So about 3 weeks ago, Peter and I went to my 20-week ultrasound visit a few days earlier than 20 weeks. Unfortunately, the ultrasound technician said that many babies aren’t very wiggly at that time, and that proved to be true.
When the ultrasound technician tried to take a peek at Baby Franza #2, that baby just stayed in place and was very comfortable in that position. The u/s tech tried everything she could think of to wiggle the baby out of place but no luck. She told us she had an inkling of what gender the baby was and told us her prediction was female. She told us she wanted us to come back in 2-3 weeks for a better look–and to drink coffee and eat something sweet before the visit. Then at the very last minute, the baby moved a hair, and the u/s tech screamed, “Yay! Ok, now I’m 90% confident it’s a girl.”
It was actually ok to keep the news to ourselves for a bit because we needed to figure out how to tell Emma the news. Emma had been positive the baby was a boy, named Harry. She would refer to the baby as “when HE comes, HE will…,” “when HE eats…,” etc. Then one day Emma said, “I think the baby is a girl. I just changed my mind.”
Skip ahead to 3 weeks later. The u/s tech was very positive it was a girl and gave us a billion pictures to show our families. I laughed hysterically when I saw the baby flexibly folded in half, just the way Emma sleeps at night.
Since we aren’t really big into gender reveal parties, we decided to make Emma announce the news to everyone. We also figured that would help her feel like part of the excitement! When Emma got home from school, we gave her a box with a present for her in it. If it was Nonny the boy Bubble Guppy, then the baby was a boy. If it was Anna from Frozen, then the baby was a girl. Knowing how much Emma loves Frozen, we figured this would be perfect for her. She opened the box and was happy to see Anna in there. She also made sure to mention to us that she knew it was a girl. 🙂
So we repeated this activity for the family, and Emma enjoyed being the bearer of the exciting news.
While it is slightly calming to know that we have tons of girl clothes that can be reused, it is also slightly nerve wracking to think of how Emma will react once the baby girl gets here. Will she be jealous? Will she be happy? Will she regress in her “big girlness?” Probably a little of all of those. I just want her to know we will still love her and that she is still our “little elephant.”