Snips and snails – isn't that how the old rhyme begins describing little boys? It may have been all in fun, but along with its companion rhyme about little girls, it was pretty accurate about the fact that baby boys and baby girls are different. And those differences are apparent even in infancy.

As soon as your baby boy is born, his physical differences require you to make choices you don't need to make with a daughter – namely whether or not to circumcise. And no matter your choice, you'll have to care for him differently than you would a baby girl.

Baby boys tend to be easier to clean at diaper time, though it's common to be a little nervous with your first boy. "Most first-time boy mothers are worried they will hurt their son as they try to wash those persistent pieces of lint that are stuck to their son's penis," says Adie Goldberg, licensed clinical social worker and coauthor of It's a Baby Boy! (Jossey-Bass, 2009). "If you have decided not to circumcise your son, gently pull back the foreskin and clean the head of the penis."

Another thing first-time parents of boys may not realize is that even infant boys have erections. "These erections are normal and you can expect your boy to have several a day," says Goldberg. "Often this tiny erection is in response to a full bladder, so you might see this when he is naked. Grab a diaper and shield his penis to prevent getting squirted with a warm stream!"

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