… 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.
Sharon says
Back in the day, it was pretty much impossible to find out the sex ahead of time. My first, I was sure I was having a boy…when a little girl arrived I actually said to the doctor “it is not”. After two girls, our third was a boy…when he was announced I sat up and made the doctor show me. We were prepared to have a 3rd girl and love her with all our heart but completing our family with a boy was a wonderful bonus.
Congratulations. Just wait til you see and experience how different boys are from girls. It isn’t believable until you experience it yourself. So much fun to have a family with both. Hope that morning sickness (all day sickness) leaves you soon.
Kristin Hilleary says
WAHOO! My first baby, a boy, is due in March! My husband and I went in at 13 weeks to get an ultrasound for genetic testing (you have to get the test before your 14th week), and nearly as soon as the tech got the baby up on the monitor, she told us we were actually 17 weeks and it was too late to do the test. She said it wasn’t too soon to know the gender, though! BOY!
We weren’t creative in telling our relatives the gender…I think we used up all of our creativity telling them we were pregnant in the first place :) We did a variety of reveals to different family members, from a George Mason University onesie for my Mom who will graduate from there in the spring, to letting my grandparents listen to the heartbeat to figure it out. Everyone was so excited!
samantha says
yay! so happy for you guys! i know this is weird since i don’t know you and all, but you guys kind of seem like family/friends and i’m thrilled for you.
aimee says
congrats petersiks! how exciting! we are expecting a boy in the spring too, our second boy. we found out early through one of those new fangled blood tests they can do, and just texted everyone – LOL
so happy for you all! boys are so much fun!
Carissa says
Congrats! I have 3 girls and have always dreamt of a boy nursery. You should consider the gorgeous orange, gray and brown nursery I have always wanted so I can live vicariously through you!!
Kristy @ Kristy's Health Revolution says
Not a parent (yet), but I am completely in love with the idea of being surprised. However, “gender reveal” things seem to be so fun, also. I’m SO excited that you’re having a boy. It will be so interesting to see how you decorate for a little boy :)
Brad says
Congrats! Exciting.
When we found out we were having a baby, we told our parents by giving them a wrapped picture frame engraved with “great parents get promoted to grandparents” …kind of cheesy, but it was fun to watch their faces as they put it together.
Congrats again! I’m happy for you guys.
Claire says
Oh Boy!!! What a fun, creative way to tell a little girl – a baby doll gift!! Perfect! And btw, the pic of her, Burger, and Barnacle under the tree is precious. Congrats you guys!
Lauren says
So exciting to have a little blue barnacle! We didn’t find out the sex of our little Pearl until she was pulled out by the doctor – and it was such a fantastic surprise! Our friends and family members were so impressed and flabbergasted that we could wait that long to find out :)
Erin says
Congratulations! We found out in the delivery room for both our boys and I had to ask because they didn’t tell us either time!! Best of luck.
Ana Silva says
That is so great! Congrats. What a joy.
Ally says
Congratulations Family Petersik!!! Soooo excited for you all! xxx
Jen says
My husband and I don’t have kids so we don’t have a “reveal” story, but I have a great family legend/story to share :-) When my parents told me 31 years ago that they were going to have another baby, they asked me what “kind” of baby I wanted. Me, being 2 years old at the time, said famously (I’ve heard this story SO MANY times at family gatherings): “I want a chocolate baby!” My parents were not entirely surprised because my “boyfriend” (a little friend from my neighborhood who I loved playing with and referred to as my “boyfriend”) was African American. So I wouldn’t be disappointed when my mother gave birth to a non “chocolate” baby, they bought me a little African American baby doll which I LOVED for years to come – it became my most treasured toy. I never really noticed that my brother wasn’t “chocolate,” so I guess their baby doll plan worked!
Casey Severinghaus says
Congratulations! We had a little boy 6 months ago and we told our (then) 3 year old daughter that we would either bring her blue balloons or pink ones. She stayed home waiting anxiously with my mom while we went to the ultrasound and when we drove up she was in the front yard. We came around the corner with a bundle of blue balloons and she immediately yelled “BUT I WANTED PINK BALLOONS”. It only took her a few minutes to come around and then she was so excited.
She now is in love with her baby brother and it is such a fun experience to have one of each. Funny the similarities between our little families. We have a little girl, a little boy, we live in Richmond and I love to DIY. We don’t, however, have a chihuahua, but we do have a mini dachshund!
Congrats to you guys. So happy for you!
