When I was pregnant with James, I always thought of the baby growing in me as a him. Daniel called him Joey (like a Kangaroo but he’s also a big Friends fan so who knows) and we just always used male pronouns. When we were about to look at the genetic testing results to find out, I remember thinking I would be absolutely shocked if the baby was a girl. Our intuition, of course, turned out to be right.
With my second pregnancy, I had the same feelings as I did with James. Right from the beginning, I just thought of the baby as a boy. Daniel named him “Olivier” (I have no idea why) and even though we lost him before we ever really knew, whenever I think about him, I picture my second boy.
This time it felt different. Very early on, I just didn’t have a strong feeling one way or another. Then as time went on I became more and more convinced it was going to be a little girl. I knew mother’s intuition was likely wildly inaccurate but I couldn’t help picturing the potential differences between raising a girl and a boy. Teaching her “girly” stuff like doing hair and painting our nails. Daniel and I both have opposite sex siblings so in a way it felt natural. We did an early genetic test and got the results back recently. My doctor asked me if I wanted to know the sex over the phone and as Daniel and I huddled close the receiver we heard her say, “You are having a little boy!” We were both surprised but so, so delighted. Brothers!
It’s a boy!
So…turns out my intuition isn’t very accurate. But I am so excited for the future of our family and for James to have a little brother to love and grow with. I’m going to be in a house full of boys and it’s going to be the best.
For the moms out there, was your intuition correct or were you surprised like me?