Mother’s intuition

Gestation Journals

By Brooke Greene / Editor in Chief

As a mother’s baby bump begins to grow and the little kicks start to take her by surprise, more and more curiosity arises as to whether there is a little boy on the way or a little girl.

Most mothers discover the gender of their baby at their 20-week appointment. This appointment is one of the most important ones, and the most nerve-racking, as the sonogram can pick up any visible abnormalities. With hopefulness and bets placed on whether there’s a boy or a girl in there, and fearfulness to see anything wrong with the baby, it is a big day for a mother.

At my 20-week appointment, I chose to have the gender of the baby only told to my mom, who went with me. I looked away and the nurse wrote across the screen what the gender was, and put that photo in a separate envelope for my mom to use to plan my gender reveal the week after.

When I first found out that I was pregnant, I wanted a girl. However, later on, after my 10-week sonogram, I came upon the conclusion that I was having a boy. I grew more and more excited about dinosaurs, sport-themed onesies, and seeing the color blue at my gender reveal. I told everyone it was that mother’s intuition and it was set in stone that I would have a boy.

I even placed a bet with a friend for $25, as he swore it would be a girl and has never guessed wrong on the gender of a baby.

At my gender reveal, plenty of friends and family showed up. My mom and friends made two balloon towers, one pink, and one blue. It was our form of a guessing game. The idea was to pop whichever color balloon the guest did NOT think I was having. Whichever tower stood tall with the most balloons was the crowd’s guess. Once their balloon had been popped, they were to choose the pin that represented whichever gender they did think I was having. Therefore, if the guest popped the blue balloon, they would wear a pink pin, as they were for Team Girl. I watched as all of the blue balloons got popped, keeping the pink tower standing, and told everyone to prepare to be incorrect.

The time came to reveal whether my baby was a boy or a girl. I was so nervous, but I knew I would be happy regardless of the gender of my baby. With a strong head, I went in front of the crowd with a confetti cannon in hand, ready to see a cloud of blue. My little sister stood up there with me with the other cannon.

My mom counted down, the guests were recording, and my sister’s cannon went off before mine did. My jaw instantly dropped as I struggled to register that the confetti was pink! I finally got mine to go off and immediately asked my mom if that was right. Absolutely shocked, I started to reimagine the life I would have with my baby, who would now likely be interested in unicorns and dresses. However, being my child, I also imagined a little tomboy, just like me.

I will never forget that day, and I encourage mothers to have it be a surprise. My family and friends made the event special for me, even though I had to cough up $25 for my friend who was right again about the gender of one of his friend’s babies. I am excited about the newest addition to our family. If you are a first-time mother reading this and think you have a similar sense of mother’s intuition, prepare for the unexpected, and congratulations on your little one.

Brooke Greene is the Collegian’s Editor in Chief. She is six months pregnant.

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