Gender Reveal

Since we found out that I was pregnant, I wanted to do a gender reveal party.  I wanted to invite all our friends and family so everyone found out at one time what we were having.  I wanted everyone to share in the good news - b/c either way, boy or girl, having another baby is such a blessing.  I got some really cute ideas online and couldn't wait to do it.  Mark and I knew the odds of us having another girl were very high so we knew we would probably have another girl.  We also agreed that while having a son would be awesome, another girl would probably be so much easier.

 

Unfortunately things changed after we went to our 12 week ultrasound.  The dr told us he thought we were having a girl.   I was still very excited but Mark was having a harder time with it.  He really wanted a boy and he knew that since this was our last baby his hopes of having a boy were gone.  It bothered me at first b/c I feel like God has a plan for us and He obviously thought we needed another girl.  I trust that God is doing the right thing for us.  We have two girls and I can't imagine not having them or them not being girls!  Now would I be bummed if we already had two boys and found out the third was another boy?  Of course but it wouldn't be the end of the world.  I think most moms want a girl and most dads want a boy.  So I understood how Mark could be a little bummed at first.  What bothered me was that I am so worried and stressed out about having a HEALTHY baby, so who cares if it's a boy or girl as long as it's healthy.  I was a nervous wreck going into the ultrasound b/c I was worried something would be wrong with the baby.  It seemed so ridiculous to me to only concentrate on the gender. 

As a mom, I am protective over my baby when there is disappointment over its gender.  The hardest part is when my daughters heard the comments people made of having a boy b/c they've wondered what's wrong with having girls.  They are at the age right now where they hear and absorb everything, Avery especially.  She's had a hard adjustment hearing all the boy talk and doesn't understand what's wrong with having girls.  She hoped this baby was a boy only b/c she heard Mark say we needed a boy in our family.  She also told me on different occasions that she wished she was a boy herself, and cried when I told her that we were probably having a girl, b/c she said Daddy wanted a boy.  It broke my heart b/c I want her to be proud of who she is and not wish she was something else  Especially at six years old!

We didn't tell everyone about the 12 week ultrasound b/c we wanted to be absolutely sure before spreading the news.  My OB said it was too early to tell for sure if it was 100% a girl and it was best to wait before assuming anything.  Mark started feeling better about it being a girl and realized it was probably better for us if we had one  He told me how he was actually kinda hoping it was a girl and would be better than happy with another daughter. He's become really close to our girls and loves spending time with them.  I think he's realizing that little girls love their Daddy and that he'll always be a hero in their eyes.

When we found out it was in fact a girl, I became a nervous wreck.  Reality hit me that I was about to have three girls - how could I be a good mom to THREE girls?  I started to freak out a little and called Mark at work.  He actually calmed ME down.  He reminded me how much fun it is going to be and how much we already love having little girls.  I felt better after talking to him.  And I quickly realized I would have probably been freaking out more if it were a boy b/c I have no clue how to raise a boy.  I think I just got overwhelmed with the thought of having another baby period.  I will admit that part of me was a little sad that I'll never know what it's like to have a son.  But I LOVE having girls so I get to fall in love with ANOTHER little girl! 

Before we found out the gender, I bought several boxes of pink sparklers and we planned to tell the girls by lighting the sparklers.  We decided not to do the big reveal party, but we did invite a couple neighbors over to watch us tell the girls (they found out at the same time too).  I made a strawberry cake which ended up being a disaster.  I should have stuck with what I knew and should not have tried to get fancy.  I had to cover it with sprinkles just to cover up the pink cake crumbs on the outside of the white icing.  We all dressed up in the color we thought or hoped the baby would be.  Mark and I decided before the ultrasound that he would wear blue and I would wear pink.  The girls both wanted a brother so they wore blue.  I was a little worried how their reaction would be once they found out it was a girl.

The girls didn't really understand that a pink flame meant it was a girl, so we had to tell them they were having a sister.  They were actually excited!  Everyone was pretty much shocked b/c everyone thought it was a boy.  Mark had a long talk with the girls about how excited he was to have another daughter b/c he loved them two so much and couldn't wait to have another girl to love.  He also explained to them that he is able to do everything with them that he would do with a boy and he's ok being the only boy in the house.  The talk really worked b/c after that they admitted they really wanted a sister but just said they wanted a brother b/c they thought that's what Daddy wanted.  I think they would have been happy either way!

This was right after they found out - they were all smiiles!