Today is the day of days, the morning of mornings, where Dan and I go to participate in the time-honored tradition of having an ultrasound past the 20-week mark to see if we can catch a glimpse of our baby’s leeeeeetle tiny gonads… and also, like, see if it’s healthy and stuff.
I was telling the kids on Tuesday that Daddy and I were going tomorrow for a test where we’ll see how the baby is doing and hopefully find out if it’s a girl or a boy. They were ecstatic. Laylee wants a girl but will settle for a boy, as long as it’s a baby. Magoo originally said he really wanted a baby sister but now that the day of knowledge is at hand he’s hedging his bets, saying he wants a boy OR a girl.
Laylee says, “No Buddy. You have to pick one. A boy or a girl?”
And he says, “Yeah. I want a boy OR a girl.”
I thought I’d have a wee teaching moment with the kids so I said, “The ultrasound doctor just looks at a picture of the baby and can tell what gender it is. How do you think you can tell if a baby’s a boy or a girl just by looking at it?”
Easy, right? Especially for little kids obsessed with all things bodily function who live in a house with a very open mom who let them bathe together until a couple of months ago. Not so much.
“Ummmmm,” Laylee stalled, “Their hair?”
I informed her that baby boys and baby girls have pretty much the same hair as each other. She came up with a few more guesses. I think one was height. Something about how the baby was moving. So I thought I’d invite Laylee onto the clue bus by dropping a major hint.
“The baby’s all naked in there. When the doctor looks at a naked baby, how do you think he can tell whether it’s a boy or a girl? What’s different about a boy’s body and a girl’s body?”
She squinted her eyes and moved her pursed lips from side to side.
“Iiiiiits personality?” she ventured with a grin and a shrug.
Yes. When the doctor sees little Jimmy’s personality bobbing around in there, he’ll definitely let us know.
Ahhhh, I love that kid. She’s the one with the personality. I’m almost considering pulling her out of school and taking her with us tomorrow.
Susan (5 Minutes for Mom) says
That is soooo funny! Kids never cease to surprise us.
Steph @ Diapers and Divinity says
How exciting. Can’t wait to hear what personality the kid has. 🙂
Mary says
Have fun! I hope all goes well and the baby lets you know it’s gender!
We took our two kids- who had to wait in the waiting room during all the bornign measurements, but then hubby brought them in for a few minutes at the end when we found out the gender. My 4 year old clasped her hands in joy and said, “A girl!” and proceeded to ooh and aah over the baby moving around on the screen. My almost 3-year-old saw the profile pic with the baby’s head and spine and said, “A dinosaur!!” He’s going to be really disappointed when this baby comes out as a non-dino.
Pibble says
How very exciting!
I took my 5-year old son to my 20-week ultrasound appointment just two weeks ago. He was pretty excited about the whole thing beforehand, especially after we showed him *his* ultrasound picture. He did get a bit bored of all the sitting still while the ultrasound tech checked out the less exciting stuff, but we’d brought a toy and a small, non-messy snack to keep him quiet. The best part was that my little guy was in the room with us when we got the news that we were having a little girl, and he got to see the baby’s heart and spine on the screen, I think. I’m glad I brought him with us. It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime family moment.
Carrie says
That’s so funny! i hope the baby cooperates and shows of his/her personality 🙂
Paige says
Oh, for fun! I’m sure the baby will be full of personality.
stacey @ tree, root, and twig says
An ultrasound tech once told me the very unscientific way she could visually “tell” between the genders: hamburger for girl, turtle for boy. I don’t know why, but that still cracks me up. Good luck, and have fun!!
Pam in Utah says
Ooooh! Have a fun day!
Emilee says
here’s hoping the personality is VERY obvious 🙂
Meream says
What exciting time! Whatever the baby may be, Laylee will definitely be teaching it how to have great personality. 🙂
Heidi says
Laylee’s right–you’ll know by the hair. If barrettes are visible, it’ll be obvious.
Allison says
Aaaaaand a euphemism is born 🙂
Kids crack me up. Yours crack me often. You will share the “personality” with us, won’t you?
Sarah @ BecomingSarah.com says
They’re both so sweet =) I love that she came up with personality; it shows how innocent she is yet.
Good luck at the doctor’s appointment. I hope that the next post contains news of a healthy baby!
Nantie Meg says
He He He.
WarriorWife says
We just had our ultrasound last week!! This is our first, so while we had no clue what to expect, we were still really excited. We chose not to learn the gender, so I made a “Shhhh…it’s a surprise!” sign that I waved at any one that came in the room. I love Laylee’s version of gender clarification–ask her what I’m having next time, k? 🙂