Hellobee

Early in our TTC days Mr. P really wanted to be team green. I was unconvinced. I’m a planner and couldn’t imagine not knowing if I was going to have a boy or a girl. As time went by I decided I would be ok being team green and he would be ok finding out. We both wanted to make each other happy, especially because we didn’t know if I would ever be pregnant. However, once I actually got pregnant Mr. P surprised me by saying he really wanted to find out and wanted to know as soon as possible. I felt the same way! All thoughts of being team green went out the window.

Noninvasive genetic testing like Harmony and Maternit21 has become pretty common. I think an added bonus of these tests is you get to find out the sex of your baby at the end of the first trimester. At my first OB appointment my doctor asked if I would be interested. At the end of my appointment my OB’s nurse called the Maternit21 lab to order the test for me, but was told that I wasn’t eligible because I conceived through embryo donation. They said the different blood types between me and the donor parents could cause false results. Mr. P and I were a little bummed that we couldn’t have the screening because we would have liked to know that the baby was healthy and that we would have to wait to find out the sex.

My mom and Mr. P’s mom both live out of state. My mom visits at least once a year and this year she scheduled her visit for the end of April. I was looking at the calendar and saw that I would be 16 weeks when she was in town. That got my wheels spinning. I talked to Mr. P and asked him what he thought about booking an elective ultrasound while she was in town and all of us going to find out the sex of the baby together. He thought it was a fantastic idea! I also called his mom and asked if she could come visit for a couple days. All I had to say was that I wanted us to do some baby things together and she was on board. Mr. P and I decided not to tell them what we were doing and let it be a surprise. I booked the scan about a month in advance and impatiently counted down the days. Mr. P and I had a lot of fun speculating whether the baby was a boy or a girl based on old wives’ tales. He thought girl and I was leaning towards boy.

My scan was scheduled for a Monday afternoon. Friday afternoon I received a call letting me know that my appointment was cancelled because a training tech had broken the ultrasound machine! The lady I spoke to couldn’t even reschedule me because she didn’t know when her machine would be repaired. I freaked out and hopped on Google to find a new location. I found a place a couple of miles from my home. They had a option to schedule appointments online and were completely booked Monday, but had an opening for Sunday. Crisis averted! However, after I booked I noticed on the website that they didn’t have Sunday hours. I called to confirm my appointment, but they were already closed for the day. I felt pretty desperate. Our moms were going to be in town at the same time for only 48 hours. I didn’t want to leave one of them out. I was texting with a friend during this saga and she found the company’s Facebook page and suggested I send a message that way. I sent a quick message and crossed my fingers. A couple hours later I got a reply. There was a glitch in the website that allowed me to book a Sunday appointment, but they were going to accommodate me. I was so grateful.

On Sunday afternoon we all loaded up and drove 5 minutes to the ultrasound clinic. I sipped on a small glass of orange juice on the way. When we arrived we finally told our moms what we were doing and they were so excited. We walked in and were taken back right away. I thanked the tech profusely for coming in on her day off. She had a nice set up with comfortable chairs and a big screen tv. Once the baby’s image popped up on the screen I could see the orange juice had done its job. The baby was moving all over the place and wouldn’t stay still. The legs were also firmly crossed and covering exactly what we were trying to see. The tech bounced the ultrasound wand on my stomach pretty forcefully to get the baby to change positions and got several nice profile pictures of the face in the mean time. Baby wouldn’t move the legs though! I was getting discouraged. After all the planning and scrambling we weren’t going to get to find out. After about 25 minutes the tech was getting ready to end the session and have me come back. She tried one last time and said “got it!” and quickly snapped a picture.

“It’s a girl,” she said and everyone cheered. She pulled the image up and showed us how she knew and told us what it would look like if it was a boy. She handed me a CD with the pictures and I thanked her again before leaving. We went with our moms to a baby store and we all bought a girly outfit. Then we called our siblings and grandparents to share the news. We also took a picture to post on social media.

It was so special to share that moment with our moms. Since they both live far away we aren’t able to share much of the pregnancy and baby prep with them. I’m glad that this was something we got to do together. I don’t think any of us will forget it.

Mr. P are so excited to be having a little girl. This will be the fourth generation in my family that the firstborn gives birth to a girl. My mom, grandmother, great-grandmother and I are all the oldest child. I’m glad I get to carry on the tradition.