To know or not to know? - that is the question

[Fat Tone]

I some of may already have heard me say once or ten times we are expecting our second child in October. The question is, would you want to know the sex before it's born?

We found out for our first born (a boy), mainly because we just wanted to know everything, and I guess were a bit paranoid about certain conditions (family history). On this occasion we know everything is normal, and now have 4 weeks to wait for the opportunity to hear the sex. I remember late in the first pregnancy thinking it would be nice not to know, to preserve some of the 'mystery' and anticipation of the occassion.

I keep telling myself that I will need time to get used to the idea if it is going to be a girl, but I have heard it said that it can be easier to bond/adjust to the actual child than the idea.

Why would I prefer a boy? At the risk of starting a flame war here, boys don't have periods, don't get pregnant, and usually the brides father pays (j/k ). A boy may also be cheaper intially as we have been able to keep some of the stuff that didn't wear out first time.

So, would you find out the sex or not?

T.

[Ant]

The only thing we wanted to know the scan couldn't tell us, whether the child was ginger or not. Luckily all turned out well in the end and we had a healthy, non-ginger baby girl.

[Fat Tone]

LOL I'm almost blonde, she's dark...I THINK we're safe

[Ant]

We are both dark but apparently ginger skips a generation and the mother in law is out and out ginga so it was touch and go for a while.

[KvHagedorn]

Are you talking about red hair, Ant? That's not such a bad thing.. just need a bit heavier sunblock, that's all.

No, I don't have red hair, so have never been bothered by the serious freckle thing, but I certainly don't find it an unattractive feature. It can be downright beautiful, I think.

And, well.. I don't know whether I would want to know the sex or not.. the only real advantage I can think of is for baby showers and decorating the room.. neither of which really interest me.

I really wouldn't mind knowing ahead of time, but then what's the point? You can't change things anyhow.

[RichL]

Originally posted by Ant
The only thing we wanted to know the scan couldn't tell us, whether the child was ginger or not. Luckily all turned out well in the end and we had a healthy, non-ginger baby girl.

So tell us what you've got, what you've really really got against ginger people?

[Fat Tone]

I doesn't have to turn out bad: http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/8481/

[KvHagedorn]

Where's Cate Blanchett? My very favorite redhead.. she has the sweetest smile..

[dave m]

For our second we wanted to know, because we thought it would be easier to get our son used to the idea of a younger sib if he knew what flavour it was. The sonographer said she thought it was a boy but wasn't sure... she sure was wrong We had a gorgeous little girl.

Dave

[Gurm]

Yeah, for a second kid the mystery fun is outweighed by the psychological aspects of the older child. Additionally, you WILL need time to get ready for a girl... AND to get the nursery ready, pick out clothes, etc.

If you kept the baby clothes you already had for the first child, and the second child isn't the same sex, NOW is a good time to start shopping for the other gender's clothing, as opposed to "oh dear lord it's a girl and we have nothing pink in the entire house".

- Gurm

[Technoid]

Originally posted by Gurm
Yeah, for a second kid the mystery fun is outweighed by the psychological aspects of the older child. Additionally, you WILL need time to get ready for a girl... AND to get the nursery ready, pick out clothes, etc.

If you kept the baby clothes you already had for the first child, and the second child isn't the same sex, NOW is a good time to start shopping for the other gender's clothing, as opposed to "oh dear lord it's a girl and we have nothing pink in the entire house".

- Gurm

Why Shopping for new clothes???

There is no natural law that say that baby girls have to have pink and baby boys have to have blue!!!

[Fat Tone]

It's funny how the polling seems to be going opposite to the comments posted.

I think the reasons posted for knowing early are all good, and are ones I've used to justify it to myself.

I'd also be interested to hear more of the opinions as to why we should wait!

I think the nursery will be yellow, so that's not a problem. My 4 year old wants a sister, so thats a good reason for knowing!

T.

[Sasq]

Ahh he only wants a sister now, wait till he's 20 and his mates are all hitting on her

[Fat Tone]

Originally posted by Sasq
Ahh he only wants a sister now, wait till he's 20 and his mates are all hitting on her

I guess he's thinking ahead and is already working out the most effective auction techniques .

[GNEP]

Or he is anticipating pulling her mates