Why do so many folks refer to a baby as 'it' instead of he or she? That really bugs me.

it nnight just be a bad habit

I do that too. The other day I was telling my friend about my baby niece and I kept referring to her as "it" by accident. As Pearl said, it's probably a bad habit. My friend didn't seem to care but I felt kinda weird calling my own niece "it"

I'll be doing that in a week or so when our son informs me his 2nd child has been born - I'll say what is it  (hoping he says it's a boy). Cheers! This post was edited by Nanoose at November 18, 2018 6:28 PM MST

I got better things to worry about.  

People who do that, just are unconscious.  What are you gonna do?

The gender of a baby is seldom obvious unless dressed in pink or blue and/or certain articles of clothing---skirt and leggings vs long pants.

Same problem with dogs and cats unless you get embarrassingly close or know the name of the pet.

So, "baby"---like "pet" becomes an "it."

It is an it when it is born......In yesteryear ,no one knew what it was going to be before it was born...it could be a Tail or No Tail and you'd never know .....Or as our own Del Boy would say.....It's a Baby.....:)D 
Taken from ........
( Only Fools and Horses)