Okay, we’re in the process of packing up our belongings (including searching for all of Liam’s toys which have been scattered to the four winds since two hours after we got here) and getting ready to hit the road. Yep, it’s time to go back to Reno and home. It’s been a nice stay here and I think we’ve all had a good time (New Years Eve countdowns aside). It’s going to be a good five hours or so (minus a stop in Winnemucca to fuel up at that greatest of American pitstops: McDonald’s) so in the meantime, I’ve got a job for you dear, faithful readers. Yep, I’m asking you to do something for me to make my life easier. I thought it seemed like a good idea, how about you?
I want your “girl” tips. Do you have a daughter? Be she 1 month old or 28? Or do you have boys at home but know of girls well through nieces, siblings, babysitting or heck, yourself? Because chances are, you know more about raising girls than I do. See, because now I have a chance to sit back and really think about this, I realize that I really know NOTHING about having a little girl around. NOTHING. I’m at a total loss here. I figured maybe some of you out there might be able to throw me a bone and give me some guidance.
I’m looking for tips, advice (yes, even ASSVICE), things to remember, things to avoid, anecdotes, instances, experience and general wisdom. Because BELIEVE ME, you know more than I do. And I feel like I need some preparation here. I’m hoping you all can help me out here.
I’ll be checking my email (where I receive my comments) when I get to Winnemucca via my ever-so-wonderful cell phone and I hope to see some of these pearls of wisdom pouring in by then. Don’t let me down, guys!
{ 9 comments }
Michelle 01.02.08 at 11:47 am
Okay, woman. First of all, for a while, your darling girl won’t be much different than Liam or Harry. Except she won’t be able to take aim and pee at you when you’re changing her diaper. Now, not having any boys, my next statement is just something I’ve heard. It may not be true, and please anyone who can prove me wrong by past personal experience, go right on ahead. Someone told me that girl poopie diapers stink worse than boy poopie diapers when they start eating baby food. My next statement is a pure generality. Girls tend to do things before boys. Not having boys, you may wonder how I know that. I minored in psychology, remember? And I remember that from my Psych of Gender and Developmental Psych classes. Because I thought, “well, of COURSE we do! That just goes to prove that girls kick ASS!” However, your girl will have 2 older siblings to do things for her so I don’t know if that strictly applies or not. Since our girls are going to be a year apart (YAY!!), I’m sure I’ll have plenty of stories for you later.
Southernbelle (11 comments.) 01.02.08 at 12:16 pm
Just be prepared for the hormones, hormones hormones!
Ree (the Other one) (2 comments.) 01.02.08 at 1:46 pm
My stepdaughter is a gem and I love her dearly. However, she’s never lived with us, so my only advice comes from being a girl myself (I actually told the doctor that if I delivered a girl to put it back because I wouldn’t know what to do with it.) -
1. Not all girls like pink girlie things.
2. Girls mature mentally much faster than boys.
3. Nurture intelligence and learning.
Lisa 01.02.08 at 2:31 pm
Just that people all seem to worry about girls. They worry that they will be too girly or not girly enough. She will be what she will be, but that WILL be affected by you and what you do with her. You don’t have to encourage princess-y stuff or paint her nails pink when she’s two. If you don’t, it doesn’t mean she won’t end up girly as she gets older. But it won’t matter.
You’ll love her if she’s a tomboy or a girly-girl and won’t be able to imagine her any other way. And for the people that worry that all teenage girls are gossipy, boy-crazy, and difficult. She may be any, all, or none of those. Just as teen boys can be distant, girl-crazy, and difficult.
