What Do You Think? Ultrasounds
February 7, 2013 63 Comments
Technology is truly amazing. We have the ability to see our unborn babies, and even know their gender, months before their births!
When I was pregnant with our daughter, I knew I wanted to find out what she was as soon as I could! I wanted to shop for cute clothes, decorate her room, etc. I was also very sure and hopeful that she was a boy, and I desired to see that I was right! Haha, how wrong I was! See, as a girl with three sisters and no brothers, I wanted something different than what I’d always been around, but God gave us a sweet girl instead. 
And I am so grateful that He did.
With our older son, I was anxious to find out his gender because our daughter really wanted a girl/didn’t want a boy (lol) and we felt we should give her time to prepare if it were a dreaded boy! 
She actually only had disappointment for about 5 minutes and then she was absolutely fine. She was 3 years 8 months when he was born. I was thrilled with the news that the baby was a boy! I finally got to watch a baby boy change into a man over the years – how wild!!
With our youngest, I was fully prepared to wait until he was born to find out, but our two much older children by this time, wanted to know what he was SOOO bad, and we decided to go ahead and find out. We were all again super happy! (Of course we were - boy or girl, we’re always super happy!)
If we have another baby, I would like to wait to find out whether it’s a he or a she at their birth, and my husband fully supports this decision. I just don’t know if I can convince the kids that it’s a good idea. Or will *I* even be able to withstand the waiting?
What do you think?
Did you find out the gender of your child(ren) before they were born?
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About Valerie
Yes, we found out. I am too much of a control freak to be able to wait for something like that!!
I felt that way too but I think I have it out of my system now that I’ve gotten to do it three times! lol But, to be honest, I am not sure how well I’ll be able to wait.
We’ll see.
I wasn’t in such a hurry to find out with my first one…I *enjoyed* that pregnancy a lot more (err…no other kids to care for yet! LOL!), but when I was pregnant with my second I was SO IMPATIENT to find out. If we had a third, I don’t think I’d go in for all the appointments they want you to keep. They stress Hubby out and are mostly a waste of time, but I might consider going just for the ultrasound when it was time. For now Hubby is not convinced we should have any more kids, so we’ll have to wait and see what the Lord does.
I went to all the appointments but I declined many of the tests and procedures.
Best of both worlds, I guess. 
I look forward to seeing how the Lord leads you and us!! xx
I am 19 weeks pregnant right now and I have an ultrasound in a couple of days. I can’t wait to find out what we are having. It doesn’t matter to me if we have a boy or a girl but I just need to know.
Ooh, so exciting!! I understand that “need” of knowing very well! Maybe it’s just that I’ve gotten to do it three times, but I don’t feel like I’d HAVE to know next time.
Congrats to you! Can’t wait to hear what you’re having!! 
Yes! It is just too exciting too wait…which probably went against everything I am trying to teach my children about patience and waiting. Do as I say, not as I do, right?!
Haha, that’s true! We teach patience, don’t we, but then we’re offered something SOO awesome and it’s out the window! lol
Yep, just found out an hour ago that we’re expecting another girl!!!!
For me personally, it is a no-brainer; I don’t have the patience to wait if I can find out at no cost, no pain and no danger to the baby! Secondly, it’s all about practicality, I have a loft full of girl clothes and wanted to know if I needed to sell them quick to make space for boy stuff!
OH, YAY!!! How exciting! Congratulations on your second little sweetheart!
I will definitely want to know! My husband & I already have names picked out for our first few kids (that are not yet even conceived!). I LOVE preparing and planning for someone specific. I want to find out as much as I could! Are we planning for Nathanael’s arrival? or Eva’s arrival? (our first 2 names! yay!) If I know, then I can buy little dresses for her! Buy a blue snuggly blanket for him. You know? I want to prepare things that are for that specific kid, not just something that could work for any kid.
(Though some purchases will probably be more generic–like a crib that can be re-used for the next kid.)
I know what you mean! I was a planner too with my first two (with them being different genders). I was more relaxed with my third because I already had everything (pink and blue!) but it was still really exciting when we found out. I was able to envision my older son teaching him football, etc. <3 It's all so magical…
I haven’t had any offspring but I think I’d wait….it’d be a surprise!
The only advantage to knowing before hand would be you’re able to buy stuff in preparation but that’s just clothes. Cribs, strollers, car seats, etc. aren’t gender specific
Plus, at that age, a boy isn’t going to complain if you put a pink onesie on him (he might complain when he’s older and see’s a picture)
It was definitely a helpful thing to be able to buy girl/boy stuff beforehand, but moreso (for me) it made it possible to envision what life would be like. Would I have a daughter who would one day wear a wedding gown? Or would I have a son who might be the Quarterback like his grandfather? I just wanted to KNOW, but now that I’ve done it three times, I feel like I can relax and not know beforehand with our fourth (if we have a fourth, that is). Ultimately, I thin kthe decision has to be made when the situation comes up. I may feel differently when I’m 20 weeks along and have 20 more to go!!!
You’re the expert but ya, I guess it does depends on the person(s) involved at that moment
Was your grandfather a professional QB?
