New Kid On The Blog

1-JULY-2009:

So a couple of days ago I posted pictures of my baby bump and asked you to guess if the baby is a boy or a girl. I only did that because I wanted to know if the ancient theory really works and also because some of you claimed to have your ways of telling.

I went for an ultrasound on Monday. I'm 23 weeks pregnant now and I've only had 2 ultrasound scans, and I'm not going to get any more scans unless I have a complication (which I hope won't happen). So really, that was my last chance of knowing the gender of the baby. Although I've had only 2 scans here compared to a scan every 4 weeks when I was pregnant with Dom back in M'sia, I have to say that the quality and overall experience was much better here. I totally enjoyed the "sessions". The sonographer explained what she was doing all the way and there was a flat screen mounted on the ceiling so that I didn't have to turn my head to look at the tiny monitor next to me, and so that Saimun could sit, relax and watch the flat screen too.

I've been really looking forward to the scan for a long time because I really wanted to know the sex of the baby, and of course to know that everything is fine with the baby as well. However, just days before the appointment anticipation turned into anxiety as I tried to imagine what would happen. I imagined that the sonographer told me that it's a boy and I could feel my heart plummeting with disappointment. I reminded myself not to feel that way because whatever it is I should be happy. I imagined the sonographer telling me that it's a girl and I pictured myself breaking the news to my friends, possibly jumping up and down. Really, I'm not sexist but it makes sense for me to want a girl when I already have a boy, right?

Anyway, during the scan I remembered a friend of a friend - a doctor who complained about her patients (behind their backs) who asked about the sex of their baby 'as soon as the probe was on their tummy', the way she put it, as if that was the most important thing in the world and the health of the baby didn't matter at all. I argued with her a bit that if there's anything wrong with the baby, anyone would expect the doctor to tell without being asked. Having said that, I didn't want my sonographer to have that kind of impression of me (hehe), so I waited patiently for her to finish, asking relevant questions here and there, and in the end I popped the question. And here's what she said.

"Ultrasound is not 100% accurate in determining the sex of the baby but it looks like a girl".

My ultrasound report says - GENITALIA: Appears female.

I'm happy with the news but at the same time I can't jump for joy because it just 'looks like a girl'. The most agonizing part is that I'll never know for sure until the baby is born. I can of course pay for a 4D private scan but what if that is inconclusive as well? I'm not sure if it's procedural that she uses the phrase 'looks like' and 'appears female'. If she saw a dick, would she have said 'it looks like a boy'? Would the report say 'Appears male'? Or just 'Male'?

Anyway, we are treating it as a girl for the moment, and I guess it's time to start thinking of a name. Should we also think of a boy's name, just in case?

Lastly, did the ancient tummy-shape theory prove wrong or right? Out of 9 people who voiced their opinions, 6 said girl and 3 said boy. I personally think that the shape of my tummy looks the same as the 1st pregnancy. The only differences in this pregnancy are:

1. Morning sickness was worse. There was no vomitting before but lots of vomitting this time. I've read that women are more likely to have morning sickness if they're carrying a girl.
2. I think I looked better the last time - skin was more radiant and not so fat, but that could be due to my increased age.

# posted by Skye @ 5:31 pm