter mocked her “little girl shoes” (Mary Janes) that my sons would not be able to tell you what type of shoes I like, nor would they care if I wore fishing boots on a daily basis) but let’s just enjoy each unique child without these gender generalities. It’s like saying, “My blue eyed child is SOOOO different from my brown-eyed child. Just wait, you’ll see how different blue eyed children are!” Absurd.
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I have a boy and a girl. My son is now 13 and my daughter 3 and they were very different to raise by far. My son I think was a lot easier, while my daughter has made me want to pull my hair out till i was bald with some of the crazy things she has done. Though thankfully i still have my hair..for now lol
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