The great thing is, she’ll be your own little girl and you’ll love her more than anything (like you love your boys) and she’ll love you too. It’ll be great
Shelley (3 comments.) 01.02.08 at 8:12 pm
I’ve always heard it said that girls are easier when they’re small, and more difficult as teenagers. Since I don’t have any boys, I can’t say whether this is true or not. However, I do have three girls, ages 15, 13 and 5, and the only advice I have is that when they are making a run up to puberty, send them to live with someone else for a couple of years. Remember how horrible jr high was? Yeah, it still is. Other than the whole hormonal thing, I think girls are pretty awesome. Little girls are a lot different than little boys, I think. They don’t bounce off the walls and they don’t like to tackle and wrestle each other. I think they’re generally pretty pleasant, most of them. Until they hit about 11 or 12. So you’ve got years of pleasant ahead.
Jaclyn 01.02.08 at 9:04 pm
No girlies in my life, but from my own experience I can offer use some useless assvice
Girls tend to talk more. A lot more.
Head to toe pink is wrong. Wrong.
Elastic lacy headbands are also wrong. Wrong.
A girl is more likely to run back into her house during a fire drill to get her pretty purple-y pink shoes to match her bathing suit. True story. That girl was me and I’m not an over the top girly girl.
You will get a lot of people putting the fear of Britney Spear’s weave into you by saying good luck with evil laughter because girls are oh, so bad, but we’re not. You know that. You’re not *that* bad, are you? Just wait until she gets her period, than maybe they’re right until she’s in college and needs money and becomes your best friend.
Good luck…
cagey (96 comments.) 01.03.08 at 8:51 am
You are too cute!
I have not seen such a big difference from a “taking care of” standpoint - yeah, diapers are a little different, but babies are babies. I will say that it is so MUCH FUN having one of each. FUN. Be prepared to totally squee over clothes, barrettes and girl toys. No, don’t get me wrong, I love boys clothes and have fun with trains and cars, too - but now I find myself looking at girl’s toys in excitement, too. Best of BOTH worlds. Yeehaw!
One piece of assvice - don’t get rid of the boy clothes yet. For example, Anjali wears boy pajamas - I mean, who cares? Right? I would rather save money buying pajamas and put that budget towards clothes that are actually worn outside the house.
Nancy (68 comments.) 01.03.08 at 8:56 am
I could write a book about girls aged 0 to almost 6, but since I don’t have any knowledge of boy children myself, I’m not really sure how to start as a basis f comparison.
My two girls are very different from each other personality-wise, but they definitely do have some similar traits and tendencies. One thing that I found interesting is that they truly have gravitated toward certain types of pretend play (e.g., princesses, housekeeping) without parental influence. Could be that some of it is what they’re learning in day care, but we try to raise our girls with the knowledge that they can do anything regardless of their gender, and we don’t push them toward the frilly or girly or pink things. Though my oldest DEFINITELY prefers pink — and again, this is her choosing.
Hmm, not sure I’ve really helped, but I’m available for free consultations via e-mail should the need arise.
Shawna (50 comments.) 01.03.08 at 10:48 am
Wipe front to back to avoid urinary tract and yeast infections.
Since pee runs down instead of fountaining up, we have been saved many times by the habit of putting the new diaper down first under her butt, then taking off the old one. (This catches poop too. And I’m always amazed that not everyone does it.)
Other than those tidbits, my advice is tempered by the fact that I too only have a girl and she’s just under two. However, I think she follows the stereotype of being more sedate than a boy, and more fastidious, cautious and quiet. She’s no daredevil, that’s for sure. That may just be her, though, and not her-as-a-girl, if you know what I mean. I was never a daredevil either, and hated to have dirty hands.
I’m told girls start reading, etc. earlier and (you’ll like this one) toilet training earlier.
As for ass-vice, please, please, do not pierce her ears until/unless she asks for it! I know it’s cultural and traditional for some people, but if it’s not, if it’s just so she’ll look “cute” or so that “people will be able to tell she’s a girl even if she doesn’t have any hair”? That just seems SO wrong to me. She’s not a doll, she’s a person with nerve endings in her earlobes.
I also agree with Jaclyn on the pink and the headbands.
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