To find out the gender or not????

Tomorrow is my level II!!

I originally wanted to be team green but now I am having doubts.

I know this has been asked a million times, but any advice to go one way or another????

I am kind of changing my mind because athought I am sure the surprise at birth is AMAZING I feel like I would enjoy pregnancy more if I knew. I think it would be easier to bond with the baby knowing.

As always, thanks for your input everyone!

To find out the gender or not????

We found out with our first and it was definitely helpful. We were able to decorate the nursery and have all the clothes we needed. I also didn't want to get a ton of yellow and green clothes at my shower although I did register for all the big things in neutral colors. We did a green nursery with pink and green accents so I would have green sheets and changing pad covers, etc for the future. It definitely made it a little easier to picture life with a new baby once I knew the gender.

Now with our second we're team green. I really was never even tempted to find out bc we're so distracted with other things. We're using the same nursery so we'll only have a few things to change if it's a boy (curtains, crib skirt, rug). It is harder to really wrap my brain around this baby and I think not knowing the gender is part of that. I still think it will be a lot of fun to be surprised and I'm sure we'll adjust once he or she is here. I wouldn't change either of our decisions about finding out or not.

Re: To find out the gender or not????

To me, there are so few surprises in life and I'm enjoying the games and the speculation. I feel like it doesn't really matter either way and it just gives us that much more to look forward to at that big moment!

Its SUCH a personal decision though. I totally get wanting to find out and be able to identify with the baby earlier and plan.

Re: To find out the gender or not????

Don't do it
We really did not get much in the way of stereotypical gender neutral stuff (thousands of yellow/green outfits, etc.). Having certain things gender neutral is a GOOD thing in case you later have a child of the opposite sex - like carseat, stroller, swing, bouncy seat.
Our nursery is gender neutral and neither yellow nor green. There are so many other options out there, especially now with the benefit of pinterest, etc. There are pics of mine in my album.
It is SUCH AN AMAZING SURPRISE. So much so that we're doing it again.

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I vote no. It was such a great surprise having the doctor announce it when my two were born.

Re: To find out the gender or not????

We are doing team green this time. With our first we found out and though it was nice to know, I think it will be more exciting/special to wait till he or she is born to find out this time!!! Its going to be such an awesome surprise

To find out the gender or not????

We found out, but that's because both myself and DH are a little crazy with regards to being prepared for things. I also feel like it's helped both of us bond with him a little bit by calling him "son", baby boy, etc, and I know for DH, it's a big deal that our first is a son (DH is Chinese, the first of male of his generation, first to carry on the family name, and this is the first of this generation to carry on the family name, so it's a really big deal). Also, it's helped so that we can really be prepared with a name, which, just over 4 weeks to go and we are still on the fence about.

Re: To find out the gender or not????

I found out with my DS mainly because i'm impatient- but, I still felt like it was a surprise finding out that it was a boy. Plus its still a surprise the day of delivery when you finally get to meet your LO and see what he/she looks like, thats JMO!

To find out the gender or not????

crashing, enjoy the surprise, like a poster stated above, so few can be found in life, but this you have CONTROL over.

just my opinion,:)

Re: To find out the gender or not????

We did not find out with our first but EVERYONE told me I was having a boy, so I felt like I kind of knew already.... However, it was still awesome in the delivery room waiting for the MD to announce it...


This time around, we are having twins (this Friday!! AHHHHH), so we found out what we were having so that we could be as prepared as possible with the room, clothes, etc....


Not going to lie, I feel like the thrill is partially gone. If I had to do it all over again, I think I would want to be team green again....I liked it better.... and I LOVED seeing everyones reaction when we told them!!

GOOD LUCK!!

To find out the gender or not????

If you really don't care about having everything one specific color don't find out. I was team green for my first and it was amazing to hear them say its a girl in the delivery room. For my youngest I started team green but eventually found out. With my next one I will be team green all the way.

Re: To find out the gender or not????

Against my will, I was Team Green for my first DS. However, I was so convinced it was a girl that in my head, I knew what I was having.

I can't even articulate the excitement, shock, happiness and thrill you feel when you finally find out for sure. When the doctor said "it's a boy!", I was glad I was already seated. This time around, as much as I want to find out for practical reasons, I know I can never replicate that feeling so I will hold out.

BTW, if you are worried about shower gifts and preparation, not knowing the sex is really no big deal so don't feel pressured by that. I got all gender neutral gear because I thought if I had more than one, they may not be the same sex. The upside to not knowing for your shower is that guests are not tempted to buy all those cute little outfits. They are forced to buy you what you need which is way more important. I was flooded with clothes once he was born. People LOVE buying baby clothes.

As far as the nursery was concerned, I painted it gray and figured I could do pinks if it was a girl and navy and white if it was a boy. I decorated his nursery while I was on maternity leave and he was still in my room anyway.

