Bonjour!
As part of nesting and preparing the home for le bébé, I’ve been shopping for maternity clothes and decorating a nursery. I’ve also readied my hospital bag and found a car seat and other baby gear (who knew tiny humans need so many accoutrements?). And I’ve been searching for some gender-neutral baby clothes to have on hand in the first couple of weeks after birth before I can do some Major Clothes Shopping (le grin).
Waiting to Find Out Baby’s Sex
Why gender-neutral clothes? L’Husband and I decided to wait to find out the bébé’s sex until birth, so we decorated the nursery in black, white, and yellow and my friend Sarah hosted a gender-neutral baby shower for me.
Lots of people I know find out their baby’s sex during pregnancy because, for example, they’re excited, need to make logistical arrangements, or simply just can’t wait. I’m excited too and love to plan and organize just as much as the next person (maybe more!).
After conceiving via in vitro fertilization and knowing this would be our one and only bébé, however, L’Husband and I thought it would be fun to wait on the sex and leave a little mystery. Plus, what’s done is done – we can’t change it!
Sidebar: Sex is based on biology and anatomy; cf. gender, a social and cultural construct.
Organic Baby Clothes Brands with Gender-Neutral Options
N.B.: I have not monetized Joie de Vivre and do not receive any kickbacks for shilling products.
Shopping for organic baby clothing was très eye-opening; there are options, but not as many as one would hope. Committing to buying more eco-friendly products is one of my 2022 goals to be more sustainable, organic, and mindful and part of my overall commitment to joyful living. (Check out the full joyful living mission statement here!) Sustainably made clothes take less energy to make and last longer, moving the needle away from fast fashion and dumping textiles in landfills.
Shopping for gender-neutral baby clothing was even more eye-opening. Big Maternity really has us by the short hairs, pushing a pink-or-blue agenda to reinforce the heteronormative paradigm and gender binary (le sigh).
As la société slogs ever so slowly forward, some small progress has been made on the baby- and kid- clothing fronts. Lots of brands are organic (or trying to be more sustainable) have expanded options suitable for boys or girls or exist solely to provide gender-neutral items.
So don’t let Big Maternity get you down, and check out these organic brands with gender-neutral offerings:
- Newbie
- Pact Baby
- H&M Conscious Choice
- Carter’s Little Planet
- Gerber Unisex Organic Baby Clothes
- Burt’s Bees Organic Baby Clothes
Remember: Not everything has to be blue and pink, and not everyone finds out baby’s sex before birth.
For more on affordable and organic baby clothes, read the January 2022 article “12 Organic Baby Clothing Brands that Won’t Break the Bank” from USA Today.
What projects are you working on that offer you the opportunity to take a new approach?
Merci for reading and please subscribe and share!
À votre santé,
Katie
Joie de Vivre 