When I got pregnant with my first child, I couldn’t wait to find out what we were having! We bought a few gender-neutral things, but I was itching to paint those nursery walls either blue or pink. Every week we had to wait seemed an eternity.
When I was offered an early gender scan for only a few dollars, I jumped at the chance. At 16 weeks we found out we were having a boy! That very day, I rushed out and bought dozens of tiny outfits and picked a nursery theme. Every item we purchased was blue, blue, blue. I couldn’t fathom how anyone could NOT find out the gender of their baby!
When it came time for number two, I knew I wanted to find out what we were having again, even thought I didn’t really have a preference. The control freak in me just had to be able to plan.
But a friend in my playgroup who hadn’t found out her baby’s gender was nearing the end of her pregnancy, and the anticipation and guesses were running rampant. She already had two girls and everyone was wondering if she would get her little boy. The big day finally came and the announcement was made: A BOY! Everyone was so excited for her!
My friend’s experience made me start to question if I did really want to find out what we were having. As much as I would have loved to plan for this baby, the fun and excitement of a surprise at the end was just so tempting.
After talking it over for a few weeks, my husband and I decided not to find out. I was amazingly calm throughout, for someone who previously was so dead set on knowing.
My only moment of weakness was the morning of the gender scan. I begged my husband to let me find out, but he was already set on being “Team Green.” Thankfully, the ultrasound tech didn’t even look down there, or else I would have been calling the office later that day to harass her for details.
Our chance had passed to find out and I was OK with that. Being an experienced mom, I knew all the important baby stuff (diapers, wipes, car seat, crib) was gender-neutral anyway. We bought a few outfits for each gender and decided to wait to decorate a nursery.
On the big day, I couldn’t wait to meet our little one. I was convinced it was a girl but that last couple of weeks I kept dreaming of a little boy, putting doubts in my mind.
The baby was born with one amazingly quick push. I instantly started screaming at my husband, “What is it?!?! What is it?!?!” He wasn’t answering, and I was getting more and more frustrated. What I didn’t realize was how much chaos was going on down there with such a quick delivery. He yelled a few choice expletives at me and then finally, “IT’S A GIRL!” I sighed and lay back with my beautiful daughter on my chest.
Looking back, I thank God I didn’t know ahead of time we were having a girl. We would have gone bankrupt buying hair bows and pink ruffled bloomers. And that nursery I was so anxious to decorate? Almost a year later, it is still a pile of crib parts in a corner and nothing more. She sleeps in the pack ‘n’ play in my room. I guess there are more important things than knowing pink or blue.
Were you a member of Team Green, or did you find out the sex of your baby? Tell us in the comments.
