It’s hard to believe I am halfway through my third pregnancy. I had pretty uneventful pregnancies and births with my first two. My labors have gotten quicker and quicker so we decided with Baby No. 3 to switch to Olathe Medical Center because it’s close to our new home. I want to be able to get there quick if baby comes fast. I also want to be close enough so that our kids can visit and Daddy can come home for a bit, if needed.
I was nervous for the switch, but my new OB came recommended by a number of people. Plus, have you seen the commercial for the new Birth Place? Yeah, it drew me in. Hello, brand new facility! Hello, queen-size bed! They do that for mom and baby, right? Sorry honey, this is basically going to be a vacation for me. The bed is all mine.
Back to this pregnancy. I always thought that if I had one of each gender, I’d let the third baby be a surprise. We’d have enough clothes to get us by for at least a little while if they were born in different seasons; all of our big baby items such as the car seat and stroller are gender neutral. It wouldn’t be a huge deal either way since we already have a boy and a girl.
Well, here I am at 20 weeks, and I just couldn’t handle the suspense. In fact, we found out the baby’s gender crazy early at only 12 weeks through a genetic screening that can also detect gender. I just needed to know if that tiny baby growing in my belly was a boy or a girl – not only for me, but I thought it would be easier for our other two kids to start bonding with him or her before it came into the world.
That didn’t make my sonogram this week any less exciting, though. We got to confirm the gender and “ooh” and “awe” over our very active baby boy. The sonographer checked every inch of our baby and myself, and we left with more pictures than I’ve ever had before.
We always make sonograms a family affair, and my older two were ecstatic to check in on brother. They waved to him and got a kick out of seeing his tiny profile. The office staff didn’t bat an eye over us cramming two more people into the room. They went out of their way to make the kids feel welcome and part of the whole process.
What I wasn’t prepared for was a sonogram AND a transvaginal sonogram. I know they do a transvaginal sonogram for the first trimester but this wasn’t something my previous OB had done at 20 weeks. My advice to all pregnant mamas? Always be prepared! After the initial shock, I was fine with it and happy she checked my cervix to make sure it wasn’t trying to let the baby out just yet. She even applied pressure to my stomach to make sure it didn’t open my cervix, which was a nice reassurance.
We are happy with our decision to find out the gender of baby number three and are already filling his closet with little blue outfits. When he arrives, we’ll look forward to being surprised with who he looks like, how he’ll act and how we transition from a family of four to a family of five.
About the author: My name is Sarah and I’ve been a Kansas gal my whole life; born and raised in Manhattan but have been living in KC for 6 years. I have a degree in Family Studies and Human Services and I’m wife to Derek and mom to Collins (4), Brooks (2) and baby 3 who will arrive this Summer. We are big K-State fans and also cheer for our Royals and Chiefs. We are lucky enough to have a lot of family close by so we enjoy spending as much time as we can with them or doing all the fun things KC has to offer.
