I’ve always wanted to be a mother of a boy and a girl. And when I want something, I am determined to get it. Ha, I kid, maybe. No, but really, since my own family consists of my older brother and myself, that is essentially what I wanted for my own family. My husband comes from a family of 3 boys (including himself) and he had a lot of boy cousins, so I was worried that it would be harder to have a girl for us. I also have to tell you that I am a planner, so when we were in the “trying” phase for my son, you can bet we used all of the techniques out there to “try and have a boy”. I’ll spare you the details. And then once we were trying for our second baby, I definitely wanted a girl so badly (because I am the girliest of girly girls) and so we just did everything opposite, sorta! We even had a scare at our ultrasound when the tech blurted out after 20 seconds of looking that our baby #2 was a boy, but minutes later changed her tune. Anyways, there’s lots of posts out there about things you didn’t know about being a “boy” mom or a “girl” mom, but since I have one of each, I just wanted to break down all he pros and cons of raising boys vs. girls! Again, I just want to put a disclaimer out there that I am drawing from my own kid’s experiences, and these DO NOT APPLY TO ALL CHILDREN.

The Pros and Cons of Raising Boys vs. Girls

Clothing

Girls (Pro): Dresses, rompers, tutus, skirts, t-shirts, vests, bows, sneakers, moccs, sandals, boots… the options are endless for dressing a girl (as you probably can tell from the way I dress my daughter)! I absolutely LOVE dressing up my girl and the options are endless!! I personally think this is a Pro, but my husband would probably say this is a Con!

Boys (Con):  When I first found out I was having a boy, I immediately thought about how I was going to dress him, because there aren’t too many different options for what boys can wear. T-shirt, jeans, shorts, polo shirt, sneakers… I found that there are actually more options like vests, bow ties, suspenders that can make a little guy more dapper, but it doesn’t compare to the girl options… I love shopping at shops that have both boy and girl options like Janie & Jack, definitely makes things easier! They’ve got items to cover you kids for everyday, special occasions, to beach wear.

 Diaper Changes:

Boys (Pro): It sprays up… need I say more? Some may say this is a con…

Girls (Con): But actually, making sure that a girl is clean with all the folds and such is something a parent doesn’t really think about until you have your baby girl in your arms and the nurse is teaching you what to do, Remember, wipe front to back.

Development

Girls (Pro): This one might be a hard one to really say, but I do think that girls are usually “faster” at physical things and talking than boys from a young age. Well that’s the “stereotype” anyways (and I don’t mean to make stereotypes here) but this did ring true with our kids. Vivian was blowing her nose at 11 months, walking at 12 months and talking up a storm by 18 months.

Boys (Con): Our son on the other hand wasn’t able to blow his nose until he was 2, walked at 14 months and said a lot of words by 18 months but didn’t comprehend as much. Honestly though, I don’t think it’s really a Con that my son took longer, he is advancing and growing just fine right now as a 4 year old!

Money Spent

Boys (Pro): I think boy wins here (for less money spent overall). There’s the normal clothes, food, education, hobbies (and well, there’s more but I probably can’t list them all out here) that parents spend money on for either gender.

Girls (Con): Besides the normal expenditures, for girls there is tampons, makeup, wedding, etc. I think ultimately more money is spent on girls because there are tons of recurring things like Aunt Flow and being pretty that really add up. Although, I really have no experience on this topic yet, since my kids are still young. Ask me again in 20 years and I’ll let you know if my answer changes! Boys do need their hair gel too!

Austin’s (Boy) Outfit c/o Janie & Jack

Button Down | Shorts | Belt | Hat | Shoes

Vivian’s (Girl) Outfit c/o Janie & Jack

Top | Shorts | Shoes | Sunglasses

So which gender wins? They are both equal and equally fun!! Obviously my points up there were based on my own experiences and observations of my own kids, but EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT! I truly enjoy being a “boy mom” and a “girl mom” and am so happy I get to experience them both. 

Are you a “boy” mom, a “girl” mom or a “girl/boy” mom? How many of each do you have? What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of each?