[Daffodil]

Ok, I have this really weird fear about having a son...because I know NOTHING about boys!!! I mean, I have a dad and an older brother...and a husband of course...but I feel like I don't know how to raise a boy. I don't know what its like to be a boy...I know my husband irritates the heck out of me sometime, if I had a son, how would I prevent him from being like that? LOL

So basically, tell me about what its like being a mom to a boy. Strange request, I know! I'm not even pregnant again, but I keep picturing having another girl and then it suddenly hits me that I might have a boy, and I wouldn't know what to do with him!

[cbnurse04]

I have two boys. Boys are rough and tough... or at least mine are! They like to get dirty, and rough house. My older son loves to dig in the dirt and climb on stuff, and my little one watches everything he does! Everyone else in my family has girls. I am the only one so far that has had boys. From what I gather, boys aren't near as dramatic and emotional as girls. My son falls down, he might cry for a second, but a minute later he's up and going again. While there are temper tantrums, they are usually short, and they move on to something else quickly. Boys are a lot of fun, and I've had many people tell me that I'm lucky I had boys, although I'd love to have a girl someday.

[sweetliberty]

I attribute what I see in Aaron to his own personality and not necessarily because he's a boy. I personally think all the gender role stuff comes later, he doesn't understand that stuff yet.

I have two boy cousins though, they're 18 and 19 years younger than I am and only 14 months apart (the second was a whoopsie) and they're SO different. The oldest is timid, shy, doesn't like to get dirty, etc. The youngest is definitely a rough houser and has no fear. I think a lot of it has to do with their ingrained personalities.

With that said...at this age pretty much all their toys are unisex (well at least Aaron's are) and then when he gets older he can decide what he's interested in playing with (dinosaurs, space, cooking, almost whatever he wants).

[TxgirlinKy]

I was like that too, having been raised in a family of all girls. But I have a 5 year old step son and then Kaiden and it is a lot of fun in completely different ways. On the plus side boys at this age love their Mammas! My stepson and the baby are both mammas boys and it is really sweet.
Also they are both 100% boy! Everything is crash, bang, boom with them. They are all about cars and trucks and loud things My friends baby girls seem so calm compared to Kaiden. It is definitely a different world but now that I have boys I am so glad to skip the drama of teenage girls and fighting over skirts being too short etc.

[Lilly Bella]

Riley is awesome. Just awesome. He loves me to the moon and back and thinks I'm totally amazing ♥ He does NOT like to see me upset, he loves to do all the mushy stuff for me (bring me flowers, draw me hearts, stuff he would never do for Zach) he loves to cuddle with me, he seriously can be so sweet to me that i just melt! Sierra is so not like this and in fact she has already said "i hate you!" and i have NO Idea where she learned it Don't get me wrong, she can be sweet to me too but Riley's sweet factor is out the roof. I love him, I love going on mommy-Riley dates with him. He adores me ♥♥♥

[MelKD]

Funny story - when I was pregnant with Josh, right after we found out he was a "he" I complained to my mom that I didn't know how to handle "boy things." She said, "Well, if that were really true, you wouldn't be pregnant right now, would you?" haha She was giving me a hard time b/c Brian and I weren't married at the time. But I was feeling kind of like you are - growing up, I had a little sister, and that was it. The only male in my life was my dad (and of course, my grandfathers and uncles), but when I found out I was about to have to raise a boy, I was at a complete loss, because beyond going to school with boys, I didn't know a thing about them!

As a mom to a 3-year-old boy (almost 4), and stepmom to 9-year-old and 14-year-old boys, having Leila has been a COMPLETELY different boat ride. Although we don't see the older boys that often, since they live a ways off with their mom, just the difference between her and Josh when he was her age is obvious. She is a lot more high-maintenance, even her cries are different (a lot more "quaint" and feminine). Josh is a rough-and-tumble boy, love planes, trains and cars, anything with wheels. Also loves to rough-house and wrestle and play outside. On the same token, though, he hates to get dirty. HATES it. He is very much a mama's boy though, and I think he always will be. Leila is a daddy's girl, Brian is her favorite person in the whole wide world, and that's fine with me. To be perfectly honest, I still don't feel like I've bonded with her the way I had bonded with Josh already by the time he was her age. A lot of it has to do with the fact that Brian favors her over his boys, just BECAUSE she is his only girl, she is the little girl he has been dying to have for over a decade now. It's not fair, but it's the truth. So, I think I overcompensate by giving Josh extra attention. But all in all, I really do believe it's true that girls attach to their daddies and boys attach to their mommies - subconsciously. I don't favor one over the other, I love them both with all my heart, and would put my life on the line for either of them. It's just the way our relationships are right now.

I've resigned myself to the fact that raising Josh is going to be trial-and-error. Even though Brian has 2 older boys, and has some experience there, for me, it's all new territory. There are times that I'm gonna thank God that I'm not a single mom raising a boy (like when it comes time to talk about the birds and the bees - that'll be a talk Brian has with him). At the same time, there are times when I really wish Brian would butt out - like when it comes to birds and the bees haha Brian was a teenage boy once, and based on what he experienced and comments he's made, I know he's going to be a lot more lenient in that area than I would. When it comes to Leila, however, I'm sure he'll kill any boys that want to discuss the birds and the bees with her lol

Blah, I've rambled, but just wanted to give my

[starrsgirl]

Oh, no worries! At least you had an older brother. I seriously have 2 sisters and all girl cousins. And my parents were strict growing up so it's not like we had boyfriends around or anything. I was VERY scared.

