Baby weighs almost a pound according to the ticker above! Yippee!!
This past week our family took a vacation to Colorado. I didn’t sleep real well, but I did have plenty of time to read and relax and enjoy the cooler mountain air. I have lots of food for thought that to share that will most certainly make it to the blog sometime in the coming months!
I’ve hit the point in pregnancy where people assume I am due any day. I am often asked when I’m due, and my answer is always, “Not until December.” I’m not sure when December won’t seem so very far away, but for now prefacing my answer with the words “not until” seems like the thing to do.
The topic of baby names has begun to be something we’re kicking around. We already had a couple of boy names picked out (I guess when you have a string of boys, you tend to think you’ll only have boys and that’s what you naturally gravitate toward?), but we are starting to come up with a few girl names as well. We don’t really like to share the names we are considering because there’s really no sense in people giving us their opinion of our choice prior to baby’s birth. Once baby is here, they can’t do much about the name we’ve chosen. 😉
Oh, and for those of you who are desperately wondering if we found out what gender baby is at our 19 week sonogram, the answer is…sort of. Those of you who have followed Raising Arrows through several pregnancies know that we never let the sonographer tell us what the baby is, but we always look for ourselves. It leaves that “shadow of a doubt” in our minds and keeps us still wondering until baby arrives. Do we have an inkling? Yes. Am I going to tell you? Nope.
Now, what do we do about our inklings? Well, I tend to make up a few diapers and other little things in that gender. I also pull out just a few gowns and onesies that are gender-specific. However, the bulk majority of items I prepare for baby are gender neutral. We have plenty of these to keep us stocked until mama feels like rifling through clothes tubs to find the more gender-specific items after baby arrives.
Such an exciting time!
So, do you find out if you are having a boy or a girl? How do you handle prepping baby things?
Whitney says
We aren’t finding out this time! And we aren’t announcing any names or when the birth will occur. As a matter of fact this whole pregnancy; birth, gender reveal, information regarding this pregnancy is actually staying very secretive. Lol. With my last pregnancy there were a few people who left a bad taste in our mouths about a few different subjects regarding our pregnancy and so we are keeping as much to ourselves as we can! Lol. It seems rude/ mean but… Unfortunately though, sometimes it’s just what’s best due to certain circumstances. :/
jayme @ No Regrets Living says
We do find out the sex before hand. We have the technician write it in an envelope then husband and I go to dinner (or lunch) to open it privately. I like knowing ahead of time, but I also like making it a little special. We have 2 boys so far, but our “nursery” is gender neutral, so it doesn’t really matter which gender comes next. We have all kinds of boy clothes though, so if we found out we were having a girl, I’d have some shopping to do (or hand-me-downs to get.)
We also keep names to ourselves too — pretty much for the same reason you mentioned.
Stephanie says
I always want to have everything washed and put away before the baby comes so I like knowing the gender. I only have my hubby around for 1 week after the baby comes and no other family help and the washer is downstairs, which I try to avoid going down for a few weeks. So I’d be waiting on my husband who works all day to wash baby clothes if I waited. Plus, I’m really impatient 🙂
Mrs. Cliff says
We have tended to not even talk about names for the same reason and even though I would be a lot more reasonable when I am not pregnant … pregnancy hormones have taught me just to be quiet about any topic that is sensitive. Only one of ours was born without us knowing what we were going to call him and I love the choice we did make!
We have 4 boys and 4 girls but it has been 8 years since we have had a boy so I have not felt bad picking up a few things for a little boy just in case my feelings are right 🙂 … if I am wrong then I will have some cute baby boy outfits to give as gifts.
I am getting so excited about meeting this little one … 8 1/2 weeks some days feels like a loooooong way away … other times it feels like it will go quick. People have been asking for months when I am due and their eyes always pop out when I say October, next question is always twins? When I say that I would love twins and that would be the neatest surprise they are sure I am crazy :).
Praying for you and your sweet little baby.
