A few weeks ago, I announced on Instagram that we're having a girl! We couldn't be more excited to add a little girl to our family this fall.
"Do you want a boy or a girl?!"
If you'd asked us prior to my bloodwork, we would have told you that we'd be excited for a boy or a girl, which was completely true! Everyone just wants a healthy baby, and I think that's fair to say. Having said that, and now that we know the baby's sex for certain, I can tell you that we were both gunning for a girl from the get-go.
I've always been fairly sure that I wanted to have children. Ryan and I talked about it before even getting married - we both wanted kids, but if for some reason we weren't able to, we would promised to each other that we would continue to find fulfillment in other ways (as there are so many ways to lead a full, happy life). In my mid-twenties, I had brief moments where I felt as though I could go either way - become a mom, or become the really fun "aunt Sam" to all of our friends' children. In any case, I knew I definitely didn't want us to start trying until after I turned 30...or, that's what I thought, anyway. It wasn't until around this time last year, just before turning 29, that my mindset began shifting. When I thought about waiting to get pregnant, I felt sad thinking about how long it would be until Ryan and I would become parents, and I realized that maybe I didn't want to stick to my self-created timeline after all.
But even within my moments of uncertainty, I'd always pictured myself as a girl mom. I had far more girl friends than guy friends growing up, even into high school and college. I loved playing dress up, getting new clothes for my American Girl doll, playing with makeup (which boys can do, too, of course). Long story longer: I realized that, when I pictured myself as a mother, I always pictured myself with a daughter. And after seeing Ryan interact with his cousin's daughters over the past few years, I knew that he would be the very best "girl dad," too.
How We Found Out
I know "gender reveals" are all the rage right now, but Ryan and I really wanted to find the news out together, just us. I took a non-invasive prenatal test (a blood draw) back in April, and after patiently(ish) waiting a week for the results, I reached out to my doctor's office to see if they'd heard anything from the third party company. I got a message back 20 minutes later:
"We do have the results! How would you like to receive them?"
Ummm, immediately, that's how!
I quickly sent back a message saying that I'd be happy with an email or a phone call, and they didn't open it for an hour. Ryan had gone out to pick up some to-go lunch for us, but I couldn't eat. I was too anxious/excited. When the doctor's office finally did call, I ran outside to where Ryan was hitting golf balls in our practice net in the backyard.
"Alright, guys. What are your bets?"
Ryan quickly said girl, but I hesitated. Earlier in my pregnancy, I'd been so sure our baby was a girl. But then I began having doubts...was I projecting?! I knew I'd be happy with a sweet little mama's boy, especially a mini version of my husband. It wasn't what I'd initially pictured, but I knew that I would love being a mother to any little nugget we could call our own. I said, "I think it's a boy."
"Alright, dad, go out and buy a lotto ticket. It's a girl!"
Me: "IT'S A GIRL?!?!??!!!!"
And just like that, we found out that we would have a daughter this fall. We are over the moon excited, and I haven't stopped looking at adorable dresses and boho onesies since.
"Do you have a name picked out?"
I thought picking out a girl name would be a lot easier, but as it turns out, we have a handful of names that we can't seem to decide on. As of now, our plan is to have a list of three names and see what she looks like when she's born!
