.... Well, sort of. These situations don't come up very often, but when they do, I surely don't like them!
The other day a gal stopped by to pick up some scrapbooking paper. She is an acquaintance - someone I know, have met a couple of times, but don't talk to or see on a regular basis. I did know she'd had a baby a little while ago, and this was the first time I'd seen her new little one. So, she comes over and brings in her baby (who is now four months old). I didn't remember if she'd had a boy or a girl, but wanting to make small talk I looked at her baby, made the normal "predictions" based on clothes, and asked her, "Is he a good baby?" And she replies with, ".... (long pause)... yeah, she's sleeping through the night"... Gulp. I'm apologizing profusely, saying I saw the blue burp rag and just made an assumption. Oops. She commented on her daughter's lack of hair and said something that made me think others may have made this same mistake. But still! ... What would you have guessed if:
The baby is in a red car seat/carrier....
.... is surrounded by neutral or primary colored blankets....
.... is wearing white/neutral colored clothing....
.... has very little hair....
.... is wearing no hat or headband of any sort....
.... and has a blue burp cloth laying on top....
Girl? Boy? Anyone???
Now I'm not knocking anyone who doesn't dress their baby girl in overly girly clothes -(I was never one to dress Karis in frilly things, myself) - but just hope that those who do opt for a more neutral wardrobe are willing to accept that people may mistake their child as a boy. Or please, at least begin the conversation by inserting a "her" or "she" before the other person puts their foot in their mouth.
And by the way, in this case, if I'd asked the babies name, it still wouldn't have helped. "Casey"
*sigh* Pet peeve off my chest.
1 comment:
as a general rule, i say "when in doubt don't ask" this is especially true if you're unsure whether someone is expecting or not. BUT!! in your case, i probably would have done the same thing, sounds like all the obvious "clues" were there--- yeah, people! c'mon! dress your babies gender-friendly so people don't have to guess!!
i remember once though, keenan was dressed in this VERY primary colors, blankets and neutral carseat, there was NO doubt he was a BOY! and some lady at walmart said what a pretty eyes my girl had. *sigh* uh, yeah, whatever.
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