The Difference Between Caring for Baby Girls and Boys

The  photo above shows our first born baby girl Narra having an enjoyable bath. We thought we'd have the same experience with our second child, our baby boy Guijo. We were excited to give him his first bath and we were enjoying the process, that is, until.... he sprayed us!!!  It took a few more swift, sudden spraying incidents before I learned to never ever let my guard down again.  With Narra, I could just have her lying on her back on the bath bed, and I didn't worry about her peeing, but with Guijo, hah!, I now have a few strategies in place so I'd always be ready to dodge. 

First method: blocking! Always have a washcloth or lampin (cloth diaper) on top of his launcher whenever he's on his back for bathing or diaper changing.  Second method: redirection! Turn him to his side when washing or wiping his bottom - this will redirect his urine's trajectory to the walls of the tub and away from his face, or yours. Third method: direct contact! When it's time to clean his privates and covering him with a washcloth or turning him to the side just won't work, hold his "lil pututoy" down while cleaning the area.

Learning to care for a baby boy when you've become accustomed to caring for a baby girl is akin to learning to keep your arms up defensively to cover your face in boxing - it takes practice and getting used to - you need to develop a constant consciousness to never let your guard down or you'll get a beating.  I remember waking up in the wee hours of the morning to change Guijo's diaper - and I became complacent. It happened so fast - I had to change not just his diaper, but also his booties, mittens, and blanket, as well as the pillow case nearby - I had a changing mat under him of course - but the thing with penile trajectories is that they can have an unpredictable reach. 

The household I grew up in only had baby girls and never baby boys, so my mother had little advice to give on the subject of caring for a boy. My Auntie Eva, who raised 3 boys herself, gave me a few helpful pointers on Pinoy-style care for baby boys: first, she thought me to position the baby's penis downwards during diaper changes so that the baby doesn't wet his navel or cord stump; second, I should regularly massage my baby's balls! - apparently, as Filipino folk practice goes, conscientious mothers rub their hands to warm their palms, and gently cup their baby's balls and push them upwards towards the belly in the belief that doing so would prevent hernias, and prevent the balls from becoming "luslos" (an aesthetically unappealing condition of having sagging balls). A third prescription came from another relative, my Auntie Myrna, who taught me of a specific hold for carrying boys, holding them upright, one hand on the crotch, and the other supporting the upper body. This carrying position has the same objective - to prevent "luslos" and hernias.

I don't know if I will pass for a conscientious mother by Pinoy folk standards... I sure have a lot to learn. I thought that after having seen Narra through infancy in the recent past, raising Guijo would be a walk in the park.  Not so. There are differences between caring for baby girls and boys, and I am feeling like a rookie all over again.