Week 20: We're having a …

It’s no secret that I strongly opposed finding out the sex of our baby going into this pregnancy. I liked the element of surprise and the romance of guessing until the end. Hearing my husband announce whether we had a son or daughter as he laid eyes on our sweet Roo for the first time was the perfect way to find out, in my mind.
That all went out the window when I tried to find gender-neutral things, like clothes and sheets and even bibs. (Okay, so learning that Arthur wanted to know before the birth because it would help him form a bond with our son or daughter was the real clincher.) Our 20-week appointment was on a Friday, and the days preceding it were reminiscent of waiting for Christmas to arrive. I wanted to rip open my present and find out!
Arthur and I decided to make a day of it. We both took off work and planned to celebrate downtown after the appointment—thank goodness the ultrasound was scheduled for the morning. And even better luck that we were taken in a half hour early—more time with Roo—and had the same ultrasound technician as last time—more familiarity and fun.
The first half of the ultrasound was spent accounting for Roo’s anatomy—10 fingers, 10 toes, four chambers of the heart, two kidneys, one liver, etc. Our baby is the epitome of healthy, which is always the greatest relief during these checkups. Arthur kept making comments about the baby’s sex throughout. “I think I have a guess,” or “Never mind, now I think I know,” which was much more of a guess than he cared to venture before the appointment. It maddened me because I was still on the fence and had no definitive clue either way.
Finally, when the baby wasn’t being cooperative for more close-up shots of the heart, the ultrasound tech said, “Well I guess we’ll look at the sex now.” As she started getting closer to the money shot and even typed on the screen “It’s a … ,” she stopped and said, “Oh wait, just one more thing,” and took another measurement. Arthur was literally on the edge of his seat.
For real now, the wand glided over the appropriate area. I was told previously that I would be able to tell right away, but I wasn’t sure. So far, I had to believe Arthur and the ultrasound tech when they told me a certain feature was a foot, a hand, or the profile. But there was no mistaking this view… We’re having a boy!
Arthur wore a smile for the rest of the day. He told me as we walked out of the doctor’s office how happy he was that we found out and how much more real this was all becoming. While he could easily picture himself parenting a child of either sex, his daydreams were coming more into focus. And with that conversation, the decision to find out early was worth it for me.