… HE!
We haven’t done one of these posts since 2010, so it feels kind of strange and exciting to be sharing this kind of news with you guys again. We found out on Wednesday, and then scurried to tell our families over the last 48 hours. Of course, the most important person to tell first was Clara. We didn’t want her to learn the news from an ultrasound technician, so we scheduled a playdate for her with my dad during this particular appointment. Then when we were back together, we surprised her with a baby boy doll (which are surprisingly hard to find, we learned). It was a cute little “OK, look in the bag to see if there’s a little boy or a little girl in mommy’s belly!” moment.
And if there’s one thing she enjoys more than tearing through some tissue paper, it’s baby dolls. It was love at first sight and, more importantly, she completely connected the dots that this meant she was getting a little brother. She pretty much immediately started giving him his bottle and changing his diapers and even bragged that she knew it was a boy the whole time. When we asked her what she wanted to name the baby doll, without hesitation she shouted: “Barnacles!” After Sherry and I completely failed at stifling our laughter, Clara explained that its full name was actually Captain Barnacles (a character in one of her new favorite shows, Octonauts). So yeah, she won’t be naming her real brother… but we have called the bun “the barnacle” a few times since then.
She (okay, well all of us) originally guessed we were having a girl. But our instincts started to shift to boy when Sherry’s morning sickness wouldn’t let up (this pregnancy is pretty different than the last). Which is good because Clara started asking for a brother, probably because a few of her best friends have baby brothers. Regardless of the reason, she couldn’t have been more thrilled at the news. And so are we.
After about the sixteenth Captain Barnacle diaper change, Clara called up Nonna to tell her via FaceTime. She was really excited to deliver the news – and Nonna was just as excited to hear it!
For telling my family here in town, we decided to make a little game out of the announcement. We managed to get my parents, my sister, and her family to meet us out to dinner last night (at Panera, since we’re super fancy and all). We came armed with a bunch of blue and pink envelopes, so each person could make a final guess by picking a pink envelope if they thought it was a girl and a blue one if they thought boy.
Then we had them all tear into them at the same time to see if their baby-dar was on point or not. All of the blue ones said some iteration of “yup!” or “bingo!” or “you betcha!” and all the pink ones said “nope!” “try again!” or “wrong-o!” We had about a 50/50 split in guesses, so even though half of ’em were off-base, everyone was thrilled. It was really fun to watch their faces as they all figured it out at pretty much exactly the same moment.
Then we got to make a whole bunch of other family & friend calls to spread the news (Clara was awesome about boasting “I’m getting a baby brother!” about 100 times to various friends and relatives on the horn). And that, as they say, is history.
Sherry and I are both really excited. We’re mostly just thankful to hear there’s a healthy bun barnacle growing in there, no matter its sex. But being able to picture this child – this boy! – a bit more clearly makes the excitement that much more real. As much as two little girls would’ve been fun, we’re really looking forward to the experience of raising a son along with this great daughter of ours. Not to mention that Sherry’s already going crazy looking at nurseries on Pinterest.
It’s fun to think about the possibilities for that room now that we know better who will be occupying it. Not that we’ll fill it with “man things” or make it all blue and green (actually, come to think of it, Clara’s original nursery was blue and green) but it’s just fun to talk about potential projects and colors and art now. The funny thing is that the nursery is the only room in this entire house that had pink trim when we bought it.
Good thing it’s already painted white! Bad that the room is currently housing a bunch of random junk. Guess it’s getting time to start working on that…
We’d love to hear your stories about finding out the sex of your baby (whether halfway through with an ultrasound, one of those early blood tests, or right there in the delivery room). And feel free to share how you told your family and friends. Was it a photo on Facebook? One of those blue/pink cakes? A box full of balloons? Or did you just call or visit people and blurt out the news? Any way you play it, it’s a pretty exciting moment.
Jane says
When we found out we were having a boy we snapped a picture of our 3 year old daughter (3.5 when our son was born) holding a sign saying “In March I am bringing home a baby brother”. I have to say, I feel delighted in so many new ways to discover the similarities and differences between little boys and little girls firsthand! Congrats and best wishes for an uneventful enjoyable delivery!
Diana says
Just got home from work and remembered that you were revealing the sex of the baby today! Congratulations!! So happy for you! Clara will make a wonderful big sister! :)
Helena Dias says
Congratulations. So happy for you.
Helena Dias says
A boy! Congrats. So happy for you.
SarahSmile says
This made my day! I’m an older sister with a younger brother and have always loved it so very much! Congrats to you three and your entire family!
