Yesterday we had our anatomy ultrasound and found a penis on our fetus (ha ha! That rhymes!). Although mistakes happen, it looks like we are having a boy. This is exciting. As much as I like to think sex doesn't matter, knowing the sex really helps make this whole thing feel real. I'll be raising a son. It's exciting.
Last night, however, I said, "all we know is that it probably has a penis, for all we know it could be an intersexed child. And I would love it just as much." We're having another ultrasound in five weeks because they couldn't see everything on the first try. I'll probably ask them to look at the sex parts again. I've read so many stories of people being told they were having one sex and then they ended up having the other. It really is the ultrasound tech's best guess and they mess up sometimes. So really, we will probably find out for sure at birth. But even at birth, sometimes it can be hard to tell. Different disorders or genetic abnormalities can make the sex of a baby unknown for a while. These are somewhat rare, but I have heard that 1/100 of us have genitals that are "different." Not necessarily so different you can't tell the sex, but different from the "norm." But really these are relative terms and culturally influenced, hence the quotation marks.
Besides the probable sex, we found out that the spine looks good, the heart looks like it's hooked up correctly, it seems to have two legs and two arms and ten fingers, the stomach is there and on the correct side, it has two kidneys, the brain looks well formed so far, and the umbilical cord is hooked up correctly. Phew!
I highly recommend the ultrasound. It's fun to see and puts your mind at ease. We decided against the Quad Screen to look for a chance of genetic disorders, but I really wanted to make sure the baby had a head and all the right moving parts before birth. I think I could handle finding out it has Downs Syndrom at birth, but having a baby come out with Anencephaly (without a brain) without warning would be traumatizing. Plus it's cool to see the fetus moving around before birth. It's pretty amazing that I have nearly created life without having to do more than eat enough food and take vitamins. Somehow nature figures out how to do the rest.
I'm so happy your baby looks healthy. And you've got such a healthy outlook towards the baby's gender! As strange as that seems ... not many people would even be ok with the idea of a differently-sexed child - even if such a thought occurred to them, and I don't think it's a thought that occur to most.
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