WiffytoJ says
Congratulations to you too!! Twins are so much fun and I pray you are blessed with them sometime. 🙂
Chris
WiffytoJ says
We were surprised with our first 2 (boys) and I was absolutely shocked that our second was a boy. (The pregnancy was sooo different!) I wasn’t disappointed but so shocked that I didn’t want to be in that shocked fog the next time around. So next time we found out and it was a girl. And I had a lot of preparing to do. The next pregnancy was twins and we really wanted to know so I could give away all the smaller boy clothes if it was girls and it was indeed twin girls. (We knew we were done with 5) We do keep the names a surprise until the birth and that is so fun. 🙂
I can’t wait to hear what the newest baby’s name and gender are. How fun!
Praying for energy for each day for you. 🙂
Chris
Coby says
My husband and I are way too impatient to wait to find out the gender of the baby! My first pregnancy was with twins so we wanted to know if we were having two boys or two girls,a boy and a girl, and we had two boys! With my next pregnancy we found out the sex and I was shocked to find out that it was another boy! I was very excited but I thought for sure it was a girl because my pregnancy was so different than the first one! Such an exciting time!
Sarah says
So far we have always found out the gender, not that I believe wholeheartedly anything on those sonograms 😉 but so far they’ve always been right. I knew of a family that used to attend our church service that got ALL ready for a girl~ pink walls and all… And as they were drinking home with their son they realized that they really put too much faith in that ultrasounds ability to give them concrete answers. We don’t share our names either, we choose them and we don’t want anyone putting in their ‘ 2 cents’ either, once baby is here and named officially people will just have to be happy with their names 😉 so I agree with that. I’ve thought recently a lot about maybe not finding out next time, then having our names ready for the big reveal, we’ve always told people gender but maybe we did find out but didn’t share? Or we find out and don’t share that we are expecting until then and announce the baby’s expected arrival with his/ her initials on a little card? Or something different and interesting… Just thinking about it hehe. I have to say your sons name Creed, I love, I just think what a perfect name that little one has everytime I see a post about him. I think that its great you don’t tell people since I bet some people would have tried to dissuade you as it seems ‘different’ but really it has so much quality and character in its one syllable and really is just fantastic. So I’m pretty excited to see what you name the latest sweet blessing… Though I have to admit I’m always on the edge of my seat waiting to hear babies names 😉 we don’t get anything gender specific accept a few outfits and a blanket maybe and perhaps a diaper or 2… Last baby I was lucky the sonogram was right because I only took a few things to our hospital birth and they were very gender specific and I’m only now seeing that. Well keep on growing, so excited for you!!!
Lisa says
How exciting!
We didn’t find out with our first (a girl) and then we did with our next two (both boys). We haven’t found out since and had two girls and then a boy. This time (due in early Feb) we won’t find out and probably won’t again. We really enjoy the surprise.
I have a tub of gender neutral newborn clothes and those all get washed in advanced. Then I have one of girl and one of boy and whoever is watching out kids when we have baby (typically my mom) washes and dries the appropriate set with the help of the other kids.
It works well!
April says
I am pregnant with baby #7! I am 19 weeks, and we are having a girl!! We are so excited to be having our 2nd girl. Our first 5 children are boys and our 3 yr old is our only girl! I’m so impatient, I could never wait to find out what we are having. It’s hard when you have a large family to announce that you’re having another. Not everyone shares in our joy. This time we announced through a video my husband and I put together of our family over the last 15 years. At the end of it is our u/s picture. I love following your blog!
Josi says
I love the surprise so thanks for making us wait! I was never the kid who wanted to peek at my Christmas presents before hand. Therefore, my husband and I didn’t ever find out what we were having. What’s funny is that it drives some people crazy when you wait or know and won’t tell them! May the Lord bless you as you plan and prepare. It’s so exciting 🙂
Emily Garrett says
We have found out with our children. I felt like I definitely needed to to find out this time, because of two miscarriages before this pregnancy. Part of what was hard for me with the losses was not really knowing the gender of my babies. We did have a name ready for a girl and it is a GIRL! Her name is Vivian Eliana. I like telling the name beforehand because, to me, it shows the personhood of the child. Of course, a huge amount of parents already have named their baby before birth so the baby is named, but I like to tell the name to show that this baby is separate and has their own name and his/her life didn’t begin when they left the womb. They are a precious person now with their own distinct name. But I live around alot of people who dont see unborn babies that way so I have more reason to be making a statement. I don’t think that people who don’t tell their babies name until birth are not affirming their child’s personhood. I’m only explaining why we do tell.
