advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

Hello-
I'm not sure if anyone else is concerned about this... My husband and I are waiting to find out the gender of our baby. My brother and his wife recently had a little girl, and she has become a "princess" already. While I have no objection to dressing a future daughter in pink, my husband and I don't feel comfortable with everything being overly girly. I am concerned that our families will, with the best intentions, get us overly feminine presents and treatment for our daughter. Is there any polite way to let our families know that we don't consider a daughter to = a princess?

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

You may want to set the stage by decorating the nursery in a neutral way - the way we did - in mint green with gender neutral border (we dont know what we are having, so if its a girl, its still not so girly...)

And maybe share your thoughts on clothing you like.... Toys you want to get the baby... things like that

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

I feel the same way and I've gotten the word out to the family that if we have a girl we don't want anything too girly-girl when she is little. If she wants it as she gets older then it's ok.

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

That is why we aren't finding out the sex -- more to prevent this stereotypical behavior from others than from us or our child....

Don't tell the sex, or is it too late?

I hate the whole "princess" thing -- she's a baby girl like every other baby girl....

Gender-neutral bedding, and register for things YOU like - maybe they'll get the idea.

Message edited 3/3/2007 6:51:47 PM.

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

that's one of the main reasons we are finding out the sexes. i think it's the same for boys too. people buying "all sports" or "trucks" and making boys "tough" very early on.

i'm not into the very narrow gender-specific roles!!

eta: AREN"T finding out the sexes! oops!

Message edited 3/3/2007 6:54:00 PM.

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

My SIL and BIL were like this with my neice. They decorated in all green and yellow (they knew she was a girl) and wouldn't take anything pink or "princessy", even PURPLE was forbidden.

Fast foward to a year later and my neice is the most GIRLY girl in the whole wide world! My SIL tries to have her wear sneakers to day care and she will only wear her patent leather shoes--with her sweatpants!

You can try to keep it to a minimum, but if you have a little girl, she will exert her personality and it may be that girly, princessy type thing even if it was never introduced in your house.

Good luck!! It is hard

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

I think you and your DH will set the theme, so to speak. If your families know how you have decorated the nursery and it's not an overly girly theme, I would think they would not buy her anything that is overly girly. I'm sure you will end up getting lots of pink for gifts, if you do have a girl, but you can always exchange some things.

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

I'm not into the princess theme for girls - or the sports/trucks theme for boys. . . actually it's not that I dont like them - I just dont like the "it's a girl so naturally everything has to be pink - or it's a boy - so naturally everything has to be sports related - mentality. It's not a mentality that I think most parents necessarily agree with - but it's all that's out there in the stores. I agree with the above posters who wrote that they are so narrowly defining gender roles for babies.

I'd just register for neutral bedding and decor.

Message edited 3/3/2007 9:30:22 PM.

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

princess vs girly are 2 different things in my opinion.

princess can refer to an attitude of a child as much as the way they dress, etc.

My daughter is HARDLY a girly girl. She's worn a dress MAYBE less than 10 times in her 14 months of life. To me, I can't picture her in frilly girly things and she is SUCH a bruiser....climbs over dogs and furniture, puts food in her hair, etc.

I find it easier for both of us to dress her comfortably and in clothes that are easy for me to care for!

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

We're the same way! Thankfully, the baby's room was already a really pretty sage-green, and we were going to keep it that color for or . I found pale color bedding (pink, green, blue, etc.) from Target, and said I'm going to use soft pink accents in the room, and that's it. I do like pink clothes, but not all that lacy, frilly stuff either. Our mothers have gotten the point, and even if they give us pink stuff, it's not overly frilly, it's cute stuff. And I agree, we don't want anything that says "princess" or anything like that, it's just not our personalities, nothing wrong with it for other people, IMO.

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

Well I guess what I would do is not say anything to family and friends and let them buy whatever they want and that way you will buy the stuff you like and then you will have girly stuff and regular girl stuff.

Re: advice on how to deal with "princess" stuff

This is precisely why we are not even announcing our pregnancy until we find out the sex

With 2 boys already, everyone just "assumes" that if we had a 3rd child, we would OF COURSE be "going for the girl" when in fact, I would LOVE to have another boy.

You have gotten some great advice about a neutral nursery. You could also just make general comments about wanting your daughter to be a "tom boy" or something like that.