Boy or Girl? Drumroll, please...

We've found that one of the most common questions people ask after finding out about the bump is, "Do you know what you're having?" Typically, this comes right after, "When are you due?" and "How are you feeling?"

I've always thought the prospect of not knowing was appealing. This premise dates back to the summer of 1985 or 1986. It was late August and Mom, Paul (soon to be Uncle) and I were talking about my upcoming birthday. Something was mentioned about a special present, so I asked Paul what he was getting for me. He maintained that he wasn't going to tell me (duh!)... so I guessed. "You got me a She-ra doll, didn't you?" And you know what he said? "Yep." About a week later, when I was opening my presents and it came to Paul's gift, guess what it was? You got it... the Princess of Power herself:

I was devastated. All the surprise and excitement had been stripped away from me because I couldn't wait to find out, and ever since then, I've been scarred (just a little). With that single experience, I realized that I really do love surprises.

Lucky for me, Chris also has a keen appreciation for surprises, so we're in agreement that anonymity is perfectly acceptible here.

We will have the opportunity to find out whether the bump (or bump-ette) is a he or a she next week at our 20-week appointment. But, we're saying "thanks, but no thanks"... we're passing go, yet not collecting our $200... we're allowing one of life's only true surprises be exactly that.

Now... we don't want you thinking this means you can't guess, make wagers, tell us what your version of the "old wives' tale" says, try to decipher the ultrasound photo, etc. In fact, we encourage it! Chris and I love playing games, so that sort of strategy and gamesmanship is part of the journey.

Look for the 20-week portrait(s) at the end of next week! Our ultrasound is on 3/27/09.

What do you think about finding out the sex of the baby?
If you have little ones, did you find out?