My wife just had a baby (Pictures at http://randallfamily.8m.com/Daniel.htm ). Anyway, we did not want to know the sex of the baby ahead of time. I was wondering if you would or would not want to know your baby’s sex before he/she was born.
I would, but I wouldn’t ask the doctor. If, say, the future Mother of My Heir(s) found out and asked me if I wanted to know, I’d want to. But, I wouldn’t go out of my way to find out.
Yes, I would want to know.
Well, when I was last pregnant, I was told that I was having a girl. My son turned 10 last month. Go figure.
Yes. The ultrasound isn’t ALWAYS 100% accurate.
We didn’t peek for either of our three kids. There are some times you just really want to be surprised.
I recommend finding out. It makes the whole name-choosing process 50% easier.
I could go either way. But since my husband and mother felt it was their right to know, I acquiesed.
We didn’t know until we saw the genitals on our newborn.
10 fingers, 10 toes…thats all we were interested in.
(I was hoping that my boys would have large penis’s)
**
Yes. The ultrasound isn’t ALWAYS 100% accurate. **
Yup, as my 6 month old daughter attests - we were assured by the tech AND the OB that she was a “he”. Oops. It was a pretty big shock when she was born 
Would I find out again? yes, but I wouldn’t believe it until the baby was actually here.
Oh, and JimmyNipples? The big penis/scrotum appearance of newborn boys is due to MOM’s hormones, not dad’s influence.
–tygre
We let the ultrasound technician tell us. (They were right both times, first a girl and then a boy.) If I’d been pregnant in the days before ultrasounds I wouldn’t have worried about it, but I don’t see what the big deal is about being “surprised.”
I’d want to know. It helps in decorating the nursery and purchasing clothes & toys.
I wouldn’t want to know-what a fun surprise. I used to think I would want to know because then I could think of “him” or “her” that way but then I realized, how would that change how I thought unless I levied some prejudgments about gender on her/him. So I would just wait for the unique person to be born.
The best related surprise I know of was when my parents moved to the other coast and didn’t tell any of the grandparents that my brother was on the way. They thought, how many chances do you get to hide something like that? One day my father called his parents and said, “oh by the way, you have a grandson.”
Wouldn’t go out of my way to find out, special tests etc., but if the tech looks at the ultrasound and says, “Do you wanna know?” Well, I try to make it my practice to avoid saying no to available information.
Why is it more of a surprise when it pops out?
Our techs were spot on all three times. Of course, given his paternity, the tech thought my son was wrasslin an anaconda in there.
(I feel that I stole that stupid last comment from someone somewhere, but the source is lost in antiquity).
Don’t find out the sex because you’d want to be surprised? Wow. If I got pregnant, that’d be enough of a surprise for me.
Yes, I would want to know as soon as possible. That way, I wouldn’t spend nine months or so wanting and hoping so badly for a girl that everytime I saw a cute dress I’d buy it, only to find out that my son wouldn’t look good in that color. I’m not saying I would be disappointed if I didn’t wind up with the gender that I had hoped for. A person is a person. I just wouldn’t want to have a whole bunch of dresses lying around.
We wanted to know because of names, planning, etc, so we found out ahead of time that Zack was a boy. My goodness, what a view it was! Of course, hubby saw the femur, thought it was something else, and bellowed “THAT’S MY SON!”
It is my understanding that with the ultrasound, if you see an obvious penis, it’s usually correct to guess boy. However, just because you don’t see one (even with a full on frontal view) don’t assume it’s a girl! Too many babies have delighted in being a real surprise!
As far as the next baby goes, I’ll probably see if the tech can get a good view. I also have been known to shake Christmas presents and peek at the back of a book to see if the hero makes it (but not often anymore! Don’t kill me SK!)
I would not want to know–but I would have to let the doctor, ultrasound tchnician, nurses, etc. know beforehand not to tell me when I asked, because I would end up asking, because I’m very impatient.
My wife and I were just told recently that we are having a little girl in a few months. Initially, we were against finding out the sex, but we thought that it might save some time now if we were able buy gender specific items (like clothes) ahead of time, and make other preparations. And I’m one impatient bastard, and I just had to know.
Also, the Ultrasound is notoriously inaccurate, so we are still a little hesitant to tell people for certain that it is a girl. Frankly, it seems more like a 51/49 chance that it’s a girl.
A buddy of mine was told by his wife’s obstetrician that his pregnant wife was having a boy. When a girl came out, his first thought wasn’t “Oh boy, a little girl,” but was rather “It’s penis broke off! What the hell happened?” Man, that’s funny stuff. He dotes on his little girl now, by the way.
Kat, if you don’t want to know, tell your doctor & tech that right away! Then, if they do see a sex, they won’t write it in the chart, and will make a note that you didn’t want the sex revealed.
The tech & Dr. don’t need to know, and if it’s in the chart, someone will spill it by mistake. My best friend is an RN, and she saw too many surprises get spoiled, because if the sex is in the chart, it is assumed by all staff that the mother already knows.
I’d want to know . . . why save all that purchasing and naming stuff for the last minute? Do what you can before your bundle of joy takes every last second of your life! Do yourself a favor!
I say this not having ever gotten anyone pregnant. And I say this with three younger sibs who can be worse than death.