Should you choose to know the sex of your baby before delivery or should you wait for the surprise? The choice wasn’t so simple for Mrs. Lone Star and I. I’ll break down our train of thought for you to marinate on.

Surprise!

As you progress through life, the likelihood of a surprise being positive recedes. You run into bad news that a loved one has passed away, you’ve been laid off, find out you have a terrible disease or some sort of accident with life altering implications.

Mrs. Lone Star was of the opinion that at this point in our lives, there aren’t many positive surprises left to look forward to. If you think about it, life’s great surprises and events would include things like your first kiss, a driver’s license, graduation, prom, engagement and marriage.

Practicality sets in…

My wife and I also knew that, by waiting for the surprise at delivery, preparing for our baby would be much more difficult. The selection of sex-neutral clothes and other various items is much more constrained than that of a baby whose sex is already known. In addition, we needed to prepare the baby’s room with a theme and decorations.

Choosing to know the sex early also helps your friends and family if they choose to contribute to your new bundle of joy. It will be much easier for them if they know the sex of the child they’re buying for.

Then there’s the baby’s name. Read more about that in my post Choosing A Name.

What I Learned…

Ultimately, my wife and I decided that it didn’t matter when we found out the sex of our baby, it would still be a surprise! We chose to be more prepared for the arrival of our baby and forego the surprise at delivery. Although it remains true that holding out until the due date would have been fun and exciting, it wouldn’t have been the best decision for our baby.

That being said, I wouldn’t blame anyone for waiting!

– The Lone Star Dad