Drinking the Whole Bottle: My Journey to the Boyside...begins

Before I had a baby and thought about having babies I imagined myself having a little girl. My brain is so hard-wired with pictures of my own childhood with my sister that having a girl was just what was going to happen. And I reaallllly wanted a girl. So when I was pregnant the first time and the doctor sputtered those magical words - Its a girl - I was over the moon.

I am not lacking in confidence - or much modesty - so having a mini-me walking around was thrilling. I couldn't wait - like all mothers of girls - to dress her up: big bows, puffy skirts, tutus galore, shiny dresses, fancy shoes that sparkle.

About six weeks ago, we were at our OB-GYN's office for our monthly appointment. She has an ultrasound machine but has repeated to us that the quality is not as high resolution as at the specialist's office. She really couldn't see any "parts" - girl or boy - and I was still not even 18 weeks but if she had to guess, she said, she would guess a girl.

Another girl.

I was excited but I had mixed feelings. I love little girls. But a part of me wanted a boy too. True to form, I was indecisive. If I was shopping, I'd handle this scenario by just getting both, but alas, this isn't a trip to the mall. Darn! Too bad we weren't having twins like Husband had hoped for: 1 boy and 1 girl. Problem solved.

We started talking about girl names again. The ones that almost won out to Rafaella the first time around: Cecilia, Valentina, Benicia (because I love the nickname Benny for a girl... so cute). We walked into the ultrasound appointment so excited to find out again what our second child would be, expecting the expected, another heavenly girl. So when the doctor said we were having a boy, I almost sat straight up and pushed him Elaine Benes "Get Out" (Seinfeld) style.

I was excited but I had mixed feelings. Indecisive, remember? I wanted a little boy. But a part of me wanted another girl too. I started getting sad at Rafa growing up and me no longer having a baby girl that I could dress in cutesy, girly whirly outfits. Darn! Too bad we weren't having twins like Husband had hoped for: 1 boy and 1 girl. Problem solved. Then I realized...

I'm pregnant and emotional. Get a hold of yourself, Legra.

It took a few days for both Husband and I to fully comprehend that we were having a boy. A boy... really? A boy.

A boy?! What do I even do with a boy? This was the first time I realized that I guess I had really never imagined myself having one of those. I'm so girly; throw girly tantrums and girly fits and like girly clothes and girly roll my eyes and girly swish my dramatic neck, that a boy never crossed my mind.

And then, my least favorite part of Boyside settled in. Yes. I'm talking about the clothes.

I've never been a fan of boy clothes. And I'm not just talking about baby boy clothes, I'm talking all boy clothes. Whenever I go shopping with Husband, I always find myself in the girl section like a person who sleepwalks and wakes up in the kitchen eating brownies and not sure how they got there. Inevitably, Husband yells at me. Why is it that you always wander off when we're shopping for me? I help you shop, don't I? He's right. He does. And he knows my taste so well that I find it difficult to shop without his opinion.

But honestly, Husband, how many khaki pants, striped polos, and brown belts can one look at? For me, boy clothes don't look that different or have that much personality.

So how do I go from girl clothes - which have soooo much personality - to buying boy clothes?

(Additionally, anything that I find to be pretty cute is fit for fall or winter weather: long sleeves, long pants, hoodies, jackets, sweaters - nothing that someone living on this island could wear without fainting from heat stroke.)

So now, instead of complaining - which I fear I will still continue to do to Husband - sorry Husband - I have started my journey to the Boyside. I am looking daily through Pinterest for boy things with personality, checking out every store and steal and deal that I can for boy outfits that don't say anything about being an athlete or an All Star. Why should girls get all the cute stuff anyway?

Rafaella has a headband bow collection. Baby Boy will have a bow tie collection. Rafaella has pink converse sneakers, Baby Boy will have some fly ass Vans like daddy. Rafaella has tutus. Baby Boy will have... ummmm, don't know how to battle the adorable tutu - I'll get back to you on that one, but something just as dope!

The search is on...

Here's some fun things I've found so far: