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| Baby Benson! |
Let me start by saying what is known. It always needs to be said for some reason: I just want a healthy baby. That is the most important thing. Before an ultrasound revealed the gender of my first child, I was assured that all organs were functioning wonderfully and measurements were on track. The ultrasound tech referred to baby Benson as “perfect” on multiple occasions. This news brought tears to my eyes.
To set the stage a bit, my husband travels a lot for work, and I am not always very patient. I had my 20 week ultrasound scheduled for weeks and had been waiting since practically day one to know if we would be the parents of a son or daughter.
A couple of days before the appointment, Gary announced that he needed to be out of town and we would have to reschedule. Um, no? I was unable to get in a different day that week and begged to just go alone and tell him the gender later. He agreed that would be fine. Taking some inspiration from friends, I decided to ask the tech to write down the gender and seal the envelope, so Gary and I could find out together. I swore not to peek and, believe it or not, I didn’t! We planned for a nice dinner the next evening when he was back in town.
My in-laws have three grandsons and my mother-in-law is not shy about her desire for a first granddaughter. Minus my extreme love for the game of football, I am a girly girl. I love all things related to fashion, jewelry, and shoes (lots of shoes!). I even make jewelry and accessories for women and little girls. Because of this, friends and family alike insisted that I “should” have a girl because that is what I need.
So, okay, I am going to have a girl. I really have no scientific reason to think it is a girl. My odds are still 50-50. Yet I am certain we have a girl in there. And as it turns out, so is my husband. I worried while waiting for the ultrasound. What if I am disappointed? I would feel terrible. I should be 100 percent delighted no matter the gender.
My ultrasound tech was wonderful and advised me to look away from the screen at that crucial moment so I wouldn’t see any girl or boy parts. The tech was happy to oblige my request to write down the sacred information and seal it up. I got to enjoy nearly the entire exam and saw some incredible images. Our baby was even scratching the bottom of its foot, something my husband loves to do. With a beaming smile, I came home, set down the envelope containing photographic and written evidence, and tried patiently to wait until the following night.
We walked to our selected dinner spot, got seated, and put our champagne on ice. Our phones were lighting up with texts, calls, and Facebook messages. Did we know yet? What is taking so long? Wow, that bottle took forever to chill. All the while, the envelope sat on the table, staring at me, begging me to open it. The time came, and we were both like giggling school children, our phones sitting idly by waiting for us to call our equally excited families. We decided to check out the picture first to see if we could guess before seeing what the tech had written. I immediately noticed what I was looking at, and to confirm, Gary pointed out that the tech had typed on one of the images, “It’s A Boy!”So there it is. Now we know. Disappointed is definitely not the word to describe how we felt. Shocked and very surprised is fitting, as well as elated.
It has taken several days to sink in, and both of us still randomly say, “I can’t believe we are having a boy.” Suddenly, my neutral nursery seems very feminine, and there is talk of stuffed gorillas and replacing yellows with blues. Gary and I are trying to control ourselves but have already made some must-have purchases for our little boy (tiny Polo slip-ons are a must-have, right?). We are very much looking forward to meeting and watching our son, our firstborn, grow up. He will be Gary Benson III, and I am thrilled that my husband and his father have a new namesake.
I am so happy we found out our baby’s gender and that we did it together. It was one of the most special nights of my life, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. Life is full of great surprises, and so far this one is at the top of my list.
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Category: Pregnancy
Tags: baby
