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When pregnant with her first child, my friend Anne found out her baby’s sex — but her husband chose NOT to. How fascinating is that? Here’s their funny story…
My husband loves surprises. But I hate them. Plus, it was my first pregnancy, and there was so much change in my body and so much uncertainty that I needed a concrete piece of information to hold onto.
Initially we were like, we can’t one know and one not! But then, we thought, I’m a really good secret keeper; what if there’s a way to make this work? We decided that the way to do it was not to tell anyone that I knew the sex — even my mom. When people asked us, we just said, no no no, and waved it off. I didn’t want any opportunities for cracking!
We both went to the doctor’s appointment, around 17 weeks. My husband left the room and waited in the reception area. The doctor told me the sex in the most monotone way possible (she’s not very excitable). Thrilled, I took a moment to compose myself before I walked out. Then I joined my husband, we scheduled the next appointment… and we never spoke of it again.
We had to discuss names for both a girl or a boy. We always had a frontrunner boy’s name (Benny), but the girl’s name was a much more in-depth discussion. We had a lot of back and forth, it was hashed out! I was still really into it.
What made it work is that we were very respectful of each other’s choice the whole time. He never pushed me to spill the beans; I never teased him. So we were able to clip along enjoying the anticipation in our own way.
There were times, when I was alone, that I’d talk out loud to the baby. It was special, the only people who knew his sex — and name — were me and him. It was our thing.
When the baby was born, the doctor held him up and said, ‘It’s a….’ And my husband was like, ‘It’s a boy!’ I was just lying there in amazement. We both got everything we wanted out of it, it was incredible.
Would (or did) you find out? With our first child, we found out it was a boy, and for our second baby, we kept it a surprise. Anne is doing the same thing! She’s due with her second in May:)
P.S. 13 old wives’ tales to reveal if you’re having a boy or girl — and how do you know if you’re ready to have a baby?
(Top photo by Bri Heiligenthal/Instagram.)
