Week 19 and the Gender Dilemma

People ALWAYS ask if we're going to find out the sex of our baby.  When we answer,

"no, it's going to be a surprise"

I am stunned at some of the responses we get. 

My favorite is always,

"you're crazy.  I'm such a planner, I just HAD to know" 

I find this hilarious because I am the epitome of a "planner" so I don't really see how these two things correlate.  Being a planner doesn't mean I have to know the sex of my baby.  I don't like pink or blue things, and I don't want our nursery to look any different than the rest of our house, other than the fact that there's a crib in it.  I am not a fan of any sort of characters or animals on clothes, so gender neutral stuff is my style anyway. 

The reason we made the decision to wait is very simple.  I've always imagined Vince telling me what our baby is as soon as it's born.  I cannot wait to see his eyes when he looks at our baby, then at me and says,

"baby, it's a ___". 

I have no doubt that this will be a magical experience and I'm not willing to give that up just because I'm a planner. 

Another reason I'm so happy we're waiting is something I never would have thought of before we were pregnant.  Not knowing the sex of this baby has given us HOURS of wondering to discuss.  We lie awake and night and talk about all the reasons we'd like a boy first, then all the reasons we'd like a girl first.  We discuss subsequent children as well,

"if it's a girl first, she'll likely always be a Type A personality, as first born girls often are"

"if it's a boy first, he'll be able to protect his little sister or brother in school"

and so on.  It's provided us with so much insight into how the other feels about birth order and the gender of our children.  If we knew the sex already, it would be limited to, "what's he/she going to look like"

I certainly understand why most people choose to find out.  For us, there are so few surprises in life anymore.  We are a culture obsessed with knowing everything, all the time, no matter what, and for the most part, we are the same way.  However, this is something we have really enjoyed so far, and we are looking forward to our surprise in November!