It was my dad, and no he was the QB on his football team. He didn’t go to college (went right to work at a Chrysler assembly plant) otherwise I’m sure he would’ve enjoyed playing in college too.
Joshua is REALLY good at both football and baseball. He loves them and can’t wait to play on teams when he’s older!
I wanted to know ASAP with all 3 of mine because I like to prepare ahead of time but I get why people want to find out at birth since there really aren’t that many “fun” surprises in life
I know, I see both sides too!
I would love to have that surprise at the birth, but I guess we’ll make the decision when the time comes!!
I was on the fence about finding out. But, the second we found out that little man was going to be a “little man”, my husband got super excited! I loved it!
Oh yeah, it makes it so much more real when you can say “he” or “she” – and even better, their name! I loved being able to envision how their likfe would be down the road (and I couldn’t do that with no gender)!! lol
I think my husband liked that he was going to have someone who could be just like him and they could be pals. We had girls names picked out early and easily but it took a long time to finally come up with little man’s full name.
Same here! We had (have) a girl’s name picked out, but we didn’t have anything for a boy! LOL We love the one we chose, though. Samuel Frederick <3 We both loved the name Samuel (Bible) and Frederick was my dad's middle name.
I love using family names. Little man’s middle name is my grandpa’s name. I wish they could have met before he passed away.
I always found out. To me, it broke the pregnancy into 2 parts. It gave us something to look forward to and let us start talking to him/her with the name we picked out before they were even born.
Oh yeah, I absolutely felt like there were two halves because of the u/s!
And we started calling them by their name and also being able to say he or she instead of “it”! That was the best!! 
I admire people who choose to wait, but nope, not me! I’m too much of a planner!
I’m a planner too (mentally and physically!) but I am hoping I can wait if we have a 4th so I can have that experience.
I only expected to get one ultrasound, but because they couldn’t see all the chambers of his heart, I had to go in two-three weeks later. I would absolutely do it again. I think having one (or two) to determine that the baby is a-okay and the sex, is really helpful for me. It was helpful as a first time mom because it felt like I had the Loch Ness Monster inside me, and not…a human baby
I won’t do the ultrasound-every-month, though, like some OB’s try to convince us to do, unless there’s a complication or I’m high risk or something!
Haha, the Loch Ness? Too funny! I’ve heard baby compared to alien on several occasions, but never Loch Ness!
I had 3 ultrasounds with all three of my kids. Next time I am limiting it to the one at 20ish weeks for the check of organs, etc. If we decide to find out the gender, we’ll do it then.
You know, my husband convinced me to wait and not find out with our first, because he said that there are truly only a few surprises anymore in life. But with the second I couldn’t wait! I had to know if I needed to buy girl clothes or just use the hand me downs!
My husband really enjoyed finding out all three times, but he is a relaxed sort of fellow, and could easily be patient and find out at the birth. It’s ME that could be a problem!
Would you want to find out if you have another, now that you have one of each?
I thought about waiting with this pregnancy. (#3 and we already have one of each.) My biggest opponents on waiting are the grandparents who are itching to start shopping. I think we will have our sonogram be private this time and do a big gender reveal party. Then there will still be an element of surprise.
That’s a brilliant idea! Best of both worlds.
Congrats! How far along are you?
I am 7 weeks. So I still have a LONG way to go.
Aww, well that’s farther along than me!! LOL We’re ttc!
I would want to know! I’m too practical to let it be a surprise because I would want to start buying clothes, preparing the nursery etc. but if I ever have more then two kids then maybe third can be a surprise! Haha.
That’s how I felt with #3 especially with having a girl and boy already, I was more relaxed with Samuel.
We left it as a surprise until she arrived! I had a feeling that it was a girl for the majority of the pregnancy. It wasn’t until the end that I had feelings of ‘boy’. What a great experience not knowing was!
That’s awesome that you were able to wait. I think it would be so fun to find out at their birth! Of course, that ultrasound is pretty awesome too!!
Both have their advantages!
It was fun guessing and having others guess! But the planner in me was going crazy!! Gender neutral items are really hard to find!!
I was *somewhat* fortunate to have a number of ultrasounds during the pregnancy (I was high risk) so the technicians tried guessing too!
Oh, I bet that would be fun to have others guess the whole time! Multiple ultrasounds would drive me crazy, though, if I wasn’t wanting to know!! So tempting! O_O
It was especially tempting when the husband wasn’t there! My mother would come with me and would do everything she could to find out
Who knows if we’ll do the same for the next one…we’ll figure that out when/if that day comes…
Haha, my hubby would be the strong one in our group, I’m sure! Shoot, the more I think about this, the more I’m sure I won’t be able to wait!
I don’t have will power when it comes to having a chocolate bar in the house…I am sure that it will be tough to go through another pregnancy with no idea!! I may need a whole case or truck load of chocolate bars just to stay calm
LOL!
Yes, I found out the gender of my son before he was born – but I didn’t really have much of a say in it . We adopted him at birth, and they had already told us that it was going to be a boy.
