Advice with the Sex of the Baby, and Some Help with Baby Shower....

You have enough to think/worry about right now, so my advice is to not 'borrow' trouble and think 'greens and yellows' these are very nice colors for boys or girls! I knew my December baby was a girl, and I still chose a sage green for her walls and had my pick of stuff to compliment! Plus it is not so 'baby-looking' now that shes a preschooler! Like I've had time to paint it all again! lol
Good luck!

I would chalk it up to you weren't supposed to know for sure and pray for a healthy baby. I think you should not give a sex of the baby to anyone and invite whoever you think would like to come. The more guests, the more presents:)

One thing you'll want to remember is to check with your insurance company to see if they will even pay for another test. The actual purpose of the test is to check for birth defects. Finding out the gender of the baby is just a bonus.

First off, congratulations!

Secondly, I would double check with your insurance first before you ask for another test. Most insurance will only cover one ultrasound unless it's deemed medically necessary. If you can afford another, and another won't be covered, I say go for it!

67% isn't a very good percentage in my opinion either, especially if they are telling you it's a girl. More "girl" predictions are wrong than "boy" predictions.

My husband and I did not find out what we were having the first time around- mainly because we wanted to keep it a surprise, but I actually think it turned it out better to have several neutral items, greens and yellows, because I figured if we had more children and their gender wasn't what we had the first time, we'd already have a lot of stuff. When we had our daughter, we ended up getting a lot of girl things anyway.

Who is invited? That's up to *you*. When choosing my guest list, I thought about how much room we would have, how often I spoke to/how close I was to the guests, etc. All my aunts & female cousins were invited in addition to about 6 close friends, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

I hope you have a great time!

We didn't find out the sex of the baby when I was pregnant, and I think it helped us get stuff that we really needed, and not just cute little boy or girl clothes. I have a relative who found out, but didn't tell until the end of the shower, so that she wouldn't get just clothes - you could do something similar, perhaps as a parting favor, that says "67% sure it's a girl!" - I think people would think that's cute, and would certanly understand - it's better than getting all girl clothes and have a boy!
As for people to invite, keep in mind that showers can be overwhelming with tons of people. Family and close friends is good, certainly other people can send gifts as they see fit. Another option is to have 2 showers, just to keep it under control.
Hope it helps, and good luck!
PS, I wouldn't worry about another ultrasound just to find out the sex if you're not really concerned, alot of insurances won't pay for an ultrasound just to "see", especially if the baby is healthy (and those can be darned expensive!)

S.,

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Ultrasounds are not 100% accurate!

I had a friend many years ago who had an amniocentesis which determined she was carrying a boy. They were thrilled, but when baby was born she had a girl. My friend actually was depression for a short time, but all is well now. Turned out the test results were given to the wrong patients. Two couples had the same last name & the results got mixed up.

I think it would be more difficult to handle if you were told it's a girl & then when baby is born it is a boy. I've seen it happen both ways, and the parents were in shock. They had to think fast for a different name, readjust their mindset to the opposite sex. Needed to tell their shocked family & friends, take back cloths, repaint and redecorate the room.

67% is not much better then the 50% that was present when you conceived. So even if you think you know, you really don't until the baby is born.

I would suggest that you go with yellows & greens which can be used for both. Enjoy your pregnancy & wait for the birth to reveal your surprise.

One expectant father I had in class said it all... "We chose not to find out the sex. It's like a Christmas gift, it's more fun to open the gift & be surprised."

Good luck to you and your pregnancy!

K. :)

some advice i got on showers is to invite as many people as possible, even people you barely know. my friends' parents planned their shower. at first, they were uncomfortable with all the strangers (parents' work friends and such), but when they realized all the gifts they were getting, they didn't mind at all. they didn't have to by anything for their baby--they got doubles of everything they needed at the shower. so, the more the merrier!
my advice on the gender issue is to hold off on buying too much for now. only get non-gender specific stuff. you'll have another ultrasound soon enough, and then you should be able to tell for sure and can move ahead confidently with your pink buying.

Hi S.,
When I was your age & pregnant, my Father gave me one piece of advise... "At worst you'll get second choice, just pray for a healthy & happy baby." My Father died when my son was 3 months old. His advise remains priceless. Good luck to you. Enjoy your pregnancy & your son or daughter when the time comes!

#1 - Since you said your baby was due in December, I'm going to assume that you just had your very first 20 week, level 2 ultrasound. This typically is the first opportunity to take a peek at the gender. Be patient - you'll have more ultrasounds with your physician as time goes by and the gender should become more evident. Hold off on the pink for now and wait til later. Yes, some people are clearly able to tell the gender at this point, but remember you have a developing baby inside of you and it might just not be apparent yet. Don't get mad at the ultrasound technician - it's not her fault! Also, be lucky she even got a peek; some kids are pretty modest in utero and keep their legs crossed! I doubt your insurance would cover another ultrasound of this level, so asking may be out of the question (considering that revealing the gender is not a life-threatening condition). Also, please remember that ultrasounds are not without risk. Surely having the necessary ones to check on the baby are fine, but if you overdo it you can be putting your baby at risk.

#2 - It's your shower - invite whomever you'd like. If your mom is hosting it, then ask for her input as to what the guest list should be.

#3 - I'm assuming you're asking about pink/yellow and green as far as gifts are concerned. It's a shower, people shouldn't feel pressured to buy 'girl' or 'boy' gifts. In fact, you might even find that the best gifts your guests give you are endless supplies of diapers, wipes, and other essential items you'll need. While it is fun to have a lot of cute clothes and blankets, TRUST ME when I say that you probably won't even get to dress your child in the newborn outfits more than 2-3 times because they grow so quickly. Go to Target and see how much a jumbo pack of Pampers costs and you'll be grateful for all the diapers you receive!

