I know what you may likely be thinking... it's too early for gender! And typically that might be true. We didn't find out until our 20 week ultrasounds with the first four kiddos, so this is definitely new for me!
So here's the deal: I'm older than dirt. And as a pregnant geriatric, I have slightly more concern this time around when it comes to the baby's health. Hubs and I discussed and decided to have a non-invasive pregnancy test (NIPT), the Natera Panorama. This simple blood test is a screening test for the most common genetic conditions. This test also happens to include the baby's gender. While we weren't choosing to do the test for the gender reveal, we did feel it would be in our best interest to know if the baby had any issues so we could best prepare for his/her arrival.
I had the test drawn on 12/12/2019. I was hopeful to have the results back by the time I went to my first appointment with the perinatologist on 12/23/2019 for a nuchal translucency ultrasound, which would also screen the baby for potential chromosomal defects. My grand plan was to collect all of the information I could possibly get my hands on to ensure (as best as I could) that the baby was healthy before making an official announcement to family and friends. And believe it or not, everything came together (almost) perfectly!
The morning of my ultrasound, I called my OB's office and left a message to inquire if my Panorama NIPT results were in yet. I was super stoked to get a call back a few hours later to tell me my results were in, and the BEST NEWS EVER was that the screening returned LOW RISK for potential defects! This meant < 1/10,000 y'all! It was such a relief! Not a full guarantee, of course, but a relief nonetheless.
Later that afternoon was my first full workup with the perinatologist, including the nuchal translucency ultrasound. Everything went well during the ultrasound and we were able to see our sweet little guy or gal! The doctor informed us that everything looked great! The measurements looked great and further indicated our baby's health. Hubs and I will remain "cautiously optimistic" until we have the full anatomy scan at 20 weeks to check baby's heart, etc., but for now, we felt confident that we were ready to share our exciting news!
The next step of my plan involved picking up an envelope at my OB's office with the baby's gender written inside. I had planned to order 6 gender reveal cupcakes from Lowes Foods that afternoon to pick up on Christmas Eve. I wanted to line the kids up at the table on Christmas Day after they opened all their gifts and have them all take a huge bite to see which color was inside to indicate boy or girl. I picked up the envelope, and decided I'd call Lowes to place the order over the phone, so I'd just need to run in real quick to drop off the envelope.
This is when my perfect plan was foiled!
The lovely ladies at the Lowes bakery informed me they already had too many cupcake orders and couldn't fill mine. I asked a few follow-up questions, and the phone was handed off to the bakery manager. I told her I only needed 6 gender reveal cupcakes, and she proceeded to inform me that THEY CANNOT PUT ANYTHING INSIDE THE CUPCAKES.
Y'all.
Have you heard of Pinterest? There's like a gazillion ways you can stuff stuff inside of cupcakes! And all I wanted was just a little shmooze of pink or blue frosting!
Anywho, they straight up refused and I was left scrambling. Hubs tried to fix the situation by offering Publix or Bi-Lo cupcakes as a second option, which I vehemently refused. My plan revolved around Lowes Foods cupcakes.
Fast-forward a bit to later that evening. We took the kids to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for dinner. I began sharing The Great Cupcake Ordeal of 2019 with them, and they were terribly disappointed. If you think I like cupcakes (and basically every dessert imaginable), you should meet my kids. They LIVE for sweets. #momwin 😳
When I mentioned I had the envelope in my purse, the kids all said they wanted to go ahead and open it. Right there. While waiting on our dinner. At Anita's. And I couldn't help but oblige!
It wasn't "my" plan. And I hadn't had time yet to come up with a Plan B. But seeing the excitement on my kids' faces was all I needed. The most important thing about my original plan was that it would be the 6 of us together. Just us. No fancy gender reveal party, folks. Just my sweet fam finding out together. And wouldn't you know it -- my sweet fam was gathered around that table stuffing our faces with chips and salsa. It really couldn't have been more perfect!
Before opening the envelope, I polled the family to ask what they thought it would be (not necessarily what they wanted it to be). Here are the results:
Mommy: Boy
Daddy: Girl
LO: Boy
Chase: Girl
E: Boy
O: ???
Without further ado, check out this little video for our big reveal for baby #5!
Hahahahaha!! Poor Chase!!! 🤣
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Here’s the official proof!
After we found out the gender on 12/23, we told our families we were expecting on 12/24, and then shared the gender with them two days later on 12/26. What a whirlwind of Christmas and new baby excitement!!!
We can’t wait to welcome little boy Cinco in 2020!
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.
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Here’s the official proof!
After we found out the gender on 12/23, we told our families we were expecting on 12/24, and then shared the gender with them two days later on 12/26. What a whirlwind of Christmas and new baby excitement!!!
We can’t wait to welcome little boy Cinco in 2020!
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