Dinner party etiquette sound-off
Oh yeah, and some unnamed big-wig who was at this party, also a new father and who showed up very unfashionably late, commented on how beautiful our little girl was. I could have smacked him. First, this guy knows Dad and, while Dad isn't so chit-chatty with other academic types, I'm sure at some point this guy must have picked up on the fact that our baby is a BOY. Second, to avoid such embarassing scenarios as is set up by the gender-guessing game, I try as much as possible to color-code my child. Because EVERYone knows that Blue = Boy, yes? The only thing more masculine than blue clothing, evidently are cowboy-clothing items. At the time when this awful person misspoke, Isaac was wearing a navy long-sleeved onesie with light-blue trim, jeans, and his dino shoes. Which brings me to Third, shoes with dinosaurs on them = wearer is a boy. Is this not obvious? Grr.
Mindy and I have decided that, if you are at all in doubt about the gender of a baby, or even if you think you know, it is best to stick to the following script, which we have found is actually well-rehearsed among moms:
Gender-guesser: How old is your baby?
Claire: He is 7 months old.
Gender-guesser: Wow, what a handsome little guy!
See how it goes? A gender-neutral question, necessitating a response from the parent where the parent is expected to provide the requisite gender information to avoid all embarrassment by the inquirer whatsoever. Very simple. Please spread the word.
Incidentally, this reminds me of the millions of rude questions I was asked when I was pregnant with my darling baby. Now, I am really not a sensitive person in general, but when it comes to babies it seems that my tick-off threshold is considerably lower than usual. Some of my very favorite rude questions, which I and/or Mindy endured many, many times while pregnant:
"How much weight have you gained?"
"Don't you think you should wait until you're further along to tell people you're pregnant?"
"[upon noticing that a certain finger lacks a ring because said finger is too fat and swollen] Are you going to raise that baby yourself?"
And my all-time favorite question, which was asked of me too many times to count:
"Were you trying to get pregnant?" [implying, of course, that our baby is an "accident"]
From these, I devised a small repertoire of thoughtful and appreciated questions that will gain the seeker his or her desired insight into the pregnant woman's condition, or prompt the expectant mother to spill her beans as she pleases. These questions are: 1) "When are you due?" and 2) "How are you feeling"?
Anyway, that is my little soapbox.
Mindy and I have decided that, if you are at all in doubt about the gender of a baby, or even if you think you know, it is best to stick to the following script, which we have found is actually well-rehearsed among moms:
Gender-guesser: How old is your baby?
Claire: He is 7 months old.
Gender-guesser: Wow, what a handsome little guy!
See how it goes? A gender-neutral question, necessitating a response from the parent where the parent is expected to provide the requisite gender information to avoid all embarrassment by the inquirer whatsoever. Very simple. Please spread the word.
Incidentally, this reminds me of the millions of rude questions I was asked when I was pregnant with my darling baby. Now, I am really not a sensitive person in general, but when it comes to babies it seems that my tick-off threshold is considerably lower than usual. Some of my very favorite rude questions, which I and/or Mindy endured many, many times while pregnant:
"How much weight have you gained?"
"Don't you think you should wait until you're further along to tell people you're pregnant?"
"[upon noticing that a certain finger lacks a ring because said finger is too fat and swollen] Are you going to raise that baby yourself?"
And my all-time favorite question, which was asked of me too many times to count:
"Were you trying to get pregnant?" [implying, of course, that our baby is an "accident"]
From these, I devised a small repertoire of thoughtful and appreciated questions that will gain the seeker his or her desired insight into the pregnant woman's condition, or prompt the expectant mother to spill her beans as she pleases. These questions are: 1) "When are you due?" and 2) "How are you feeling"?
Anyway, that is my little soapbox.
posted by Claire at 9:09 PM
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