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Babies: 6 - 9 Months
belladonna11307
member
Need to vent
belladonna11307
member
I HATE pink. I just do. For some reason I'm not allowed to not like pink because I have a daughter. I'm allowed to say "I don't like green" or "I don't like broccoli". It seems that ever since I had a baby girl it became a crime for me to have likes and dislikes outside of what the mainstream does.
My bigger problem? I have friends and family who think they're being cute by buying things in pink for my daughter. I refuse to dress her in them. The only time she wears the pink is when DH dresses her. Now I'm getting accessories that I would use for her (a shopping cart cover) IN PINK! Now the person who got it for me knows I don't want pink, but does it anyway because "you have a baby girl". So what? Purple is a very nice color. I have hair bows for her in many other colors. I don't get mad if someone says "he". I realize I'm not conforming the socially imposed color coding of children, so I'm not going to be offended that you couldn't tell that my 8 month old is a girl!
I just feel disrespected and ungrateful and icky. All because I think the gifts given to my daughter are ugly, but I feel like I should be thankful that she is receiving gifts, thus I feel guilty. *sigh*
By the way - I have no problem with those who choose to dress their daughters in pink for whatever reason they choose. I just don't want to because I prefer jewel tones and yes I know it's easier to dress her in pink, but I have found quite a few nice things in other colors.
Thanks for listening! I just had to get that out before my head exploded! 
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Re: Need to vent
Preach it, sister.
I'm kind of opposite - I didn't like pink at all UNTIL I had a daughter. Now I dress her in tons of pink and I started wearing it myself...weird. I like all her 'gear' to be neutral, though (I wouldn't like a pink cart cover, either).
Animal print, on the other hand? Barfcity. I can't stand animal print and both MIL and SIL happen to LOVE it, and love to buy it for DD, along with neon-bright, sparkly, garish outfits that I can't bring myself to dress her in. It's sad that some of these things go to waste, but I like soft colors and pretty, muted patterns and find myself dressing DD in the same outfits over and over and leaving out the gifts that aren't my taste.
So's life. I'm grateful that people buy my daughter things and even more grateful that I have enough other things for her that I don't necessarily have to use all the clothes that are gifted. Donating clothes is a great thing.
I think it's silly to have that big of an aversion to a color. It's just a color. Yes you can dress your daughter in whatever colors you want but so what if she wears pink? So what if she receives gifts in pink? It's really not that big of a deal in the long run and you do kind of look ungrateful for not appreciating a gift for what it is.
I hope for your sake your daughter doesn't grow into a child that wants pink of everything. Would you say, "no you can't have that particular doll because it's pink. Let's get this purple one instead."
I lost my angels 07/2010, 04/2017, 10/2017
Meimsx no more
You can't take it personally. You're not being "disrespected." The gift givers are having their own fun with your DD because THEY like those items. That's their perogative as the gift giver and you need to just graciously accept it.
While I respect your point, you sound a little entitled. If you don't like that pink shopping cart cover, donate it to a family in need and buy your own shopping cart cover!
I'm the same way, but "gender" colors in general... I HATE that "girls wear pink" and "boys wear blue." It was the main reason I wanted to stay team green -- DH won that battle.
When we found out we were having a boy, I made it clear to everyone that, while I don't mind blue, that I wanted MORE than just blue. If you're buying him clothes, PLEASE find things in other colors! Of course, I ended up with blue stuff -- just like you have pink stuff -- but if I didn't like it, I took it back! I also made sure that the big stuff - carseat cover, etc... - was neutral when I registered for it.
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I kind of get it. I hate the color orange. I don't wear it and I don't buy things in it. If people suddenly started giving me all orange stuff just because my baby is a girl I would probably flip out.
I also hate gendered colors, gendered clothes, gendered toys. FFS, they are babies. They all like the same things at this point. Can't we wait until at least after the first year or two to start pushing them into gender roles? I think we should go traditional and dress all babies in bonnets and gowns. Ok, I'm kidding, but it'd be kind of cute, right?
Anyway, that being said, you kind of have to deal with it. If people are buying you gifts, suck it up, be polite, and then exchange them for something in a color you can stand or donate them if there's no receipt. When someone gives my LO something extra icky, girly, pink, and frilly, I normally stick her in it for a few snap shots, send them the pictures and a thank you, then give it to charity. Someone else will appreciate it.
I actually understand where you're coming from....I actually LOVE pink...but I don't want to dress her in head to toe pink every day. I want other colors for her. I don't want her to have to wear pink just because its what I like. So her stroller is purple, dresser is purple and yellow, and room is yellow....I buy as little pink as possible. Silly, huh? I think so. But I want to instill in her that she can be who she wants and not like something just because I do. I buy some clothes that some would consider "boys" becuase of the color they are, but I think she looks adorable in red and green too. Or even blue. You can be feminine without wearing pink. So don't feel bad!
I would just thank the people for the gifts, and go return them for a non-pink item....If they ask, just tell them you exchanged it for a color that would work for a boy or girl because you want to be able to get the most use out of it in case you have more kids. Most people would appreciate that, so if you do have more, they won't feel obligated to get you anything else, then it sounds like you are making the most use out of their money...and doing THEM a favor!
I hate stripes. Well i didn't used to until i had a boy and every single item of clothing comes in stripes. Seriously....