How to Prepare for a Baby Gender Surprise and Choose Suitable Names

For some people they find out the gender and pick out names early on.  They decorate the nursery, pick out clothes and enjoy the progression of their pregnancy looking forward to the day on which they hold their newborn in their arms for the first time.

For both our girls though we decided to be surprised. At every scan we were told to look away when they took the measurements that may have shown something on the screen that indicated their gender and we were met by a number of people commenting how lovely it was to be having a surprise.

If I recall correctly it was my father who suggested we have a surprise first time round and on falling pregnant with our second we decided to continue this as if it were a tradition. When our eldest was born a number of people we met during her first year also had girls and so on hearing that a few people around me knew they were expecting baby boys I wondered whether I too was destined to have a baby boy second time round. Unlike my first pregnancy when I felt the pitter patter of little feet walking up and down my body this was non-existent second time round. I did however feel bloated and hubby told me I appeared bigger this time round. Thanks hubby, love you too!

So we went with neutral coloured clothing for our tiny bundles of mischief and joy. On seeing these gorgeous girls dressed in white many people assumed we had had boys. I was even asked by one physiotherapist as to how I was getting on with my first born whom they’d assumed was a boy only for me to retort ‘she’s wearing a dress’ which brought about laughter by the other patients who’d come to see the physiotherapist following surgery. 

Hospital staff had the same problem when they visited my second born and even if politely corrected would return to saying ‘he’. One of the staff members who saw me weekly asked after her gender before saying “I knew you were going to have another girl“. I don’t know how she knew if we didn't maybe there’s something to be said by the shape of a baby bump? Then again my grandmother in law reckons she carried hers all the same and she had 3 boys and 1 girl.

One thing I truly knew for sure was that I was eager to get my daughter home and wearing lovely little girly things especially after seeing another mother produce lots of girly pieces for her newborn in the ward opposite me.

 As for names yes we batted several about but it wasn't until we’d met our daughters that we came to an agreement. Having worked in education previously a number of names were quickly dismissed as I had come across someone with a similar name.  So we took our time and thank goodness we don’t live in another country where there’s only three days to declare the name of your child to the registry office for we hadn't decided in that space of time. Many hospital staff asked me whether I’d decided on a name for my children and I felt guilty as I had not produced one but it had to be perfect and I needed it to be right after all they will have their names with them forever. The youngest’s name only came to us after we’d left hospital. Both these names incidentally appear in a baby names book that I’d forgotten to take into hospital with me. The first name also appears in my grandmother’s favourite film and the second is after my husband saw someone in hospital with that name.