Jill says
Aw, such a lovely story. That Clara is so amazing, you should be such proud parents.
And I can see it now, “Hey Barney? It says on this form your name is Barnacle? ‘Captain’ Barnacle?”
“Um, yeah… long story…”
Cheryl says
How lovely for you all! As the page loaded I thought you would be having a boy because it would be too perfect to be able to experience raising a boy and a girl and you two seem to attract luck and positivity your way. Speaking of luck…think this one will sleep 12 hours every night from day one? I CURSE you lucky ducks every single night I am awakened 1-3 times by my now year old daughter who still hasn’t slept 12 hours straight. I was following your blog before I became pregnant and thought that could actually happen to me, too. Hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaha! I’m exhausted.
Oh, and we found out I was having a girl at my 20 week appointment and both made twenty phone calls absolutely bursting with joy. I was so thankful to have that dream came true. Thank heaven for those little girls, even the ones that DON’T SLEEP no matter what.
Enjoy! Merry everything!
YoungHouseLove says
We keep joking that this little man is going to be a whole different ballgame! Even my hyper positive mom is like “uh, yeah, no babies sleep like Clara – get ready to be up all night this time!” – he’s worth it though. Is it weird I’m even excited about that? Just to have a little guy around will be so much fun! Although I might not be that chipper after ten days with no sleep, haha!
xo
s
schmei says
Sherry, a friend of mine has an almost-4 year old girl and a 6-month old boy. She told me the other day that they thought their daughter was an easy baby (sleeping through the night at 10 days old? What baby does that?)… and then their boy was born and he was even MORE easygoing. So it can happen!!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, we’ll have to see! I’m trying to have zero expectations and just preparing for whatever this little man brings our way!
xo
s
Angel says
My son (almost 3) has always been an “easy” kid (like Clara) – slept through the night since 2 months, super easy going, potty trained by 2 1/2, never sick, not a trouble maker at all. Everyone says no way will that lightning strike twice lol.
Fortunately I am in no hurry to find out!
Marissa says
Yeah… I too am monumentally envious of Clara’s sleep habits. My two-year old still wakes me up 3-5 times a night (sometimes more). I’m used to it by now, but the “Wait it Out” approach is no joke, especially for breastfed babies who think their mommies are a 24-hour milk buffet.
Congrats Sherry, John, Clara, and Barnacle! I hope you guys get another magic sleeping baby :)
Kate says
Congrats! I bet Clara is over the moon excited too!
We decided not to find out what the sex of our kiddos were until the third time around and even then I didn’t want to know. So my husband found out about four months before we were due that we were having our third girl and managed to keep it a secret from me right up until the very end (he even told a few friends and family). We humored me by helping to pick out a name for both a baby boy and girl and he didn’t say a thing when I started bringing home baby boy clothes. I’m sure he was just shaking his head behind my back. :) Again, congrats!
Ericka says
How cool! So excited for you guys! Congratuations!
Anais says
Congrats!!! How exciting for your growing family!!
We’re currently expecting our first boy (due end of February) and have a 5 year old girl.
I had originally wanted to wait until the birth to find out the sex but my Hubs convinced me otherwise. We ended up tearing open the envelope from the ultrasound about a week later.
We did however keep quiet about finding out and are actually announcing the sex on our Xmas card that will be going out this week!
Ashley says
Congratulations! Boys are so different than girls! Both amazing and fun!
We just called everyone up when we found out the sex of our second. But we told my parents we were expecting a second like this, we found out we were pregnant quite soon after our first, he wa about 6 months old. So I painted him a onesie that said “Big Brother” and just waited for my parents to notice. It took awhile, but he was in his jumper happily playing and my mum asked if she could pick him up, and I said of course! She didn’t notice his shirt for a few minutes and then exclaimed “Big Brother? I don’t think quite yet!” Once she saw the smile on my face they knew it was true!
Allyn says
Baby Barney!! As much as I love little girls, I know that John especially will enjoy his relationship with his son as he grows up . . . much different than little girls. Congratulations and best wishes to all!
Stephanie says
A boy! Congrats! I was convinced I was having a boy before our ultrasound. But then the tech informed us my motherly instincts were wrong, we were having a girl. To tell our family we did something similar to you, I bought a dozen deflated pink and blue balloons and poked a ton of holes in the blue ones with a safety pin. Once we had all gathered I dumped them on the table and had everyone make their guess. On three we asked everyone to blow up their balloon and only the pink ones inflated. Our families were so excited since there were already two girls in the family
Brittney Everett says
I love this idea!!
