Are You Trying for a Boy?

When I was pregnant 7 years ago, everyone was sure my baby was going to be a boy, especially me. I didn’t gain weight anywhere except for my stomach and my stomach was huge. My ultrasound showed that I had a long baby but it was too early to detect the gender. My dad kept telling me that my son would be a professional basketball player because he was a long baby. I will admit I even started thinking of boy names. When it came time for my ultrasound to detect the sex of my baby, I was so anxious. I kept looking at the screen not understanding what I am looking at but the doctor kept telling me that my baby has their hands covering their private area. After sitting there a long time, the doctor suggested that I try going to the bathroom to see if that would make a difference. I went to the bathroom and silently did jumping jacks hoping that would make the difference. It actually did, I was told I am having a girl. I was happy I mean the most important thing is that your fetus is healthy. However, I was disappointed with my instincts. I really believed my baby was going to be a boy.

A year and four months later I fell pregnant again. I know it is healthier for the baby if you wait 18 months before you try for another, but my Persian cat was recently killed after being attacked by a possum. He slipped out one night and was browsing through the backyard in our new home. Long story short, who knew there were possums in the area. Longer story short, I had my cat for 12 years and I wasn’t thinking straight for a long time afterwards.

I definitely believed my second fetus was a boy. I started watching football games during my pregnancy and liked it! Football games used to be just background noise when my husband was watching a game. During this pregnancy, I was intrigued by the sport and how to play the game. I even knew some of the players names. I didn’t know what position they played but I felt proud being able to label them offensive or defensive. My obstetrician knew what I wanted and thought my baby was another girl. He alluded to fact that it may be another girl in the first ultrasound. He saw the disappointment in my face when he mentioned it and corrected himself saying you can’t tell for sure until a few months later in my pregnancy. I choose to believe him because I wanted to believe him. The day I was told I was having another girl I cried really hard. I was happy the baby was healthy but I knew I didn’t want more children because of the expense and work devoted to being a good mom.

When my younger daughter, Zara was six months old I appreciated that I had another girl. I was able to reuse some baby items even though I donated most of the clothes being so sure my second baby would be a boy. I also liked that buying clothes for girls is so much more fun than buying clothes for boys. I had to buy clothes for friends who have had boys and there wasn’t much of a selection compared to girls. You were looking at an animal print, train, bat or strips in boy colors. Less “aww” moments when browsing through the selection. When Zara turned two years old, I was so blessed and happy that I had a second girl. They share the same clothes, like to play with the same toys and more importantly, like to play with each other. I am not making friends with every mom for play dates. Now, my kids are content playing with each other for hours on end with the same girly toys.

I am asked on a regular basis if I am going to have another baby or try for a boy and I nicely say no thinking to myself how grateful I am for having two healthy girls who are each other’s best friend.

Did you know what gender you were having when you were pregnant?

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