So knowing that we might not have this choice to make again, we decided that maybe we should consider finding out our baby's gender at our ultrasound this time. We've always waited until birth and we've always loved waiting until birth. But maybe we should see what the grass is like on the other side of the fence. It might be fun to have that experience at least once, right?
I've always felt like it might make the second half of pregnancy seem really long if we already knew that information and were just waiting for this baby boy or girl to make an appearance. That's been my main holdout for not finding out. Plus, if I'm really honest, I'll admit that I'm kinda proud of not having to know right away. We're kind of an oddity in this day and age of everyone finding out the gender, and we like it that way. It totally goes against the grain of my planning, Type A personality, and I like it that way. So I figured it would take a certain amount of pride swallowing to actually find out ahead of time.
We also argued that it might be good to prepare Noah if he is getting another sister and not a brother. But if we were deep down honest, we would really be preparing ourselves. Don't get me wrong; we obviously love our girls to pieces like we never knew was possible. But it would be so great for Noah to have a brother.
Some things have come up that have really made me analyze why I feel so passionate about that, so I've spent some considerable time thinking it through. The reasons are many. First and foremost, I see the relationship my own brothers have with each other, and I would love for Noah to have that experience. Secondly, since I grew up in a house of boys, I feel much more comfortable at football games than teaching my daughters how to put on make-up. And throughout this summer, I've had multiple chances to see how Noah interacts and plays so differently when he plays with other boys his age. Let me be clear: Noah and Sophia are the best of friends. But they play so differently than Noah plays with boys. When Noah and Sophia play together, they might be playing house...with Noah in a dress. But when Noah plays with boys, he wants to wrestle, and hit baseballs and do all things that mean boy. It would be great to have another little boy in the house who would want to do those same things with him.
So at the heart of it, to find out that we are having another girl, who may be our last little blessing, can potentially mean the loss of that picture of what our family will look like, and reshifting our picture to include lots of dresses, and wedding expenses, and drama. :) And so that would take some mental adjusting for both Tim and I.
And even still a day or two before our ultrasound, we were still not fully decided about what we were going to do. I polled people I know who have done it both ways, hoping someone would give me some insight that I hadn't previously thought about that might just finally sway my opinions one way or the other. By this point, I think I have maybe heard all of the arguments on both sides. Nothing new came up.
So...after much agonizing, we decided we'd find out. I had a pretty strong sense that we're having another girl, but why not confirm that information? And...
It's a...
GIRL!
I told you I had a pretty strong sense!
I think that after we left, the tech must have thought we were a little nuts. We took all the kids with us to the ultrasound, and left without hardly a reaction amongst us! The little peanut (who was so sweetly sucking HER thumb through most of the experience) didn't want to be very cooperative. This was the first time I've done this, but the tech actually had me use the restroom in the middle to hopefully get our baby to move enough to show us who s/he is! Finally, she did move to just the right spot, and our technician confirmed that we are indeed having our third girl, complete with the black and white picture labeled "girl parts."
I think I said, "I told you." To which Tim replied, "You were right."
And I think that was about all we said! Even the kids were pretty much unphased. Noah almost least of all!
We're still adjusting to the idea of a house almost full of girls. It'll take some time. And because it wasn't an OB who did our ultrasound, the techs don't tell you much about the health and well-being of your baby, so we are just hoping that "no news is good news" and that we are just biding our time until we meet a healthy, strong, sweet little lady!
I took the kids to Jamba Juice across the street from our doctor's office for PINK smoothies to celebrate, and now the name debate begins!