To find out the gender or not????

Thanks everyone. It's not much an issue of pink or blue, preparation, or shopping. Those elements don't phase me so much, we've already finished the nursery which is neutral. it's just the whole bonding experience. I'd like to be able to personify the baby. Maybe I feel like this bc my pg has been very uneventful thus far. No MS, no kicks, no cravings etc. I don't even feel pg. I can't decide what feels right with this one. I guess I'll ask the tech to write it down for now.

Re: To find out the gender or not????

I found out. Honestly, I didn't believe I was pregnant until I found out. That's when I really started to bond with my baby and enjoy my pregnancy. I know I sound weird but that's how I felt.
And personally, even though we found out at the 20 week mark and didn't wait till the end, it was a huge thrill for me and my DH to find out. I didn't feel like I missed out on anything.
With this LO I am on the fence about staying team green. I guess we'll wait and see.

To find out the gender or not????

It's a personal choice. To be honest I just wanted to know. We registered for gender neutral things anyhow, figured we would reuse the items for baby #2 anyway. I just liked the idea of knowing what was going on lol

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Team green. There are no surprises - no REAL surprises - left in this world as big as hearing the doctor say "It's a ____!" It is an indescribable feeling of surprise and joy. I refuse to find out just so I know what color to paint the nursery or what color bedding to get.

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I just had my level 2. The sono tech said she knows what it is! It was hard! But I'm glad we stayed strong!! That being said.. I did find out for my first because of my shower. I got soooo many clothes at my shower more than a friend that was team green, and it really helped us. I was also a worried mess about it all the first time, so finding out what it was did help me! This time I'm more relaxed and I love the excitement of not knowing

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I found out with my dd and didn't find out with my ds. If I had another (which I'm not lol) I wouldn't find out again.

To find out the gender or not????

Honestly, I hate surprises lol. My mom was so disappointed when I told her that we were going to find out. I understand why people don't, but everything we picked out was gender neutral anyway, I just wanted to know lol.

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My big reason to know ahead is I am having a c-section. They knock you partially out, or sometimes all the way out, and having had a myomectomy I am told my c-section could be tougher then normal, and I feel like everyone else will enjoy that moment more then me. I want to enjoy that moment I find out and the moment we tell our family. Not risk being out of it while everyone else enjoys that moment. I had a friend who had an emergency c-section and she was so out of it she didn't really know what she had until an hour later. But her whole family knew already. She said next time she will find out ahead of time.

I am also a planner so I am looking forward to starting to buy and plan by knowing what the baby will be as I design a room.

My other reasons are more shallow. I don't love the color green, I hate the color yellow. So I want to plan my navy/white nautical nursery or my pink girly room. Also the shower... I hate yellow duck onsies. Everytime I go to a gender neutral shower I am bored to tears with the endless white, yellow and green duck patterned onsies. Then I go to a boy shower and you see little blue outfits and corduroys and overalls and stuff with cars and boats. Or a girls shower with little frilly shirts and dresses, or cute outfits that say daddy's little girl and pretty dolls. It is so much more fun. Thats what I want.

Message edited 11/3/2014 8:48:16 PM.

To find out the gender or not????

Also no offense to those above who said "there are so few surprises in life…" but I never understood how you are any more surprised when you find out at the birth then you are when you find out at your sonogram. Either way you didn't have any real clue before and suddenly its a surprise. If anything I think now you get two days of surprises… one the day you find out the gender and one when you see what the baby will look like.

I think its a personal choice to everyone whether they want to know or not. It just makes me mad when I tell people I want to know and they say "there are so few surprises in life." When I find out next week I will be just as surprised as I would be in April.

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I was thinking of staying team green last time but when I had the opportunity late in the game we decided to find out & it was the best decision for us. I had a rough delivery & was so out of it right as he was born & right after & I don't think I would have been able to enjoy that moment... I didn't enjoy those first few moments after he was born... I felt terrible! I wasn't basking in any post-birth euphoria like other women seem to... my whole body felt like crap & I was exhausted! I wouldn't have wanted to find out when I felt like that, I was too distracted.

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I found out with DD and I don't regret it. It was still a surprise for us at 20 weeks and I loved knowing that I had a little girl in my belly. I also feel like it helped me prepare in becoming a mother if that makes sense

That being said, I would consider being team green if I had another one.

Re: To find out the gender or not????

I found out with both DD and DS and I don't regret it at all. I felt so bonded with both babies even before they made an appearance. I called them by their names and talked to them. I felt so connected to them during both pregnancies. And of course there are still surprises! I agree with PP who said she doesn't get the whole "there are so few surprises in life" argument. If you saw the look on my face when I saw DD's whole head of hair when she came out you would believe there are still surprises. I was shocked! It is such a personal decision. You have to do what you feel is right and for me I knew finding out was right.

Re: To find out the gender or not????