Pink or Blue? My Gender Scan

Yesterday was our much-anticipated 20 week scan.

I didn’t really have my head around the whole ‘we’re having a baby’ concept for the first scan at 13 weeks AT ALL, so although it was an amazing experience - and it began the bonding process that I needed - I knew that this one would be far more emotional.

I was also really keen to find out the gender. A lot of people have very strong feelings on this. Some people think they ‘know’ it will be one or the other, based on all kinds of weird things like:

• The shape of the bump
• Where you’re putting on weight
• Whether you had morning sickness or not
• If you crave sweet or savoury food
• Certain counts in your blood and what number they are

Do any of these ‘predictions’ work? I can comprehensively say now, no they do not!



All my signs pointed different ways. The bump shape said boy. The cravings said girl. The morning sickness (or lack of) said boy. The blood counts said girl.

I think that we’re all desperate to know as soon as possible and just looking for signs that aren’t there!

I clung to the ones I wanted to believe and ignored those that didn’t fit, or tried to explain them
away.

I was convinced it was a girl. Based on what exactly, I have no idea. But I was so sure.

We know now that we’re expecting a boy!

I nearly fell off the examining table when they told me. I’ve been calling my bump ‘she’ for the past three weeks!

I just could not believe I’d been so wrong. So much for mother’s intuition – clearly
mine is faulty…

Must admit I was quite taken aback for an hour or so.

It’s like I had to re-imagine all the things I’d been thinking. Almost like I had to ‘let go’ of the vision of the future I’d had and reprocess it.

The funny thing is, before I started this whole parenting lark, I was convinced I wanted a boy. And then when my little niece came along, and we developed a lovely little bond, it kind of swayed me and
changed my mind.

But there’s no way a healthy, beautiful baby boy is anything other than an absolute privilege and a joy, and I am so looking forward to all the adventures we’ll have together.

It also makes choosing a name and things a lot more straightforward – there’s only a few boys names
I’ve really connected with, whereas I had lots of choices for a girl.

The best part has been the utter sea change in my emotions, from feeling strange and disconnected at the start, to now feeling really overwhelmed with love and happiness for this little chap I haven’t
even met.

This time, I did cry a bit at the scan, so I do have a heart buried in there somewhere.

It was just stunning the level of detail – seeing his little heart beating, his individual ribs and tiny fingers, the shape of his tiny nose…there’s no way you could experience that and not feel a total connection.

I was so worried that it wouldn’t really be true about motherly feelings ‘coming naturally’, but it has worked that way for me.

I did not class myself as maternal before getting pregnant, but its happening now, without a doubt – and its given me a tiny taste of the flood of emotions I’m going to feel holding my tiny son for the first time when he arrives.

Seb was really touched as well, and his mum actually came along as well this time which was so lovely, and sat in the room while we were scanned.

My mother in law is a very special lady, and with my own mum being all the way down in Cornwall, I do count on her to act as my mum and be there for all the important stuff in my life, so it was so great to share it with her.

Of course, now I know its going to be boy I can go full steam ahead with the shopping and the nursery decorating!

It seems a long time to go between now and birth (even though time is flying by), so I’m wondering about doing a 3d scan.

Has anyone had any experience doing this? Would you recommend it?