I know very little about adoption…is it common to be told what the gender of the baby is, or can parents sometimes choose, or is it all up to the agency? I never thought about that. I guess it would also depend on if your were adopting an older child. ? This is an interesting conversation!
We think so too. But we’re trying not to get our hopes up too high. Theree is still apossibility that things won’t work out. But yes, we’re excited!
Aww, yeah I am sure that is so hard not to get your hopes up too high! I feel that way about trying to conceive…super hopeful and then bam, nothing!
Yes, it’s hard. I believe the best thing any of us can do is to trust in God, knowing that He knows what is best. If we place all of our cares in His hands, we shouldn’t be dissapointed with how it turns out. (Yes I know – easier said than done.)
Well, in our case we went through an adoption lawyer rather than an agency. Someone we knew knew of someone who was expecting, but could not keep the baby. When we heard of this we were very excited, as we had been trying to adopt for 8 years. So our lawyer worked with us and the birthmother had already had an ultrasound, so they told us it was a boy. (It really didn’t matter, we were just so excited about finally becoming parents!) I was 32 at the time. Ten years have passed and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Our Phillip is our blessing. Now, God willing, there is a good chance that we’ll be adopting again soon. We’ve been in contact with our lawyer, we’ve been told of someone who is expecting, but cannot keep the child. We’re very hopeful at this point. Nothing is ‘set in stone’ as they say. If the state decides to step in and put the baby in the foster care system, then we’re back at square one. So, keep us in your prayers!
That sounds promising!!!
We found out with both of them, but after finding out the Josh wasn’t a girl (I really wanted a girl!) I actually went through a period of depression. After that I said that if we had another I didn’t want to know because once they get here, you don’t care what sex they are. I can’t imagine not having boys now. I love it!
I know what you mean!! Like I said, I really wanted a boy, and I actually cried, out of disappoinment, when we found out that she was a she at the ultrasound! If I had just given birth to her, I am sure I wouldn’t have been disappointed.
Number 1 we HAD to find out!! I wanted the clothes bought, the room decorated … everything organised!! We made the gender very public by about 30 weeks as I was sick of getting unisex gifts knowing I had a little girl growing inside me. My mum was also desperate to find out!!! With number 2 there wasnt the urgency to find out. My husband and I had discussed getting the ultrasound tech to write down the gender and then we would look together later … We caved as soon as she asked if we wanted to know!!!! We couldn’t help it!! My 22nd pregnancy I found hard work with a young toddler so I think knowing helped me bond with the little girl inside me in the busy chaos of toddler-hood! We would like a 3rd and I don’t think I want to find out (although we’ll most likely have a 4 year old then who may not be happy about not knowing!!). There is an expectation with 2 girls that we will desperately want a boy – honestly it doesn’t bother me in the slightest and I think I may actually prefer e thought of 3 girls but I know my husband wants a boy. I can’t imagine ever having a boy so I’m worried there may be disappointment from my husband at the ultrasound – that would break my heart! If you wait for that moment when they are put in your arms then your heart melts regardless!!
I felt that same urgency with #1 too.
Oh, my husband and I wouldn’t be able to have a piece of paper with the answer written on it for long!! I would cave super fast! haha I don’t think it’s right for people to assume you’d “want” either gender! I certainly didn’t fit the mold to want a son so badly. My mom, on the other hand, only wanted girls. Each person desires differently, based on many things, I’m sure. If you love the idea of 3 girls, I think that’s awesome! Being one of four girls, I can tell you, it’s a lot of girlie fun! 
Do you have siblings?
I Tried to hold out, but eventually it was too much. I had to know. I needed to know. I was going to DIE if I didn’t know. ( not really but you get the point) And for weeks my son would evade us by crossing his legs and sitting literally in yoga style lotus pose, or rolling over on his stomach or simply giving us his hiney. Eventually we caught him during a sleeping moment and there it was!
Hi there!
I know, it is SO hard to wait even just until your ultrasound!! I can’t imagine thinking you were going to find out on a given day and then baby not cooperating! 
He gave everyone but my OB a fit. He did not want to be bothered, I think if he could have run – he would have. I envy the women who’s child cooperates without a worry or care. With him they literally had to hold my stomach one way, turn the table another way.. I felt like I was playing twister, the maternity version.
Haha! That could be a new game, “Twister: Maternity Edition”! LOL Perfect for baby showers!
We didn’t find out with my son. I LOVED the anticipation! It was such a fun surprise. I think with our second, I would be more inclined to find out — but then the pressure’s on to have a girl, so maybe we would want to wait just so friends and family aren’t disappointed if it’s another boy. Once the baby arrives they will just be happy to meet him/her. That’s my theory
That’s great!
You know, it’s a shame how people respond to double genders (having more than one girl or boy). I have 3 sisters and no brothers so my dad heard comments ALL the time! And he would’ve loved having a son so I’m sure the comments weren’t helpful. :/ I know moms of all boys (and all girls) and they are all HAPPY – they’re not lacking because of a missing gender!
Anyway, I think that’s wonderful you were able to wait and I hope I can do the same. We’ll see!