We’re currently living overseas in a country where revealing the gender is supposed to be illegal. Since we’re going through a private hospital and are both foreigners (Americans) , the rules are more flexible with regard to us. But many people here try to find ways around the rules to learn the sex of their future child, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much. I’ve been told we were lucky that we get to find out beforehand, and we occasionally encounter a little jealousy that we know already.

Back in the U.S., a friend of mine who is also pregnant has decided she isn’t going to find out the baby’s gender until the birth. I’m not so big on surprises, personally. My attitude was mostly “Tell me! Tell me now!”
It is fun to look at her belly and try to guess, though, and her friends have set up a fun little pool to try and figure it out, so there’s something to be said for the surprise method.

In the end, it wouldn’t have been possible for us to be surprised after all. When we went in for our twenty week ultrasound, the technician maneuvered the wand across my belly, looking at different views of the baby and pointing out different body parts. I’d been a biology major in college and Justin worked as a video tech for a cardiovascular ultrasounds telecourse, so both of us recognized much of what was being shown. When the technician showed us a view of the baby’s butt and legs, she asked “Do you want to know the gender?”

Our response, looking at the ultrasound, was a joint” It’s a boy!” The extra little appendage between the legs was an obvious giveaway. I promptly warned my friend who doesn’t want to know to make sure the ultrasound tech doesn’t accidentally give it away!

For those who do want to know, and like the idea of figuring it out before the tech tells, here’s how to tell the gender of your baby:
Try to think of it this way: boy parts look like a little “turtle” poking out of its shell and girl parts resemble a “hamburger” or three little similar-sized lines in a row. You can usually see this difference by about 16-20 weeks. As the pregnancy progresses, it becomes more and more obvious.

Of course, the next step, now that we know our little bundle of joy will be male, is coming up with a name. We haven’t had quite as much success with that one yet, but we have managed to narrow it down to about five possibilities. Meanwhile, I’m just happy to know what we’re having. And kinda proud that we figured it out before being told.