Gender Reveal: That’s Not the Baby I Wanted

Before finding out what we were having (fingers crossed it was a human) it was no secret to our close friends and family that I was looking forward to being a dad to a little boy. When my wife mentioned she wanted to do a gender reveal, I knew there was a 50/50 chance it could be a girl.

However, my brain had altered that to be closer to 90/10 in favor of a boy.

I had never really been a person who thought about what they were going to have when they became a dad. But, I was pretty sure I needed to be a dad to a little boy. Maybe it was the fact that I had grown up with three younger sister. And, maybe, the thought of living in a house with that many girls again was absolutely terrifying. I had watched my dad do it. Especially once I left for college he was heavily outnumbered. Hell, even their pets were female.

But what I knew 100%, was that I was meant to be the dad of a boy.

Until the day when the doctor looked at us and said “I hope you like pink!” Suddenly, my world was rocked.

For the past couple months I had played out every scenario of my next 20 years. All of them were around myself and my soon-to-be son having a grand ol’ time. For some reason the words coming out of this doctors mouth were not aligning with the stories taking place in my head.

A girl! This did not fit my plan. And I’m not somebody who makes plans about pretty much anything. So the fact that I had any plans to begin with meant they really should not be messed with. Beyond the excitement of hearing that everything was going according to plan, at least as far as health goes, I remember feeling this strange sense that this was for the best.

Thankfully, that day my wife and I had come from work in separate vehicles. We left the hospital that day we got in our respective vehicles and headed back to work. It took me at least the drive back to work to process everything I had just learned.

How is it possible that everything I had played up to be true has just changed and I’m not angry about this news?

I am very fortunate. My entire life I have been surrounded with women and girls who I very much respect. I have grown up with a mother who can be the sweetest person in the world and at the same time not let anybody push her around.

I have grown up with sisters who are funny, beautiful, and all-around fun to be with. (Although I would never actually let them believe that they had that much influence in my life). They are my little sisters after all.

I have grown up with a grandmother who worked hard her entire life. She has stood up to things that no one should ever have to and come out strong and wonderful on the other side.

In more recent years, I have been around my wife who has been inspirational to me. Not only in the things that she does for everyone around her but the things that she stands up for in her own life. As a college athlete she takes sports very seriously (bonus) and as such she has a value on hard work. Plus she has a competitive attitude that makes everything a little bit more fun. Because of this athletic background she has an incredible group of girl friends. They are equal parts tenacious and loving.

It was with this realization, my entire world turned around. All at once I realized a little girl was everything I had no idea I wanted.