Should i find out the sex or be surprised?

Question

WIth my first 2 pregnancys i couldnt wait to find out. Both were girls. This time i kinda wanna be surprised. The only thing is how do i plan for a "surprise" baby. I like knowing and being able to plan.
What are the advatages of being surprised and how do i prepare for the mystery baby??
Your experiences would be great!!

Answer 1

I've done it both ways and I like the surprise! Here are the advantages I've experienced:

1. You have something to help you through labor - looking forward to finding out if it's a girl or a boy. I had a hard labor last time but I kept coaching myself through saying "in a few more pushes you will see what's in there!"
2. You have something to share with family and friends besides the weight!
3. You get a lot of gender neutral baby things that can be used for other babies (if you have more children) or given to other mothers for whatever gender they have
4. You don't have to worry about re-doing an entire nursery because you have a design ready that works for any baby
5. You don't experience the "let down" that some mothers go through when they find out the gender via ultrasound and it's not what they (or their husband or family) expected or wanted. Instead, you are so glad when your baby is first born that either gender seems like exactly what you hoped for!

The idea that you have to buy "green and yellow" stuff is a myth. Newborn babies survive their first month in nothing but diapers and white onesies.

In fact, I love white baby clothes - so pure and sweet looking. I found some adorable little sweet pea gowns at Target that were white with cute baby prints on them. I also had a few white blankets and of course lots of white onesies.

If you want, buy a blue or a pink blanket right after your baby is born. And when you're feeling active again, go shopping and get some gender-specific stuff.

All you really need to buy before your child is born are basics like onesies, diapers and nursing supplies.

Congratulations and have fun whatever you decide!

Answer 2

I chose not to find out the sex of my baby. I'm 28 weeks now. I don't know that there are any advantages to being surprised aside from the fact that it will make the birthing experience even more exciting because you will finally get to find out whether you're having a boy or a girl. My sisters told me that there was nothing better than hearing their babies' fathers say "it's a ___." That makes it worth it, to me. But not to most women these days.

As far as planning for your baby without knowing the gender, you just stick with creams, yellows, and greens for color palettes. That's what I'm doing. And you could wait to buy most of the clothes until after the baby is born.

Answer 3

I can see pros and cons with each perspective. One of the major pros to knowing ahead of time of course is being able to buy all the baby stuff. That's just practicality. The cons are not having the surprise to look forward to obviously.

The surprise seems like a great pro for waiting. The only real problem with that is a) name picking and b) if you have your heart set on one gender or another and don't get what you want, you WILL experience some disappointment. Some women get post partum depression directly related to the gender issue. If you are looking for a particular gender, it is better to know ahead of time. If you get what you want, GREAT! If not, you can come to terms with that ahead of time, and be able to accept it when the baby comes.

Oh, one other thing I've thought of about knowing ahead of time: It's kind of nice to be able to start taking about the baby by the name you've picked out for him or her. It seems more "real" then. :)

Answer 4

I found out with all 3 of mine. I wish I would not have for at least one of them, but I'm inpatient and couldn't wait. If you can wait, I would. I bet it's the best experience in the world, to hear the dr say, it's a ___________!!!! How many surprises are there in life?? Not too many that we can control. And this is an excellent surprise! I would wait and not find out. Buy whites and yellows and then save the majority of your shopping until after baby is born. Congrats and Good Luck!

Answer 5

I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago. Below is the link to the answers I received. I found out with my daughter (now almost 2). My husband didn't want to know, but I couldn't wait. I am now 6 months pregnant with #2 and haven't found out yet. I keep going back and forth. It doesn't help the pressure from the coworkers wanting to know.

As far as being prepared... I thought I was prepared for my daughter with everything girly and pink. Boy was I wrong!! I still had to go out shopping for different things within the first couple of weeks. She was so little that all the 0-3 month clothes swallowed her, so out looking for preemie clothes I went. I would get a couple of outfits for both; that way you don't have to go out immediately to get something. Then send someone out to get the other stuff you need.



http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Airk_C3A_gezM0qJWb6ABKnsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071017134645AArN6xb

Answer 6

Well I'm still working on #1, but I think the next time around I'll just wait to find out. I really wanted to know during this one, just for the sake of knowing what to buy. And since I ended up getting neutral "big ticket" items such as crib, bedding, stroller, high chair, walker...I can save that for next baby and have no worries. We'll see.

Answer 7

I had my babies in 1980 and 1983. We didn't have a choice then. We had to wait until they were born to find out.

My younger daughter had a boy last December and she couldn't wait to find out what she was having. When we had her shower we decorated in all blue and she got boy things.

My older daughter is now 12 weeks pregnant with her first and she and her husband are going to wait until it's born to find out the sex. It's killing me!!! I want to know if it's a girl so I can start getting little girl things. But, it's her decision. We will find out in May.

Answer 8

I agree that it would be very exciting to wait until birth, but then everything you get will be green or yellow....I am not a fan of either one so I had to find out what I was having. I hope you get what you wish for!!!

Answer 9

I think it's silly to wait, it will be a surprise no matter when you find out, all you have to decide is WHEN you want to be surprised..

I was surprised on my 19th wk appt.. It's a boy!!

Answer 10

This is my first one and i could not wait to find out. :)