Week 17: The big reveal

When you’re pregnant everyone wants to know if the bun in your oven is a boy or a girl. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question since the news of my pregnancy first began to spread. I had one very sweet but persistent client who literally asked me every week if I knew yet, and every time I’d smile and say, “not yet.” It’s no wonder the gender reveal concept really took off the way it did.
After finding out we were pregnant, several family members and friends asked us if we were going to do a gender reveal, and I must admit that I wasn’t too keen on the idea. Sure they can be fun and cute, but was it really necessary? Despite my reluctance, it was actually my husband, Blake, who pushed for it. I’ve made it clear that I do not want a co-ed baby shower, so I think for him it was a chance to get to celebrate the joy and excitement of our first baby with the entire family, men included. It’s hard to argue with that point, so I gave in.
Blake and I decided to host a very casual Mexican fiesta themed gender reveal party on the beach. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and our small gathering grew to about 50 people. We also had to have a location change at the last minute. Even so, we pulled it all together in the end. For the reveal, I liked the confetti balloon pop, but Blake thought a piñata filled with blue or pink candy would really up the anticipation. We compromised and planned to do both.
When it came time for the big reveal, we lined all the kids up youngest to oldest and let them each have a couple cracks at the piñata. The entire party gathered around as close as possible, anxious for the candy to spill out. As my husband predicted, it was kind of fun watching all the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles cheering the kids on, encouraging them to swing harder. It didn’t take long for our little piñata to break open, and just like that the entire party erupt in excitement as pink candy littered the ground.
I knew our family and friends would be thrilled to learn the news, but I didn’t expect so much emotion—and there was a lot of emotion. It started with a lot of screaming followed by happy tears and hugs all around. As I saw the pure joy and raw emotion on everyone’s faces, I realized just how important this reveal was not only to my husband, but to everyone who loved us. Even though I had been initially hesitant to hop on board the gender reveal train, it was all worth it just to see how much our baby was already loved.
After the commotion died down a little, it was time to pop my confetti balloon. The balloon was basically just a photo op at this point, but I really wanted something concrete to remember the day. We got some fun video of the piñata in all its glory, but I wanted pretty photos to capture our happiness in that moment. When we were first discussing which would come first—the piñata or the balloon—I agreed with Blake that the piñata would be more fun and engaging, but was secretly sulking that it would steal the balloon’s thunder. The photos of our balloon pop came out beautifully and the pink confetti raining down on us made the perfect ending to a magical day. I’m so happy we did things the way we did.