First off, if you are reading this, it probably means you or someone you know is pregnant, so congratulations on the baby boy or baby girl. Now to find out which sex the baby is!
Typically doctors can’t accurately determine the sex of the baby until it has been at least 18-20 weeks since conception. There have been times when ultrasounds have been able to show the sex as early as 14 weeks, but early ultrasounds are not always accurate. In the early stages of pregnancy, all babies’ genitalia is the same, they are all phenotypically female.
Knowing the sex of the baby can be extremely important to some people, whereas others want to be surprised during the delivery. Most of the time, people want to prepare bedrooms, clothes, parties, gender-reveal parties, etc. around the sex of the child.
For the people who like to prepare for their baby before the baby is born, the best-case scenario would be already having a boy and a girl in the family.
If the baby ends up being a boy, the baby can have the older boy’s hand-me-downs. Same for if the baby ends up being a girl. The baby shower wouldn’t be ruined if the sex of the baby is unknown, it would make the party more of a fun mystery and maybe a fun little guessing game could be added.
It is perfectly fine if you don’t know the sex of the baby before the baby is delivered, but here are some options you can try if you are having a hard time figuring out the sex of the baby.
Try an Ultrasound Again
If you went in to figure out the sex of the baby at exactly 18 weeks and the sex was undetermined, go back to the doctor again three weeks later. You still have about 20 more weeks until the baby is born to know the sex.
If at the end of that visit you still don’t know the sex, try again a bit later on.
Blood Testing
Blood testing is meant to find things relative to the chromosome count. The blood test can find out things about the baby like whether or not the baby has down syndrome or extra or missing copies of the typical XY chromosomes.
While checking for those things, the doctors can also potentially figure out the sex of the baby.
Genetic Testing
Genetic testing is meant for figuring out if there are any genetic abnormalities before the baby is born. There are a handful of different ways this can be done, and there are many things that the test can find.
Apart from finding a genetic disorder, the test can possibly pick up the sex of the baby during the process.
Prenatal Screening
Prenatal screening includes an ultrasound and a blood test. The prenatal screening test is also meant for finding abnormalities. They usually perform this screening within the first trimester and again during the second.
While looking for potential birth risks they can also determine the sex of the baby.
CVS
Chronic Villus Sampling is another type of prenatal screening, it’s another way of testing for genetic and or chromosomal conditions by looking at the genetic makeup.
It’s not meant for finding the sex of the baby, but it can find it out.
Amniocentesis
Amniocentesis is another type of test during pregnancy whose main purpose for testing isn’t related to finding the sex of the baby, but it can.
Amniocentesis involves taking out some of the amniotic fluid to test for genetic and or chromosomal conditions.
Wait Until Delivery
Some people might find this option really stressful, not planning ahead of time, but some might also really love the idea. Instead of finding out the sex of the baby while it’s still in the womb, you can wait to find out the sex after birth.
It might even be slightly more rewarding finding out that way.
Gender-Neutral
If you end up still not being able to determine the sex of the baby on time for all the parties and planning, you can go the gender-neutral route. Certain colors aren’t meant for only boys or only girls, though pink is one of the most popular color choices for girls, and blue for boys.
Clothing
There is a lot of gender-neutral clothing out there and not just for newborns. Whether or not the baby is a boy or a girl, both sexes can look just as cute in any color including blue and pink.
Room
As for the room color, there are plenty of neutral shades of colors for a bedroom. Soft colors are typical for baby rooms, but it doesn’t have to be a soft blue or soft pink.
Get Boy and Girl Things
If you want to have everything prepared and ready for when the baby comes back to the house, but you still don’t know what the sex is, you can still do some things. If this is your firstborn and you plan on having more kids later on, you can buy baby clothes for a boy and a girl.
If you only plan on having one child, you can still do this option. Say the baby is a girl, now what do you do will all the boyish clothes you bought? It’s simple really, gift them to someone else, donate them, keep them, and have your baby girl wear them regardless.
All of the Above
There are a couple of reasons you might not be able to determine the sex of the baby. It might be too early to tell from an ultrasound, the tests might not have worked, or maybe your baby is intersex.
Intersex means that a person has characteristics of both sexes and it’s pretty common, and it’s not a bad thing.
Good Luck
Figuring out the sex of your child can be an exciting thing, don’t be too stressed out if you can’t figure it out right away! You have time to get things ready and there are many options for you to pick from testing-wise and preparation-wise!