Boy or Girl?

We have decided to wait. We are not going to find out until the baby is born.

With Sofia we found out. I wanted to wait but not as much as I wanted to know. On my side, we hadn't had a girl in our family since 1988. My 2 nieces are girls - big space - then 5 boys. Then Sofia. (And another boy.) I had a feeling it was a girl.

This time around, I can honestly say I do not have a preference. This time, I have a feeling it could be a boy. But either way, it's all good. I only see the positive if it's a girl or a boy. Win-win.

My husband is not even secretly hoping for a boy. And a lot of other people are too, surprisingly. I find it funny that so many people have told me that they hope I have a boy. Are they going to be disappointed if I have another girl? What is their investment in the gender of our offspring? Maybe its because we've been waiting so long to be blessed and it will most likely be our last (I turn 44 just 2 weeks before the baby's due date). Maybe it's because my suegros (in-laws) had 7 girls before they had their first boy.

Sofia was verbal about wanting a little sister initially. We have talked to her about not getting to choose what we have and she seems to be able to understand and accept that. So she has asked some school friends to be her sisters. Now she has lots of sisters and says she wants a brother. I think she'll be fine either way.

When someone tells me they hope we have a boy, I just picture this 1950's image of a family: a mother, a father, one girl and one boy, like Dick and Jane books or a Norman Rockwell painting. Not that there's anything wrong with that. If that's what we get then we'll be thrilled with our own 2012 modern version.

If we do have a boy, we will be the first on my side to have both a boy and a girl. All of my siblings have either all girls or all boys.

I've heard moms (and others) talk about being afraid of not loving the second as much as the first. That just seems like a foreign concept to me. I am looking forward to seeing the differences and similarities. Not judging and comparing. I love the idea of each child having their own looks, qualities, interests, personalities. He or she will be different than Sofia whether girl or boy...and I can't wait to meet this little being.