Tori says
Congratulations family P! This is such exciting news. I’m so happy for you and your growing family. Can’t wait to see the little guy when he arrives, and learn what name you choose for him!
Mandy P. says
Yay a baby boy barnacle! Boys are so, so sweet. We waited until D-day to find out if we were welcoming a boy or girl. The one, biggest, please-don’t-mess-this-up request we had for our docs/nurses in the delivery room was that we wanted my husband to be the first to announce the sex. But, when the midwife had me reach down and grab the baby, I pulled it up and shouted “It’s a BOY!” Oops. To this day, my husband still tells me that I stole his shining glory on the birth day of our first born son! Ha :)
Leah says
Congrats! Cannot wait to see how you decorate the new room. Boys are so fun and sweet.
With our 3rd, since we had a boy and girl already (and all the stuff we needed for both), we were going to wait until birth to be surprised. We were doing just fine not knowing until we got the 3D ultrasound at 23 weeks and we saw the baby’s face on the screen. My husband said, ” The face looks like a girl, now I need to know if I’m right!” After waiting this long I wasn’t ready to give in yet, so we had the tech put the answer in an envelope for us to decide later. We made it the 10 minutes home and ripped it open while we recorded it on video, my husband announcing and our kids reactions. It was a special moment that we got to post later on Facebook with our friends and family!
Mrs. Money says
YAY! Congrats!!
Sarah Hayden says
Congratulations! I love following your blog! With my first, Reed, I found out at the ultrasound. With our second we waited until the delivery room. Another boy! Both born in September almost exactly 2 years apart. Of course we would be happy either way but it is nice that I can reuse all of Reed’s things for Thomas. Enjoy the pregnancy. I look forward to reading more about your preparations.
Ashleigh Hart says
Ahhh! My guess (and hope) was boy all along :) Congrats to the Petersik family! <3
Chaney says
CONGRATS, y’all! That’s so exciting and I’m grateful he’s healthy too! Can’t wait to see all the “boy” developments on the blog :).
Gina says
Congratulations! How exciting!! I have one of each and love it. I never knew until the big day. They are old enough to make me a grandmother now but need to get them married first.
I was in Richmond Wednesday and was keeping my fingers crossed and my eyes peeled that I’d see you around town. :)
Gray says
Congratulations!!! So happy to hear everything is healthy with the little man!
Emily @ DavenportDIY says
Eeeeeeee!! Congrats!! Boys are the BEST.
This is how we announced we were pregnant to the world wide web:
http://davenportdiy.com/2012/06/letting-the-cat-out-of-the-bag.html
And this is how we announced what baby was:
http://davenportdiy.com/2012/06/the-results-are-in.html
YoungHouseLove says
So much fun! Thanks to everyone sharing their stories/links/kind words!
xo
s
Miranda says
That’s the same boy baby doll that we have our daughter when we found out our second was going to be a boy! We had a hard time finding a boy doll too! Congratulations! Having a girl and then a boy has been awesome for us, and I am sure it will be for you too!
Jennifer says
Congratulations! That is such wonderful news.
Christina P (NS) says
Congratulations, I can’t wait to see what you do for the nursery.
Haha – Barnacle, I got it right away – everything in our house is named Captain barnacle, Quasi or Peso too; creature report is the best, I think I have learned just as much as our daughter has from that show!
We didn’t find out the gender of our baby beforehand but forgot to tell the delivery room staff that we didn’t know and to make a big deal so when she arrived we got a lame, “you know it’s a girl right?” – a little lack luster in our books but still a great day – I guess they just assume everyone knows ahead of time these days!
Deena says
Congrats!!! How thrilling! :-)
For the record, my daughter, who is the same age as Clara, loves the Octonauts too! Santa has gotten her the Octopod play set (complete with Octo-alert!) in the boys’ toys section at Target. :-) If we ever have another baby, I’m pretty sure she would nickname the baby Kwasi!
Anne says
A boy!!! Congratulations! How wonderful it will be to watch Clara grow up with a new baby. All the very, very best to you, Petersiks. So fun to read this news, this morning, on St. Nicholas Day!! :-)
leah says
Yay! Cannot wait to meet the little man and watch him grow! Congrats & prayers for a safe delivery of a healthy baby boy :)
Janelle @ Two Cups of Happy says
I had a feeling that it would be a boy. Congratulations! I can’t wait to see what he looks like. Aren’t you picturing a mini-John? Haha. Hope you have a great weekend. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Totally picturing a mini John! They say he’s tall/big already like his daddy (Clara was in the 90th percentile for height when she was born thanks to his tall genes too)!
xo
s
Angel says
Congrats!!! Boys are the BEST.
