We Are Having A GIRL! + Gender Reveal Details
we are having a GIRL!
The past two months have been so much fun praying for baby, talking to them in my tummy (although still waiting on a belly to really appear haha!) and talking about what life will be like when they arrive! Now that we know the gender of baby Shepp, next step is talking more seriously about a name - it seems so much more real now!
blood & genetic testing:
If you saw on my Instagram stories at all, Matt and I actually took a blood test that was part of some genetic testing we chose to get done through the doctor’s office at the 12 week point. Well, I took the tests haha but he was with me! The genetic testing just gives me more information about my body, what possible genetic issues could come up, and just gives first time parents like use a bit more peace around everything going on. Regardless of how the test came back we would be overjoyed. We just prayed for a baby & are grateful for her!! So when they did some of the genetic testing & blood test at 12 weeks they told us results would take up to 7 business days to get gender back. That day I sent texts to both our immediate families and picked a day two weeks from that date to do a little ‘reveal’ together!! We got blood test results back exactly one week later (we didn’t even peek picking up the envelope at the hospital - promise haha!) and had the reveal planned for the next week.
The big reveal:
I will be honest, because of the current state of our nation I wasn’t really even sure if I would be able to have a baby shower in the “typical” sense, with covid regulations & not being able to have other family and close friends there to join. I am just thankful that our families were able to celebrate baby girl with us! Next to my parents house there is a large yard that we used to distance our families, but we were still able to celebrate together which was so important to me. It was crazy finding out the gender with our families there - so exciting and I was honestly SHOCKED. I was convinced it was going to be a boy, when I saw the pink I think I just instantly started to ugly cry haha I was so excited. I will confidently say that we would have had the same reactions for either gender, we are just so grateful! Even then, I think it was shocking because it was like just such a surprise haha! If you saw on my stories on Instagram, Matt is actually red/green colorblind and he was not even able to tell what the color was at first he thought it was blue! I love that his reaction is so happy even tho he isn’t sure what color he was seeing haha so I turned to him & said “it’s PINK!” and hugged him. So grateful!
THE GENDER REVEAL
boy or girl?
Since the party was pretty simple haha it was just immediate family, there didn’t need to be a theme or really much else besides the people we love most! My mom suggested that we do something where each person can guess which gender they think baby Shepp would be - so I found these pins on amazon for a really great deal! I think there’s 25 pink and 25 blue buttons that you can have guests pin on to show which they think baby will be. Kind of a simple and fun idea for any gender reveal! They were also on Amazon prime so super fast delivery even if you had short notice.
Confetti poppers:
Since it was just immediate family we had them spread out in sort of a half circle around us to let off the confetti poppers. We had originally bought 4 blue and 4 pink confetti cannons, so each of the guys got to hold one. We picked the guys to let off the confetti because some of the reviews online said they were hard to twist off; they all said it was fairly easy but just figured it would also be a fun way to have both of our dads and brothers join in! These specific cannons you can pick if you want just confetti (that is what we did) or if you want to add colored powder, sparkle confetti, etc. The Etsy account also has several other fun party poppers, balloons & decor you could use for various baby themed parties or events. We just bought 4 of the classic 24” confetti poppers and though it was the perfect amount. They are biodegradable & will wash away in 3-4 rains they said, so we just left them in the grass.
Photos:
It was important to me to get some of these moments captured - I am such a photo person and love looking back on them. My other brother (I have two older brothers) Zach was taking photos + his wife Aly took some on my phone as well which I am so thankful for! I love being IN the moment, but I think being able to look back on moments like this & have them ‘captured’ is so special. I am currently doing a baby book & filling out pages with words/photos almost like a scrapbook for baby! It goes through age 18 actually so you just kind of add little things under the prompts, and I think I will definetly add in some of these photos.
Most Meaningful Gift
My grandma had 10 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren but always made them all feel so loved. Her favorite kind of gifts were the handmade, personal kind. She would knit a blanket for every one of her great-grandchildren after they were born, either pink or blue. She loved knitting and doing crafts, and it was a personal & special way for her to celebrate with her grandchildren and their new child. She passed away last September from cancer that came on very quickly. I have a lot of memories growing up next door to my grandparents, camping trips, desserts she baked us, crafts we did together, and even a few personal items of hers that she gifted me that I will hold on to forever. But because we had not got pregnant when she was still alive, I just never imagined our baby would have a blanket knit by her. My parents surprised us with a pink one after we found out gender last week; she actually had knit a few blankets before she got sick. I think I just started bawling when my dad handed me the box & I realized what was inside!!
We wish our baby could have met her, she had the most spunky personality (Matt says we shared that quality haha) & loved all her great grandchildren + grandchildren so much. We love you grandma! Thankful we have a small piece of her to give to our baby. The photo below is that blanket xx
