Boy or Girl?

That's the big question right now. At least one of my Beehives asks me that question every single Sunday and Wednesday: "Do you know yet if it's a boy or a girl?" It's beginning to remind me of that road trip question, "Are we there yet?", except that this question does not annoy me. In fact, I'm happy to talk about it and get people's guesses and opinions. If you were here to have the conversation with me, here's how it would go...

You: Are you hoping for a boy this time?
Me: Well, it is true that in our deliberations on the subject of whether or not to have another child, I may have been overheard to say, "If I knew it would be a boy, I would go ahead and do it." However, we made the decision to have this baby without any revealed knowledge of its gender. We knew full well that it could very well be a girl, and still, we decided to go ahead with baby #5. Not because we're trying for a boy, but because we are excited to add another member to our family. I will be thrilled if it's a boy (not to mention terrified, curious, ready to shop, as well as unsure about how we'll all fit into the bedrooms we have in this house, in the long run). I will also be ecstatic if it's another girl. I ADORE my daughters. My sis-in-law, Kaelyn, tells me that I wished so hard for a girl the first time around, that's all I get now. If that's the case, then lucky me. I am so glad to have girls!! So, coming back to the question, my bottom line answer is, I'm not necessarily hoping for a boy, but I am definitely anxious to find out! It will be a fun announcement either way. Remember that Doug has eight brothers, and no sisters, so another girl would not surprise me, and would be a fun way for our family to be recognized. But then, in my family, there are four girls, and one boy. Hmmmm...

You: When will you find out?
Me: My ultrasound is scheduled for December 20th. (That is less than 3 weeks from now, people!) When the ultrasound technician asks me if we'd like to know the gender, I'll say "yes and no". I've never had the patience to outweigh my curiosity at the time of the ultrasound. Nor have I had the desire. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything when the baby is born and the doctor says "It's a ____!" There are plenty of other surprises that will be revealed on the birth day, such as "What color hair?", "Who does she look like?", and "Does she have Doug's toes?" Back to my point....We don't want to wait until Spring to find out the gender of this baby, but we do want to wait until Christmas. Even waiting those 5 days will be hard for me. (Maybe 4 days...we can open a present on Christmas Eve, right?) But I think it will be fun to have the gender sealed in a gift box and opened as a family on Christmas this year. So, if you're as anxious as I am for this news, you can call us on Christmas day, or check my blog. I promise I'll post it here.

Now, if "You" were my midwife, "You" would say, at my last appointment, "Well, the chances aren't great that you'll have a boy, but if you do, how do you feel about having him circumcised? (Around here, the ObGyn does that procedure, not the pediatrician. Is that odd?)

If "You" were my kids' pediatrician, you would say to me, "Wow, Doug might really be outnumbered, huh?"

If "You" were my mother, you would tell me that 12 ladies in your ward are pregnant. 10 have already had ultrasounds, and 9 of those 10 are having girls.

And if "You" were Hannah, you would have had this conversation with me, several times, exactly the same way, during the last several weeks:

Me: What should we call the baby if it's a girl?
H: Bidia.
Me. Oh, wow. What if it's a boy?
H: It's a girl.
Me: But what if it's a boy?
H: Then I'll call it a girl.

Doug tried to tickle-torture her into saying that it's a boy, and his name (for now) is Spike. (Lauren suggested that one, and we all use it now.) That worked on Hannah, but only for half a day. She is convinced it's a girl.

So, what do YOU think? Cast your predictions! I'd love to hear them.