Liz B. says
Congrats………awesome 1 of each! We wanted surprises so with our first pregnancy,it was a scary delivery so they just said it’s a boy and look at your son as they ran him out of the room.Everything turned out fine.One year later I was pregnant again with TWINS (shock of my life).I had always wanted 3, I just didn’t think I would get them all in a year and a 9 months!So I knew it would be my last pregnancy and I didn’t want to be buying more girl clothes ( i saved some from when I didn’t know my first child was a boy knowing I wanted more children).I had an odd request for my Dr. One he never got before.I asked just let me know if there is at least 1 girl in there,if there was not then obviously I would have all boys.But if there was at least 1 girl my other baby was still a surprise for us!I also asked not to be told if they were fraternal or identical and I didn’t want to know which baby was indeed a girl.Because w/ twins they I.d.them baby A and baby B.I got a boy and a girl,premature but healthy!
Autumn Beach says
Awwww….congratulations, you guys!! I DELIGHT in having one of each, and I know you will, too. So happy for you two and sweet Clara.
Mrs. A says
Woohoo!! CONGRATULATIONS!! :) Clara will have such a wonderful time with a new baby!
I knew it, I knew it, I knew IT! I had such terrible morning sickness with my son and was always told it was because I was expecting a boy.
Lisa Barton-Collins says
Congratulations! I’m so happy for you!
After I had pre eclampsia my first time around, I was super nervous about getting pregnant again. SO nervous I left it for 12 years! When I did finally get pregnant, the Nuchal Translucency test came back with a very low score, and my doctor advised me to have a CVS, the results of which took 2 weeks to deliver. The test delivery day landed on a Friday, which was the 20 week mark, and it was incredibly nerve wracking because if the CVS results where really bad, we would have had an extremely difficult decision to make almost immediately – after 12 years of being too nervous to get pregnant, you can understand what I was going through! I was too freaked out to even call for the test results so I made my husband call them. When he phoned me at my office to tell me we where having a healthy baby boy, I put my head on my desk and sobbed.
xx
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet! I love it!
xo
s
Amy E. says
So happy to hear of your happy news! i have a good friend who works for the pre-eclampsia foundation and she’s having a hard time convincing herself to try for a kid after all the things she’s learned about pre-eclampsia and other things that could cause a high risk pregnancy. good luck to you for a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby!
Rosemary says
Hurray for boys!
For our first boy the tech had a hard time trying to find what we were looking for. Baby wouldn’t move into the right position.
For baby 2, the tech took all the measurements first, checked the heart and then gave us the suspenseful “ok, here’s the money shot”. Right off the bat I could tell it was a boy.
Next time I’m hoping to ask the tech to write down what the baby is in an envelope and take it to the bakery to have a gender reveal cake made.
Jamie says
I went in for my 18 week appt and the doctor said he could tell yet. And then he said let’s wait until 22 weeks and check again then. I was so bummed but I thought just one more month and then I would know. At our next appt he said he still couldn’t tell and to wait until 26 weeks. I quickly told him he had lost his mind… I am not a patient person, my sister and I give each other our Christmas presents when we buy them! So we scheduled a 3D ultrasound and most of my family was there. I was over the moon about having a boy because my sister’s son is exactly 9 months older than mine. They have grown up best friends!
Amber says
Love how excited Big Sis is!! And your envelope idea is too cute! For our first, we went to a 3D ultrasound for gender reveal at 13 weeks! I knew it was going to be a boy and my husband gasped as a larger than life boy part was displayed on the jumbotron. We decided to be surprised for our second and again, I knew she was going to be a girl. My husband announced her arrival and I was just happy I had pushed her out without any drugs. Then the shopping frenzy began! :) congrats to all of u!
Christie says
Congratulations! I can’t wait to see what you do with Captain Barnacle’s baby room.
As for my own experience, my mom had five grandchildren already before I added to the bunch so she’d had her share of surprise baby announcements. I bought Itty Bitty Hats (a knitting book with patterns for super cute baby hats), tagged several hats that I liked, and wrote a brief inscription that explained she’d have to get busy. Then I mailed it to her. She was initially unsure why I had mailed her a baby hat book. Once it clicked, she was pretty excited and agreed to make my baby a pumpkin hat right away (we were expecting in October).
Christina says
How precious is this?
Vanessa says
Aww congrats Petersiks! I was totally thinking team pink! Here’s to a healthy pregnancy! I’m hoping to make my own barnacle soon :) but not a captain as we have a son already so perhaps a first mate??
Gina, book dragon says
We decide to wait until Christmas to tell the family about the first one but when we told his mom she said she already knew. Said she and Liz (SIL) talked about it at Thanksgiving and were waiting for us to tell them
Rachel says
Congratulations! We have a 21 month old boy. Boys rock. I wanted to find out and my husband didn’t, so we compromised! We got the ultrasound lady to write it down and put it in a envelope, and we opened it on Christmas morning 6 weeks later :-) perfect. We are 7 weeks pregnant with our second and same situation – maybe mother’s day or my birthday this time! (I’m pretty sure it’s a girl though!)