But, it's fine. At least right now, Emmett is just a "baby" to me....regardless of gender, I would raise any "baby" of around 9-10 months the same way. So, it's been really cool.

He does love to smash things and bang things around but I was the same way as a kid.

I plan to just kinda follow his lead. I WILL still sign him up for gymnastics (because I was a gymnast) even if he is the only boy in the class. Emmett is just himself and he's mine so the gender becomes invisible to me.

[AmandaEliz]

Ethan & Avery are very different kids; I can tell even at 9 months old! Ethan is defintely all boy. He loves cars, trucks, planes & he loves his Daddy. No idea why, but my name has been Mud lately. He wants Mike to do everything for him. Anyway, I honestly think it's more personality than sex when it comes to the challenges with Ethan. He is very strong willed & defiant, so I'm very firm & consistant with him. But I think that would be the same if he were a girl, too.

As far as the boy parts go, once the circ healed, I think boy parts are easier to get clean & wash. I dunno about the teenage years. My hubby was the wild one; I was a book worm until college. I guess we just have to remember that each kid is different, regardless of sex.

[preciousgiftsmama]

As you know, Ty is the first boy born in almost 40 years in my family. I have my brother 4 years younger than I and my sister who is 6 years younger than I. But in our generation, my sister and I are the only girls. We have/had 5 boy cousins plus our brother, thats it. So I was raised with boys, (my cousins are like my brothers) and I actually made them play dolls and house I was a good mix of tomboy and girly girl. Now with this generation, its 7 girls, then Ty and he is the last baby. Girls have been great, my family prefers girls as does dh's (dh's family also only has one other boy besides Ty and all the rest girls) so I never felt I needed a boy, and I never felt that I missed out on anything not having a boy. I used to talk a big line about how I would have made my son be had I had one but I didnt so it didnt matter....until I found out I was having a son I thought it would never happen, and was shocked when it did. I worried for him how it would be being the youngest of 8 kids (all cousins are together all the time) and the only boy. So far, he is completely adored and all the girls just swoon over him constantly. Dh is great with him and so pleased to have a son he also thought we would never have. Ty is definately different than the girls. He wants nothing to do with dolls or anything girly at all. Its like he doesnt even acknowledge the girl toys exist. Its kinda wierd really. He is a snuggley lovey mamas baby boy and if I could have had 10 boys I would have. All coming from a woman who thought she would never have a son or needed one at all. I know now, I need my son and love him immensely I wouldnt change a thing.

[AndiNW]

We were all girls around here for the longest time. Then my sister had twin boys and now I have Wyatt. I've talked with DH many times about not knowing what to do with a boy!

One thing I can say (and maybe it should be in the pet peeves thread), is when people say "What do you expect, he's a boy". My family says this all the time when the twins do something destructive. It's annoys the crap out of me! Boy or girl, breaking toys and being destructive is not acceptable. Maybe I'm naive, but I expect the same behaviour from both my children and will not use that excuse...I hope!

The other thing that I'm conscious about is boys and literacy. Not to sound too Tiger Mom, but as a teacher I know that boys traditionally perform lower on literacy-related activities. I think just being aware of this and ready to act or get help early on is important.

One last thing. We are hockey fans and live in a hockey-crazy area known for developing young players. DH and all of his friends that have boys do not want them to play hockey at a high level. As much as they love hockey, it's not an environment they want their sons to grow up in because the fighting. He said to me one day "How would you feel watching your son getting into a fight on the ice or get a hit to the head?". Now if he absolutely loved the game and/or had some natural talent, I'm sure we would find some way to make it work.....but now I'm just really getting ahead of myself.

[Daffodil]

Thanks ladies!! You made me feel a lot better. I know I would love a son as much as a daughter of course...I guess its the testosterone that scares me. I would LOVE an adoring son (although right now my daughter is super adoring so if someone was moreso it might be smothering lol), but the whole rough-and-tumble stuff...that part scares me. I want my daughter to be a tomboy and I would want any son to be confident and athletic. I just don't want a monster, kwim? I've seen such naughty kids sometimes and usually they seem to be boys in my experience. But I know all kids are different and its not just the gender that makes them who they are.

[dinamommy]

Eli is the first boy in our family (out of all the grandkids). I had two girls and my sister had two girls before I had him. I've got to tell you that I kind of felt scared like you before I got pregnant with him, but all that went OUT the window once I knew he was a boy. I adore him with my whole being......I really really do. There's just something about a Mommy and a little boy that is the most awesome thing ever. Like Kristen said, he LOVES me! My girls loved me at his age, but not like he does. He lays his little head on my shoulder and cuddles me like nobody's business. I see his face light up when I walk in the room and it melts my heart. I very much thought I was done having kids after Bella and was quite content. I'm so thankful to God that He sent me Eli, though, because he adds something so special to our family. He truly completes us and we adore every single day with him.