Amy says
I have a friend who chooses in-utero names for her babies that are typically a Hebrew word with a meaning that reminds of her her baby’s “story” in utero. 🙂
Sheila Mom to Seven says
I think you’re having another boy. 🙂
We never find out what we’re having. As in, my husband usually just tells the tech that we don’t want to know, so they often avoid that “defining area.” A couple of times I guessed, but we were always surprised in the delivery room. Such fun!
And, because I have a name fetish, I’m suggesting a name anyway: Boy – Maximus, Girl – Alexandra. 🙂
Lauree says
such a teaser post. haha have you ever guessed wrong on the gender of your babies??? Just curious.
Jana says
We always find out because the baby clothes in our family are passed around. Always two or three of us are pregnant at the same time. In the past 5 years, 11 babies have been born and 2 more are on their way. I need to know what gender I’m having so I can call the right people and get an armload of baby clothes. Likewise, I hand off baby clothes to the next sister-in-law who is pregnant with a boy. Our stash is gigantic. No one wants to store these guys.
JJ says
With our sixth child we found out at the ultrasound but we told the kids in a fun way.
We gave each of them a cupcake and told them that inside one of them was either
a blue or pink jellybean…blue if the baby was going to be a boy and pink for a girl.
They all excitedly started eating their cupcakes and a few seconds later our only
son announced that he had found the jellybean and we were having another girl!
Emily Quesenberry says
We are expecting our sixth baby in November 🙂 We always find out the gender. To me it’s like getting two exciting days in the pregnancy: finding out the gender and then the arrival of the baby. I’m also a total planner and the idea of not having all the clothes and accessories out and ready makes me panic. LOL.
Natalie says
With my first two, I wanted to know the gender so that I could take advantage of seasonal sakes on baby clothes. We settled on names before finding out gender and shared big right away. For our third we already had a boy and girl so clothes didn’t matter. We did not find out gender, and kept the names a secret.
I like to paint a picture frame with the baby’s name for each child (cheap from the craft store).
Natalie says
Sorry, I didn’t proof for typos. *sales & both, not sakes & big.
Crystal says
We are due in January and have been really showing (beyond that fun bloated stage i go through before then) since 10 weeks with baby #4. We are now 16 weeks and I get the same questions, and my answer is the same. Most people also ask if this is my first, which makes no sense to me since I nearly always have my 3 little ones in tow. I think that its compulsory to say something to both women who have more than 2 kids and/or are looking like they are expecting. My favorite is , “you’ve got your hands full!” Which I believe is actually a compliment from the older generation, they often tend to value that more than think it a burden here in Central California. I am excited to take this pregnancy journey alongside you guys, I can relate with so much you say. We have taken a step of faith and left the birth control wagon behind. Do you ever wonder how many little blessings you will end up having? Its on my mind all the time. God is so good 🙂
Amy says
I used to wonder, but along the way the journey has had some twists and turns that have made me realize there’s no way I can even guess at numbers. 🙂
Jennifer D says
I am currently 7 weeks along and was just thinking today how crazy it is that I seem to have a baby bump already! However, since this is baby #9, and our youngest had his 1st birthday last week (Aug. 5), I guess my body is kind-a getting ahead of itself. 🙂
We have 5 boys and 3 girls. We didn’t learn the sex with our girls (numbers 1, 2, & 6) and we weren’t going to with most of our boys, but 3 of those fellas didn’t leave anything hidden! Even I knew what I was seeing! I’m not sure what we’ll do with this one. It’s not like we need to know for clothes or anything…
It is getting more difficult to decide on a name, though. You, and other commentators, mentioned getting negative comments about your choice in names. We have never experienced this and we always stated the name before birth (although we have sometimes kept the middle name a secret). We do have an interesting pattern we follow with their names: the first name is Biblical and the middle name is a family name. We alternate between his side of the family and mine. So for this little on, his/her name will be chosen from his side.
Our 4.5 yr old daughter has already stated that “this baby is a girl and her name is Elizabeth”. *grin* We shall see….
Diana says
Just had baby #6, our second little girl in a row after 4 boys in a row! We only found out the gender once, with our twins. The other 4 times we were surprised! 🙂