The night before my “find out the sex” ultrasound, I had a dream that I was having a boy. So I woke up that morning and just knew. I was actually so sure, that I didn’t even tell my partner because I wanted him to be surprised at the ultrasound!
As for announcing we just posted on Facebook. Nothing fancy, but the quickest and easiest way to get the news to all of our huge family at once!
Stephanie says
Such wonderful news! I’m so genuinely happy and excited for your family!! I seriously couldn’t wait to get online and check the blog…this is the highlight of my morning, lol!
P.S.Can’t wait to read about the Clara and Barnacle adventures to follow!
Sara T says
Congratulations! So exciting! I’m currently 37 weeks pregnant with our first – a little girl. Since we currently call VA our home (Fort Lee), and all our family and friends are spread out across the county, we weren’t able to tell them all face to face, but those phone calls were sure exciting!
smilered17 says
How exciting, congrats.
kelsey says
Congratulations!!!
We found out at home, surrounded by 21 of our closest friends and family, with even more family watching via Skype. We had gone to Baby Gap the day before with the envelope and they helped us complete the surprise. At our party, we opened the gift box to find the GIRL outfit we had picked out. I loved finding out that way and then immediately being able to hold it up to tell our loved ones!
You can read/see/watch here!: http://wordsofwilliams.com/the-best-gender-reveal-party-ever/
YoungHouseLove says
Fun!
xo
s
Brittney Everett says
Love this one!!!
Sara says
Congrats! A boy and a girl! We just found out on Monday that we’re having another girl and our 2.5 year old is less than thrilled. She just keeps saying “no, I want a baby brudder!” Ay, lets hope she comes around by April! Can’t wait to see what you guys do with the nursery. If we were to have had a boy I wanted to incorporate vintage maps and globes, an idea I was really excited about…guess I’ll sneek a globe in the new girls room somehow! ;) We aren’t going all pink though either…thinking white walls (which is crazy for me because I usually hate white walls) with pops of an aqua/light blue, yellow and a tiny bit of pink. I’ve been pinning like crazy since Monday night, lol!
Jen says
Geography isn’t just for boys. I say go for the maps and globes – that would be an awesome room regardless of the sex of the baby!!!
Danielle Purtle says
Yay! That was my guess. Gimme a blue envelope!
Congrats to you parents of the manly barnacle! And congrats big sister Clara! Praying for a safe and seamless pregnancy and delivery in the future.
Ps- Can’t wait for nursery mood boards!
Danielle says
Congratulations to you all! I can’t wait to see Lil’ P (It’s okay that I gave him a white rapper name already, yes?)!
My husband found out what we were having during our sonograms, and then he and I went out to lunch/dinner after our sonogram with each pregnancy and he got to tell me himself. It was so great for him to have that knowledge to himself for even just an hour – it’s really the only thing about the pregnancy he could have all by himself, and he LOVED it. Of course, at each reveal, I got to be all excited in a much less compromising position (sonograms are great and all, but….) and we could hug/laugh/cry (good tears!) as we saw fit. Our reveals to our family were always decidedly less self-controlled or unique, but that’s okay :)
Brittney Everett says
I’m sooo going to do this if we decided to find out what we’re having!
LeslieP says
Congratulations! What an exciting time for you!
Mary says
We just found out yesterday through an early blood test that we will be having a healthy baby boy in June! We are so excited, and our 5 year-old daughter is thrilled to have a baby brother! Congrats to you!
Beth Boman says
We found out at a 19 wk ultrasound, and the tech told us, “it’s a girl!” which felt so bizarre because we’d both had a deep gut reaction it was a boy. 30 seconds pass, and she says, “oh, No!” Which is NOT what you ever want to hear in an ultrasound. She said, “oh, oh, um, it’s actually a boy. He…. he had his hand on it.” and my husband blurts out, “That’s my boy!!!”
She had already printed a sheet with the girl-looking photo that said “girl” on it, and she printed out a boy one too. So naturally we took them both and tricked our families into thinking it was twins (we waited til then to even announce our pregnancy) before we told the truth. Cruel, but fun.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny!!
xo
s