The ultrasound tech at my O.B.’s office is about as enthusiastic and charismatic as Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day off (Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?).
For this reason, I decided not to have the big gender reveal moment in her monotonous and party pooping presence.
Here’s my story of…
I had been debating for some time whether or not to find out the sex of baby #2, since we did find out with baby #1. I love surprises, but quickly realized that there are MANY surprises on the actual day of your child’s birth, and not all of them are welcome or pleasant…so I decided to remove the element of gender surprise for b.
As for baby #2, I finally decided to find out. Without too much thought, my immediate reaction to the gender preference question was easy: I just want a healthy baby. Deep down, you know that place in your heart where you sneak off to when no one is looking, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted a boy or girl.
On one hand, b would have a brother: they would be the best of friends, play sports together, and stick up for each other (reality check: they would probably kick the living crap out of each other and drive me bonkers, but let me have my fantasy for a stupid moment).
On the other hand, I could have a daughter: American Girl tea parties and manicures galore (reality check: visions flash of her at 13, screaming at me in the mall about how “uncool” I am…).
After deciding that I DID want to find out, I had to figure out a way that wouldn’t be to ostentatious or imposing. If you know me, you know I am not a fan of being in the spotlight (birthdays and showers absolutely terrify me- there is almost nothing more daunting than having to open gifts in front of people). I didn’t want to have a gender reveal party where my family and friends discreetly rolled their eyes at my request for their presence at a party that revolved around such a concept. Oktoberfest parties? Yes. Gender reveal parties? Not for us.
I heard from a friend of a friend about a cute idea, so I stole said cute idea and claimed it as our Special Family Event and here is how it went down…
We had the ultrasound tech write down the gender on a card and seal it in an envelope.
We then went to the nearest overpriced upscale children’s boutique (at which I would never ever step foot into otherwise) where I picked a girl and a boy outfit.
I gave both of the outfits to the clerk, as well as the envelope and my credit card. I instructed her to open the envelope after we left and ring up whichever outfit corresponded to the card, then gift wrap the insanely expensive outfit.
We returned back to the store after an interminable 10 minutes to sign the credit card slip (with the amount hidden- my husband is a numbers guy and knows how much each item would cost with tax to the penny), and booked it home.
We then let b open the present before going to bed while I taped the event (sorry kid, hope you didn’t inherit gift opening-induced stage fright).
All in all, it was wonderful being able to enjoy that moment in the presence of our own home!
Here are some other ideas if you feel like making it more of a moment:
- Stop at your favorite bakery and giving them the envelope. Ask them to bake a cake for you and have either the frosting inside or the cake inside be colored blue or pink.
- Drop the envelope off at a party store and have them fill a box with pink or blue helium balloons.
- If this is your first child, have a gender reveal baby shower with the theme “What Will It Bee?” (yellow being the party’s color scheme).
Did you do anything special for your “big reveal”?
