Gender Surprise!

I must admit I was terrified on the morning of November 21, 2018. My genetic testing appointment was scheduled for that afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving. At age 32, I'm not yet high risk, but the doctor offered non-invasive first-trimester screening for genetic abnormalities like Down Syndrome and scheduled us for the High Risk Pregnancy Center testing location at our last appointment. Hubby has an aunt with Down Syndrome, and the screening involved only blood work and an ultrasound--another chance to see Baby V up close!--so we agreed. But that didn't mean I was going to be calm as I waited through an entire half day of work wondering if the child inside me was okay. It had been three weeks since my last ultrasound when I last got a chance to see the baby. For all I knew something could have happened unrelated to genetics in that time. I'd taken an airplane to Texas, visited Mexico, ate bad food, gotten a subconjunctival hemorrhage in both eyes, and caught a slight cold. What if one of those things had affected the baby?

It was a long an arduous wait to be seen by the doctor. My appointment was scheduled for 2:30, but they told me to arrive at 2pm to fill out the paperwork--which literally took all 30 minutes to complete. Thankfully, that gave Hubby time to arrive and join me. The bad news was we didn't finish the appointment until 4:25. But the good news? Because they were running behind, they decided to do my ultrasound first instead of having me talk to the genetic counselor.

This ultrasound room was bigger than my OB-GYN's, with a screen hanging above the bed that already had my name and date of birth on it. Fancy technology that allows moms to see their babies without having to crane their neck to the side where the ultrasound tech is. Hubby and I had to wait some more in this room, but when the tech arrived she was super friendly, and set me up for my long-awaited ultrasound.

More good news! The nuchal translucency screening came back normal--low risk for genetic disorders like Down Syndrome as the fluid at the back of Baby's neck was normal and our tech finally saw the baby's nasal bone after several attempts to get Baby in a better position. During these attempts, Hubby and I were glued to the screen. Baby looked like a real baby! Less like a gummy bear, as it had last time. I spotted the heart flicker on the screen and the tech assured me that it was the heart, beating at a normal rate of 166 bpm.

The tech did more observations, spotting both arms and measuring the baby's length. We told her in advance that if there was any chance of determining the gender this early, my husband didn't want to know (but I did!). She said that while it was still early, she may be able to make a guess. I was excited to hear what a trained ultrasound tech might guess based on the images. When it came time to check Baby's legs, she had Hubby turn away. She moved the wand, inspected, and then mouthed confidently to me, "Boy."

I was giddy with the knowledge--I wanted either gender (honestly, I wanted both) and I wanted to know so I could start picturing the future more clearly. When she gave Hubby the "all clear" to turn back around I couldn't stop grinning. After a few minutes he said, "Oookay, I have to know." Though his original plan had been to wait until birth to learn the gender, the excitement and anticipation was clearly too much for us both. He looked to the tech but she let me tell the news. I took my husband's hand and wrapped it close to me as I laid on the table. I told him that based on the tech's guess, we were having a BOY!

Immediately Hubby started crying, which made me cry, and we both cried together with joy. It couldn't have been a more perfect moment--no gender reveal party needed. The tech proceeded to explain where her guess came from (anatomy features pointing upward rather than straight across as they would have been for a girl) and said it was an "educated guess" that was about 85% sure.

The ultrasound ended and we thanked the tech as she left the room. The appointment wasn't over--more waiting for the genetic counselor and doctor--but we had enough time to ourselves in the room to gush over the news, call Hubby's parents, and call my parents. One reason Hubby wanted a boy so badly was because he knew his own father wanted someone to carry on his last name. As the only son, Hubby knew the responsibility fell to him to keep the name alive (both his sisters changed their names after marriage). And of course, a daughter may choose to change her last name as well. But this boy would have our last name for life.

Our boy.

The rest of the appointment passed in a blur. Some family history questions, some blood drawn. The best part besides the wonderful gender reveal experience, was the fact that High Risk Pregnancy Center texts you photos from your ultrasound! Rather than trying to snap a blurry photo of a screen with our phones, the tech was able to instantly send us keepsake photos and videos, including images of the gender anatomy and videos of the heartbeat flickering.

What a wonderful gift to start the holiday season as we head into Thanksgiving. I sure know what I'm thankful for this year!