RQOTD: Thursday 3/1

How do you feel about baby gender and carrier coloring/patterns?

If you have a boy, do you feel the need to have a boy patterned/colored carrier? Or do you not care figuring that you're the one wearing the carrier, so it needs to be something you like?


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Personally I'm always surprised when people feel the need for a "boy" carrier because their LO is a boy. I pick out carriers based on what *I* like, knowing that if I like how it looks I'm more apt to use it. The main reason I bought gender neutral carriers and try to keep one around is that there's something that DH will be willing to wear. Although DH's favorite carrier currently is our organic Ergo that's orange with flower stitching with rainbow stripes on the hood and inside. :lol:
Of course I also don't care when people compliment me on my beautiful daughter. lol

I will admit I'd be more likely to buy a girly carrier if I have a girl. More likely to put a girl in a "boyish" carrier than a boy in a girly one. But, I definitely pick what I pick because I like it!

But as it is, we tend to buy neutral ones because of wanting DH to be comfortable wearing them as well.

Great question! I think it matters more to the person wearing it than the baby, so that's what we considered when I was making wraps while pg. The stretchy I made had flowers on it, but it covers so much of your torso that DH was like "...so basically I'm wearing a flower shirt with a baby stuffed inside it?" so I made him his own with the front of one of his old t-shirts sewn on it as a pocket. :) He was fine with wearing the bright rainbow Maya with lots of magenta in it, though.

The only exception I'd make is if the decoration is clearly baby-centric--like, if it had babyish teddy bears and baseballs on it or something, I'd assume the baby inside was a boy. But if the pattern was clearly adult, I'd assume it was more a reflection on the wearer. If that makes sense? I don't know...I'm kind of just a gender-neutral, bright colors for everyone sort of girl :) Although I do agree that I'm more likely to put a girl in boyish things than vice versa. That's just society.

LOL I was just posting in Mara's thread about this! To me it doesn't really matter but I would prefer a boyish carrier for boy and girlish for girl. Like my issue now is I have a Pink flowery Ergo and love it but I want a more "manly" one since we had a boy. Really I think it is just an excuse to buy a new one! I have wanted one of the new prints since they came out even before we had a boy. I have a purple ring sling and I am fine with using that for a boy or girl.

I will add too, that DH and I had this conversation and sort of debated which people assume more- that the carrier reflects the baby or the wearer more. I can totally see Leigh's point (about baby prints vs an adult print). And we had that conversation when he was wearing a mei tai with beige straps and a black and beige guitar print on the body, and was asked if he was carrying a boy. Not that beige or black is particularly gender specific, but, I think mostly, because it's not pink, it looks more boyish. (And it was the carrier DH chose for himself.)

I've come to the conclusion that I could put a huge sign on DS saying "I'm a BOY!" and people would still ask me about my little girl. :roll:

Marcia, I love that you're wanting to use this as an excuse to buy a new carrier. I've stopped coming up with excuses and just telling DH that I'm considering a new one. :lol:

That is so weird....to me he looks very obviously boyish in all of your pictures! Oh, well...people are weird.

I would have to sabotage my Ergo to be able to justify a new one to DH. Anybody want to come over and accidentally set it on fire? I really like that new one with the stars... :lol:

Any big buys we make, which includes carriers are gender neutral, The print on my mei tei could be a bit girly but it is red. I always get comments no matter how DS is dressed that he should be a girl because he's too pretty to be a boy, so I am used to it no matter what he is worn in.

Aren't people funny? Being over here in Asia, we get asked ALL THE TIME if DD is a boy or a girl... even when she's dressed head to toe in pink. But, they don't have the same color associations we do, and I honestly think it's a racial thing that when it comes to white babies, they really just can't tell. DD does have a lot of neutral clothes/boy clothes, because DH and I both like some stuff, and don't care... so whether she's in her green Curious George shirt (which I do think we picked up from the "boy" side of Old Navy) with jean shorts or her red shorts with the white t-shirt with pink and red roses all over we just laugh it off when people ask what she is. Oh well.

Leigh... setting fire to an Ergo!?!? That's just wrong. Could you like, lose it for a while? ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marite13

Leigh... setting fire to an Ergo!?!? That's just wrong. Could you like, lose it for a while? ;)

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If you need to lose it for awhile I can send my address. I think oh dear I accidently sent it to Australia is a great excuse to get a new one :)