#FFCBDB

I apologize to anyone whose favorite color happens to be pink, but I would love to find the people responsible for tagging baby girls with this color and place them in a brightly lit pink room--pink carpets, pink painted walls, pink ceiling--and play Pink loudly through a pair of pink speakers. And when their indigestion hits, I'd force feed them a big spoonful of pink Pepto and ask if they were convinced of pink's disturbing characteristics.  I'd leave them in the room until they realized the error of their ways but not until they decided to change the baby girl color to something easier on the stomach and the eyes.  Perhaps light green. 

Yesterday Elaine and I stood in the baby section of Target, barcode scanner in hand, filling out our baby registry.  I don't think either of us realized just how hard this would be.  We had a checklist, we had ideas, but still the lingering questions, the distinct possibility that we were leaving off essentials.  Not that we had to get everything on this first go with the scanner, but we were unsure of what we were looking at much less what we needed to be looking at.  Crib: check.  Stroller: check.  Changing table: check.  What's next?: check.

Actually, I think things went okay until we moved to the clothes.  Staring at all of that pink, my heart sunk.  Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be having a baby girl.  Girl was and is my preference.  But looking at all of that pink.  Frilly, lacy, ugly pink.  Thankfully, Elaine also dislikes pink, or at least she doesn't intend to swathe the baby from head to toenail in that godawful color.  It's unavoidable, but I think we will stick to the yellows and greens, mixing in pink only when and if necessary. 

I guess I should move on.  Get over it. Accept the fact that I'll need to get used to pink.  Let pink grow on me, like a fungus, until I'm a pinkophile.

But her room will not be pink.  And she won't be sleeping on pink sheets wearing pink pajamas.

And when she's old enough and rebels against her dad, I'm sure it will be to wear pink, but I swear she will never, ever listen to Pink. Or Madonna. 

If so, I'll disown her.  Then I'll paint her room pink.

****

I have to say that I was quite impressed with the selection of high-tech baby equipment, and this even though we weren't at the best of Targets.  Tomorrow, we'll be hitting Babies R Us and I'm sure to find their toys even more to my liking.

But the best find of the day can be seen in the picture below.  Don't ask...

Comments

[tito]

I am a blue blood
I will admit that
I dance in blue shoes and wear a blue hat
Live in a blue house
On a blue street
In a blue town
By a blue creek
I write my blue songs
With my blue pen
I sing the blue notes
To my blue friends
Now I don't that much about you
But I like you
Because you're true blue

[Beckie]

I'd recommend getting a baby swing. They are great for quieting fussy babies when nothing else works, also sometimes you are going to want a break. I would not rule out pink too much, or atleast something purple with flowers, otherwise when you take the baby out you will have people asking you:

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

After this event occurs a few hundred times you'll want to scoop out your ears with a spork then pink won't start looking so bad.

[Deborah]

And speaking of 'blue,' syntax doesn't get much better than 'Things as they are/Are changed upon the blue guitar. . ." a favorite line of mine from Wallace Stevens. Just imagine color as metaphor instead of a defining principle of a baby's gender. Of course, the baby doesn't care what color she is wearing, until she gets to be about three . . .

[CAAF]

The pink scourge! What is with it? Some sort of "Free to Be You and Me" backlash? Whatever, it's a drag. I was at a Babies R Us the other week and it was either buy pink or get my friend's little girl something printed with tractors, helicopters and hammers.

Where available I try to pick up clothes in orange for my friends' kids. So adorable. Your yellows and greens sound beautiful too.

[Alicia]

I am so annoyed by the pink=girl blue=boy nonsense... I'm trying to also get lots of greens, yellows and bright colors for my boy. And maybe even a bit of pink just for fun! Also don't get why girl=princess/pretty pony/flowers/butterflies and boy=modes of transportation/sports equipment/weapons of destruction.

[angela]

well im not big on babies much, but i am on color theory. ever wonder why mcdonalds is a place you go but never seem to stay too long? red and yellow. The color red promotes anger, and the color yellow makes babies cry. funny because when i was a baby my colors were neon colors usually green blue and orange and yeah... pink but i love neon colors. i dont like the color pink u posted, my sisters had the yellow colors, and they were very fussy babies. also red chairs are not a cool thing, its kinda like lighting a fire under your butt, u dont seem to want to sit down for long. blue= relaxation as well as light brown and dark green think starbucks, walk in, order, sit down for a few minutes. i suggest if your going to use light colors, like pink or yellow or something, make them a real faded color. and if its a color that usually comes dark, like green, make it green but only in small amounts, you want a relaxed baby but not one that is practically a doll. lifeless.