Congratulations on the baby! When I was pregnant with my daughter, they told us that she was a girl. We had to have several U/S & each time they double checked. But, I figured that until she was born, nothing was certain. We planned for a girl, but I really was just happy for a healthy baby. As for the shower, I think that everyone is right. If you are given "permission" to give your opinion on the guest list, give it. I say this, because we were given a shower & I only knew a couple people there. But, it just means more stuff that you probably need.

When I had, my 20 week ultrasound, the tech said she was about 70% sure it was a girl. We planned and hoped for the news to be true, and thankfully it was. Ultrasounds are not always accruate though. If you dont mind the yellows and greens, I say go for that, I personally was not very fond of only having those colors for my baby. But, some people aren't as picky as me! The good thing is, although it is a major hassle, is that if you do get girl things and it turns out to be a boy, you can always exchange it. My dr wouldn't give me a second ultrasound, which really bummed me out, but since you are so young, you should be able to get another one later on which can be a bit more accurate.

As for you shower....go for it all, invite everyone. The truth is showers are fun and everyone loves going to them, especially baby showers! If you haven't registered yet, I would say register for the big things, most expensive things(car seat, stroller, monitor, crib, bedding, etc). People are likely to go together on big things, and you will greatly appreciate not having to buy them yourself. If you only register for the bigger things, people will either go together on those or get you gift cert. which in my opinion are just as good. Best of luck to you, and congratulations.

No percentage is good, sometimes when the doctor can see it right in front of them on the sonigram, they are still just guessing. I know friends that were told that they were definately having a boy, and then they had a girl. You just never know what God has in store for you. I would plan your shower around yellows and greens. There are plenty of yellow and green things out there. I was determined on having a boy, but they never found out, so I planned on having a boy.....blue everything....and I had a girl :( But she is healthy so I really don't care. With reguards to who to invite. Invite everyone that you know! More stuff for that dear child of yours.

Being a mom isn't easy, but the rewards are grand. If you would like any help at all putting the shower together or anything please let me know. There is so much baby stuff out there, and you just never know what you reall do and don't need.

Hi S.! Ok, this is just my opinion but if this is your first one and you're not 100% sure I would want more neutral outfits. If someone wants to get you girl colors ask them to get you a gift receipt so you can exchange if it's a boy. Most likely it's a girl but you can't be sure. IMO if this is your first one it's better to get neutral anyway since I'm sure you'll have another baby eventually. If it's the opposite sex your SOL on clothes if you only have cloths for one gender. If they're neutral you can pass them on to the next baby no matter what the sex.

As for your shower invite whoever you want. There's no rules on who to invite. Have fun and try to get all the big gifts if you can...high chair,swing, bouncy seat, exersaucer etc...make sure you register. And one gift I recieved that I loved was a Bumbo Seat. They're great!

S.

i say go with unisex colors. people at your baby shower will put in there own adds of girly or boyish colors. after having the baby just return the colors that dont match. with me the lady said she couldnt tell so when i got it done againit was like 2 days before my shower and it was clear, i had a girl. normally if they vant tell or its not 100%, then its a girl. congrats!!!!!!! good luck. its lots of fun with the growing. i was 19 when i had mine so i know how your feeling. you'll love it!!!!!!!

S.,

Forget all that "It's going to be a girl, so everything has to be PINK!" My friend was told she was absolutely having a girl, and boy, were they surprised when she delivered her SON.

Some things really just were not meant to be known in advance. Just do your planning for a baby. Don't bother about more tests, because your baby is what it is, and you'll find out soon enough.

As far as a shower goes, whoever is hosting the party for you is responsible for inviting guests. If it's a party, hey, the more, the merrier. Have a fun time, invite everyone, and don't stress.

I wish you all the best, and hope your sweet baby will be very healthy.

K.

First thing, congratulations! Second thing, NEVER trust the ultrasound...only way to be sure is if you had an amnio. With my first child, the tech (actually my OB was in the room and agreed) said he was absolutely sure it was a girl. He even showed me the "three lines" where the folds are, etc. So, I planned girl stuff. The shower was girly, I got tons of girl clothes, even on the birth video we say "when is SHE coming, oh here SHE comes" and then...SURPRISE...it's a boy. I had to have someone go a bring another take home outfit for the baby, since what I brought was girly. So even with my third one, the ultrasound tech said she's positive it's a girl, I'm still holding my son's outgrown stuff until I know for sure. :)

first- when sending out the invites is there someone who would like to help you with the shower, because etiquite(?) wise your not supposed to throw your own shower, but no biggy, second check with your insurance if it is a private ins. company to see if it's covered, if its healthy start- its covered, and have it done again, third- what kind of tests were done? if you have a normal preg all you would have needed was a simlpe ultrasound which either says yes boy or yes girl or too bad the legs were closed not percentages, or an amnio could have been done but those are not routine for younger moms-to-be, i say get a recount! :) congrats on the baby!

It's never 100% (except for Amnio which is risky to do) so you'd be safer to plan on neutral colors no matter what you do...I did a Noah's Ark theme which went both ways, and used mostly greens, whites and yellows, and it looked very nice. Clothes I also did neutrals.
As for the shower, I usually use the criteria as whether I would like to be invited to something of theirs. If these are people your mom is close with and she is planning the shower, then she could certainly invite them. You should not be planning your own shower (etiquette wise) so that's off your back!
Hope that helps!
Lynn