Particular items needed when expecting a boy?

[MrsAmelia]

Hi Ladies,
I’ve had two little girls and now pregnant with a boy. While I have loads of clothes I have reused between my girls, like neutral onesies, I am wondering is there something I definitely need for a boy that I wouldn’t have for a boy?

I read about a little cotton “hat” for his penis might be good to use during nappy changes?

Any boy mamas who might be able to share some tips? I am a bit nervous about having a boy this time around ☺️.

Thank you

Nope I can’t think of anything different you would need.

And a baby wipe placed over him does the job of stopping fountains just fine!

I have a DS and a DD. I can’t think of anything that I needed for DS that I didn’t also need for DD. The penis hat isn’t practical I’m afraid but I only got weed on maybe 3 times so don’t worry.

I put a reusable nappy pad or a flannel over him when nappy changing, that works well to catch any errant wee you get used to it in a few weeks!

I found cotton wool was a bit rubbish for cleaning the genitals, baby wipes are easier.

Can.’the help on the clothes front as I’m not keen on gendered baby clothes - all clothes are suitable for all babies IMO. We received a lot of uncomfortable-looking ‘boy clothes’ for DS such as vests with collars and ties attached etc, all that stuff does exist if you want to buy it.

I was never weed on during nappy changes! But even if yours does, just grab a wipe/close the nappy/etc.

If you're using reusable nappies, boys may need boosting towards the front. That's the only actual (rather than social) difference I know of!

In the nicest possible way, babies are babies, I'm sure the things you gave from your DDs will be all you'll need

You get used to opening the used nappy with one hand and covering the willy with a wipe with another in one movement. 😂 I only got weed on once and I've got 3 boys.

Please don't put your baby in jeans, leather jackets, tiny suits etc as these Boy Things look stupid and are uncomfortable.

Also get used to trying to find things that aren't covered in dinosaurs, tractors, tools, etc. All mine wore a lot of navy and white stripes for this reason.

Apart from that, there is nothing different you will need.

Boys are great! Good luck and
Congratulations!

Same as pp advice, just have a flannel you can use for any friendly fire as my husband calls it. Only other tip is to make sure the penis is pointing down when you put on a nappy to avoid leaks!

A baby is a baby, you're overthinking it. I was peed on more by my dd than ds, really don't see the point in the penis hat. Babies don't need gendered anything, it's all for shops to make money.

There are things i had for ds that I didn't have for dd simply because he was the second baby- like the perfect prep machine for his one bottle a day, ring sling, 360 rotating car seat, MyHummy,u-sense monitor and elvie breast pump. All have been really useful!

Thank you all! I'm not concerned about gender specific clothing - that wasn't really my point. And my girls lived in onesies for the first 12 months, even longer as I hated the pieces girls seemed to be "expected" to be wearing. I love babies in onesies. I agree with you both @BigusBumus & @OccasionalNachos regarding clothing. I seem to have posed my query incorrectly (apologies ).

@Dangertime - that practical tip is super useful, thank you.

I never used wipes for my girls initially, only the cotton wool so will try water wipes or a cloth this next time around as they're less fiddly.

My girls both had super explosive nappies at varying times so I'm used to that obviously, but nappy changing a girl who weed is like a trickling of wee - not a fountain. The "fountain" effect is what I keep reading about online regarding boys, so given I've zero experience with boys this was where my query came from.

Thank you all!

"I read about a little cotton “hat” for his penis might be good to use during nappy changes?"

What?!

DS used to wee nearly every time we changed him. We put a small towel on his changing mat (bought a few extra) so we could catch the worst with it! We also used cloth wipes - the reusable ones - so you can use those to catch wees too. Or a flannel as PPs said.

Sorry for misinterpreting @MrsAmelia - I’m clearly primed for combating gender stereotyping! I mean, it is mostly because of the huge amount of blue or sludge-coloured clothing that’s available for boys, or like @BigusBumus says, everything is covered in dinosaurs or cars. I like dinosaurs but don’t like gendered slogans etc so have a bagful of stuff for the charity shop or baby bank for when they’re taking donations again.

Reusable wipes/flannels are great. I found the problem with the cotton wool (as well as being useless for cleaning after the meconium nappies) was drying him with it would make it stick to his scrotum and he was covered in white fluff! I had no experience with changing babies though and the midwives were militant about not using baby wipes so I persevered for a couple of weeks until the cotton wool ran out. Never again!

Oh and yes to the fountain of wee... DS hit the wall and the carpet a couple of times but you do quickly get used to it and spot the signs. Undo the nappy then fold it back up for a few seconds, it’s when the fresh air hits that triggers a reflex wee. Or put the fresh nappy underneath first then do a fast seamless change.

My DS never weed on me or when I took his nappy off! It’s not inevitable. Enjoy your lovely boy.

Another tip I was told all ways make sure baby's willy is pointing down before you do the nappy up otherwise they end up with a wet vest or baby grow up the front

A cotton hat for his penis...
I've never heard of that one!!

We used to have DS nappy under so we would whip the dirty one off and quickly do up the new one.
We got weed on maybe twice.

There's nothing you need extra for a boy than you would a girl.
Babies are babies. They need very little actually.