Kate Middleton and Prince William have admitted the gender they’re hoping their unborn baby will be – but the royal couple don’t agree on whether they’d like a baby boy or girl.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly haven’t found out whether they’re expecting a son or daughter (though Kate is well past the point where a scan would reveal her unborn baby’s gender).Kate Middleton admitted she hopes her bump is a baby boy ©Rex
Avoiding the stock response to the gender question (“We don’t mind as long as it’s healthy”) at a St Patrick’s Day parade, Kate told Guardsman Lee Wheeler: “I’d like to have a boy and William would like a girl.”
But are they setting themselves up for ‘gender disappointment’?
It’s a taboo most parents don’t talk about but feeling a little disappointed on discovering your unborn baby is not the sex you’d prefer is a common experience.
In Kate and William’s case, more rides on the gender of their unborn child. If it is a girl, as Kate Middleton has hinted at (despite supposedly not knowing), she will become the first female to inherit the throne above any male siblings who may be born to the couple.Kate was in good spirits at the St Patrick’s Day parade, chatting about her baby to guards ©Rex
But at least the pair are hedging their bets, each preferring a different gender, though hopefully the baby won’t look back at newspaper cuttings when he or she is older.
“This subject comes up again and again,’ admits Mumsnet founder Siobhan Freegard. ‘It’s something that is difficult even for women to admit to themselves, let alone to other people.
“The very nature of saying you are disappointed in your child goes against everything we believe motherhood to be about. Most women who feel this way also feel huge amounts of guilt and shame because they think they are letting their baby down.”
Some parents feel they will have a closer bond with a child of their own gender. Other mums-to-be may expect a special relationship with a son and expectant dads with a daughter. Some will even insist on discovering the sex during pregnancy, to ensure they don’t feel the slightest twinge of disappointment at the birth.
Old wives’ tales suggest diet and even the time of day you conceive can influence whether you have a boy or girl and morning sickness is often linked to baby girls, which could point to a daughter for the royal couple.
(Source: Yahoo Lifestyle)
