11 Jul Month 4: Boy vs. Girl
17 weeks along. Early pregnancy symptoms are subsiding, and that constant and overwhelming feeling of tiredness is becoming less as my energy starts returning. Making a human is not easy and trimester 1 takes A LOT out of your body! I’m trying my very best to eat well (and regularly) while staying active and taking care of myself but with two other kiddos, I sometimes forget that I’m pregnant and need to put myself and our new baby first (or at least somewhere in the equation).
The fridge is stocked with healthy, easy, on-the-go snacks and fruits. During my 1st pregnancy I craved bananas and yoghurt, the 2nd time around all things salty and now tuna salad is my favourite. A lot of women avoid tuna altogether during pregnancy, but my gynaecologist assured me canned tuna, in moderation, should be fine.
I’ve gained about 12 kg already and my bump definitely looks more baby than burger induced. Random strangers want to know how far along I am and of course; what we are expecting. Will our baby be a girl or a boy?
I remember dreaming up our perfect little family years ago. Trying to figure out what would make more sense… Having boys or having girls, maybe a mix, but in what birth order? Talk is cheap and the moment that pregnancy test turned positive, gender was the furthest thing from our minds. A healthy, happy, full-term baby was all we wanted.
The highlight of every appointment was hearing our baby’s heartbeat, so when the doctor asked if we wanted to know the sex of Baby C, we declined, wanting to keep it a surprise for the delivery day. Our family and close friends weren’t impressed. We found out with both our other pregnancies and they simply couldn’t understand this change of heart.
It’s hard to explain and looking back I wish we never knew with any of our pregnancies. I felt a sense of calm about not knowing. I couldn’t start “dreaming ahead”, charting out and planning for the rest of our pregnancy and the 1st few months (okay, years) of our little boy or girl’s life. I could only focus on the NOW. It forced me to be present. It’s almost like waiting for Christmas morning… If I had a peek into my presents the night before, the surprised would be ruined. I’d still love my gift but the joy of being surprised would be gone. I love gifts and surprises too so waiting to be surprised by one of life’s biggest gifts only seemed fitting. We would have to wait a little longer.
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