Waiting To Be Surprised!

Since finding out we were pregnant we have had questions from everyone about preferences for a boy or a girl. We want one of each but of course no matter what anyone says we always secretly hope for a boy or a girl first. The next question that comes up has been, "Are you going to find out what it is?" and our response is "Nope, we want it to be a surprise." You'd be amazed by the amount of irritation that comes with not finding out the gender of your own child from others... and to some degree I do get it. When we began talking about what kind of parents we wanted to be I shared with my husband that I want to minimize gender stereotyping with my children. Media and society does this enough that I don't want to contribute to it. I'm not a fan of pink or blue as the colors that define my child, camo or lace, dolls or trucks... I want to allow my children to experience everything and choose what they like. We agreed that we would do gender neutral things together for our baby because it makes sense for us, my husband is financialy conscious and we are both pretty eco-friendly, we'd like the earlier clothing (especially), bedding, and so forth to be able to be passed down (so long at it isn't gross) and gender neutral stuff offers just that. I have recieved some outfits so far that have been more stereotypical "boy" but they actually are so cute for either (outdoor gear; jacket and cargo "hiking" pants. We are outdoorsy so it's great either way!). Many responses we have recieved have been "Well I want to buy them things" or "I don't know what to get" and my thoughts have been revolving around the registry... seems pretty easy to find neutral stuff to me and put it on there (of course when we are ready to). Outfits are so cute but in the beginning those are things we won't need as much and even after the baby is born there are years and years ahead of buying outfits. While opening gifts that have gorgeous clothing for a baby boy or a baby girl at a baby shower is incredibly exciting it is not a need. I'm much more of a sap anyways, a homemade quilt, blanket, hats and mittens will make me cry and mean so much more :oP Plus, our nursery will be tan, cream, brown and green (my favorite color) with tourqoise accents; great for boy or girl! There is something even more exciting about going into labor with our first child not knowing if our baby is a boy or a girl, in addition to the anticipation of seeing their face for the first time. There is a picture in my head I have of my husband telling me and us sharing those moments together without the world knowing that "we have a..." It does feel somewhat difficult to express this to others and I often do feel like finding out feels more for everyone else vs. for us... kind of like weddings, we put on a show and do it up big for our guests vs having intimate weddings with few people or eloping. Us waiting is about us, our family and the intimacy that comes from those moments where only we know. Where he and I can hold our little one and hold each other and that's all that matters. Until then, hubby and I enjoy guessing weekly what the baby is. For the longest time I felt like our baby was a boy... for the last few weeks I haven't felt so sure and am thinking a girl. We have months ahead until we meet our little one and lots of guesses to go.