Girly Girl

I swore I was going to be gender-neutral when my first was born. It was simple to do as we were unsure of her gender until her arrival. Our "helpful" ultrasound technician thought our baby would be a girl, but when pressed, admitted to only being "50%" sure. I had already figured that much out on my own. There are only two choices.

We presented Abby with a baby doll for her first birthday and made sure she was also presented with a dump truck. She didn't seem to take to the doll dubbed "Emily," but she loved pushing that truck around the apartment or having her family push her in the dump truck, racing around the furniture in our tiny second story flat.

Eli's arrival introduced us to more traditionally accepted male play despite the boy baby doll (aptly named "Boy" by his older sister) I found for him. As soon as he could, he vroomed his cars on the floor, pa-chooed imaginary guns and whooshed while flying through our home. I had glimmers of neutrality in the shared nursing experiences with Abby nursing her baby doll under her shirt and Eli feeding his cow cereal under his shirt. Maybe just having an older sister allowed moments of non-gender-specifity. (I did thoughtfully preserve such precious moments and will enjoy pulling out said evidence when he is older.)

Somehow (maybe the increased age gap?) we have in our youngest a force in her own right. Although her brother's cars lie about and tractors are available for the pushing, she chooses to hug and kiss her stuffed fox or giraffe or kitty or doggy. She drapes her sister's sparkling costume jewelry over her arm, laughing as she raises her arm to better show the glittery affair. She's dug through a bin of tractors to love and cuddle a new stuffed animal. She does enjoy a light saber battle with her brother on occasion and yet, I am required to wrap the doll she found in her dee for her to clutch to her chest, rock gently and firmly "ssshh" me. Who she is emulating is a mystery. Her sister chooses to play with bugs and nature; her brother is all about physical, imaginative play. She'll be interesting to know as she grows.