Lily Mugo says
A big YAY to a healthy Baby Barnacles…..!!!!
Steph says
Congrats!
I’m putting money on a yellow and something nursery!
Maybe yellow and grey, or teal or turquoise!
Natalie says
LOL! My boy’s nursery is grey, yellow, and dark teal.
Jennifer says
We had our 20 week scan about this time last December. We had the tech write down what it was and put it in an envelope. We gave it to our friend/neighbor along with a baby boy and a baby girl outfit. We asked her to wrap up the appropriate outfit for us to open on christmas. She was thrilled to do it for us and even teased us about her knowing and us not. It was a tough to wait, but super fun and worth it. It was so much fun to unwrap the present Christmas morning and see the baby boy outfit!
Congrats on your little boy! We have two and they are so fun!!
Heidi says
Congratulations! I am very excited for the three of you! My husband and I waited until delivery to find out for our first child–a girl, which was my intuition all along. It was such an exciting moment! For our second pregnancy we were going to do the same but on the day of our 20-week ultrasound we had quite a surprise. The doctor started to do the ultrasound but immediately stopped and said we were having twins. I started to cry happy tears and we decided it would be best to know the sex so it would make planning a little easier. My husband and daughter were there and it was such a special moment…we felt like the luckiest people ever that day! Turns out our twins were girls too. Now our kids are 16, 12 and 12, and I wish time would slow down a little. Congratulations to all of you!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Such a big surprise! Love all the stories guys! This has been so much fun to share with you all!
xo
s
Jeremy *cynthia says
Félicitations pour votre petit garçon de françe!!!!(congratulation !!!)Xxo
Ana says
In Croatia we would say:
CESTITKE!!!!!!!!
(translation: congratulations!!!)
JoDi says
Congratulations! Boys are a ton of fun! I know Clara will enjoy her baby Barnacle! :-)
Judy says
So exciting for you, but even more so Clara. She doesn’t,t know it yet, but being a big sister to a brother is one of the most wonderful things in the world. I know I have two baby brothers, and at 63 years old they are still giving me joy.
Lisa says
Congratulations you guys, I think secretly, every little girl wants a baby brother :)
So my husband wanted to keep our baby’s gender a surprise- it was tough, but it was worth it. My mom and both of my older sisters made it to the delivery room while I was in labor (neither had ever witnessed a vaginal delivery, and I work in medicine so I was happy to share)- it was an exciting room for them, but I didn’t get an epidural (or any pain meds for that matter), and in 4 short hours I went from happy-go-lucky 2cm to “if you get any closer to me I’m going to hit you” 10 cm. While I was pushing, my Mom was holding one of my legs (the left one actually), and as the baby was almost out, she reached around my leg, rested her arm on my lower abdomen (where the doctor has his “sterile field” of instruments,etc. stating “I can’t see through this pole!” After a smack on the arm from the doctor and a stern growl from me, she jokingly responded “oh, that’s your leg!” Seconds later, my little Molly entered the world to be turned around by the jokingly pleasant OB for a second, then he announced, “it’s a girl!” The room erupted in tears (for me, I just had a baby- for them, happy it’s a girl). The honest truth- a few minutes later I leaned to my husband and said “is it a boy or girl?” So honestly, it might be better to learn ahead of time rather than during the ending stages of the “ring of fire”- when quite frankly, I couldn’t comprehend anything!
Virginia says
Congratulations :)
We just had our second boy a few weeks ago! With our first we found out gender right at the ultrasound and called/texted/Facebook announced to everyone right away, this time we entertained the idea of not knowing but had them write the gender down and seal it in an envelope (I was dying to know hubby was not). I found out first but only because my husband chickened out at the last minute, we gave the envelope to our toddler and had him open it (as he opened it hubby ran from the room lol). A couple weeks later hubby opened it for himself and we kept it a secret from everyone until the birth. It was nice having a little secret :)
Kimi says
Yahh!! Congrats to you all!!!!!:) Soo very exciting!! Getting to have one of each is great!!! We have 2 boys and 1 girl.
Karen Schravemade says
Congratulations – a little boy, yay!!
Our first was a boy and we found out but kept it a secret. Or tried to. We even went to the extreme of removing the handle from the nursery after we painted it so no-one could sneak in and find out. Except my innovative sister-in-law came up with the bright idea of going through our laundry hamper to see what colour paint marks she would find on our painting clothes. Yes. Yes she did. Points for ingenuity!
