Surprise, it’s a Baby! On Finding Out the Sex of Your Unborn Child

I’m getting annoyed with people who look down their nose at Daddy in Training and me because we fully intend to find out the sexes of our babies as soon as humanly possible. “But don’t you want it to be a surprise?” they ask disdainfully.

As if we won’t be surprised whenever it is that we find out? It’s not like finding out on August 30 (our scheduled anatomy scan) won’t be surprising. “Oh, well, that’s boring.” No, of course not. We’re choosing to be surprised now instead of being surprised at birth. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Now if we wait to find out the sex and it turns out that we deliver two puppies instead of two babies, well, that will be a big surprise. But I’m pretty sure it’s two babies, and the sexes are just the details. I don’t think I will have any bigger surprise in life than finding out it was twins (even though I was already certain when the doctor confirmed, for reasons I can’t explain).

Knowing now versus knowing in 4.5 months whether it’s two boys, two girls, or one of each is not going to kill the surprise factor in my pregnancy. I’ve had enough uncertainty the last few months. Will I gain weight? Will I ever stop puking? Will I be able to eat normally again? Will I survive this pregnancy without permanent damage to my health? Those are enough unanswered questions for me.

I want to know who these little parasites are that have taken over my body. I want to think of them as real people with names and characteristics and personalities and genitals,  so I can avoid hating them for — let’s face it — ruining everything the last few months, and that’s a lot easier to do if I know who I’m dealing with: boys, girls, or both. I want every opportunity to bond with these babies, which I think will be harder than it would have been had this been an uncomplicated pregnancy.

So give me the anatomy scan! And stop acting like it’s not still a surprise if I find out now. It is. Trust me.