YoungHouseLove says
So wiley of them!
xo
s
Carla says
Congratulations! (Breaks out in song, “It’s a whole new world!”) :)
Q: What brand is and where did you get your tree? It appears different this year in form and shape; I like it (and we’re in the market). Thanks! (or is it real?)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I owe you guys a post! It’s a hand-me-down from my mom, and it’s a faker!
xo
s
Lucie says
My husband wanted to find out early and I wanted to wait until delivery. I told him that I was going to have to give birth so I get the last vote :).
I was getting pretty exhausted after 18 hours of natural labor and not sleeping all night and things didn’t seem to be progressing as fast as I’d like. To motivate me, the dr asked if I’d like to see for myself what the baby’s sex was and I just nodded. And that’s exactly what happened, it was amazing! He came out, they handed him over to me right away and I said “it’s a boy!!”
Christina says
Many congratulations to the entire Petersik Family!
Shiv says
Congratulations!! I had a feeling it would be a boy, looking forward to seeing the nursery, and of course the baby!
Rosie S says
Congrats! What fun you will have!
Katie says
How exciting! I’m sure Clara is going to love being a big sister to a baby boy! I’m due in March with our first–also a boy!
yillian says
Congratulations! Very happy and excited for you!. Next post (name). I am sure everyone is asking already.
Audrey says
Congratulations, how exciting! I was pulling for a boy – because I am also due in April with a baby boy! The ultrasound tech had us guess. Let’s just say that’s why I’m not an ultrasound tech. Looked like girl to me, but we are so overjoyed. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy – I’ll be right there with you!
A says
Congrats to your sweet family! So awesome to see the obvious love you three have for each other and your little guy on the way. :)
Anika says
AHHH Thanks for sharing the news with us all – SO excited for your family and all the new adventures this little bun will bring!
Barbara says
Congratulations to all!! So exciting for you and for all of us who get to share the experiences with you.
Kati says
Congratulations!! Boys are awesome!! We just had our second and it’s a girl!! It’s so different in such a good way! We took our son to a park with a fist full of blue and pink balloons. We told him to start letting the blue ones go as we started snapping pictures. So he was then left with pink ones. We posted it on Facebook and Instagram. It was a fun way to tell friends and extended family. We took my parents to a cupcake shop and handed them one with a pink heart on top. It was really sweet and simple!
Megan says
Just found out yesterday our first (also due in April) is a Girl!!
Elisabeth says
Herzliche Glückwünsche
we would say here in Germany.
Greetings to the Petersik family!
Elisabeth (2 girls mama)
Melissa says
Congrats!! So excited for you guys, I have two sons, so I was hoping for a boy for you! Can’t wait to see the nursery & all the boy crafts/DIY’s your going to come up with now.
Our oldest was 8 when we had our youngest in 2007, he came up to me one day, before I had the baby & said “mom! I know what we should name the baby!” “SMANGO!!” (If your not a Jimmy Neutron fan, it’s pronounced Mango, just with an S at the beginning). I told him that was a very nice name, but we might go a different way. Our 6 yo is a huge Octonauts fan, he would totally want to name a baby after one of them.
Kelly @ Corner of Main says
This is such a cute post! I love how Clara was feeding the baby and changing his diaper. She is going to be such a great big sister! Also, I can’t wait to see the nursery and boy stuff from you guys in the future! Whoohoo for boys!!
We told our family at a gender reveal baby shower. I opened a box with a blue balloon in it. It was fun!
Sassafras says
Wooohoooo a boy!!! Congrats. My boys (20 years ago) had a “My Buddy” doll. Ohhh, I saw a cute nursery the other day…a dachshund (doxie) themed one in ivories, tans, brown and grays that was stellar (doxie nursery on pinterest). On with the Petersik nursery decor…can’t wait!!!
You may want to check out my board for boyzy boys rooms for later transitioning…
http://www.pinterest.com/sassafrasna/boyzy-boys-rooms/
Hurry baby P!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that board! Thanks for sharing!
xo
s
Sassafras says
oh wait…that didn’t sound right!! :D You know what I mean!
Sapphira says
Wahooooooo!!!!!! Such exciting news! Congratulations!! Can’t wait for your healthy boy to come into the world!
Natalie says
YAY! A huge congratulations to you all!
I KNEW it would be a boy. I and everyone that is due within a month of me (April 17th) is having a boy.
We also initially glommed onto the idea that it was a girl…I think it’s just easier to connect with the idea of a girl when you already have one. But my morning sickness lasted a full 5 weeks longer this time and my cravings have been for proteins and sour/salty. With my daughter I wanted nothing but Oreos and cherry dessert pizza.
I can’t wait to hear what you name him!!
caroline [the diy nurse] says
I’m oh so happy for all of you! So excited to see Clara as a big sister- she is the sweetest. My husband is even excited ;)