I know it’s taken me a minute to share the gender of our sweet bundle of joy with y’all, but excited to announce we’re having a baby BOY! Boy or girl, we were just thrilled to learn we had a healthy baby – but knowing the gender has certainly made it feel all that more real for us. And also allowed for lots of pre-bonding, for both us + baby and my husband + I as Mom and Dad. Sterling and I could sit and talk for hours about what we think he’ll be like, our hopes + dreams for him, and how we can’t wait to meet our little man. He’s certainly part of the family already, and we can’t wait to welcome him in a few short months.
Can’t believe I’m going to be a boy Momma!!!
HOW WE FOUND OUT
We opted to find our the gender of our baby at the earliest stage possible through a blood test. I took the test around 10 weeks and was told it would take up to two weeks for the results. Talk about waiting on pins + needles! It was Friday leading into Memorial Day Weekend, and I mentally prepared myself that we wouldn’t know until after the holiday weekend. Assuming the lab was backed up and probably wouldn’t make it a priority before a long weekend. However, to my extreme surprise + pure delight, I received a call from my Doctor’s nurse on day 10. Which was that Friday {late morning}, as we were preparing to hit the road for High Hampton. The nurse was so excited for us, and kindly asked how I wanted her to deliver the news: over the phone, in the online portal, or place it in an envelope for pick-up. I opted for the later.
The timing could not have been more perfect. After we loaded the car, we swung by the office and anxiously picked up our ‘gender envelope’ marked Baby Chambless. The entire 5+ hours drive up to High Hampton was a battle of ‘should we just open it now’?! Haha. But ultimately I really wanted it to be a special, memorable moment for us that we could truly melt into. One we could cherish and look back on – that was the trip we found out about our boy. OUR BOY!
The second we dropped our bags in our room, we sat on the bench at the foot of the bed and ripped open the envelope together. PURE JOY. Funny thing is, I had a veryyyy strong and unwavering feeling baby was a boy from a really early stage, so I was not surprised. Nor did I cry {quite unlike me in a time as this}! We spent the rest of that evening and the entire trip honestly, taking in the news – just us. Dreaming about being boy parents and what that would look like, where he might go to school, where we’d take him on his first vacay, talking about his nursery, what type of ‘style’ he’d have, you name it. Truly, a once in a lifetime kind of weekend.
We didn’t share with family or friends until the following week, which made it all the more sweet.
HOW WE TOLD FAMILY
I’ve personally never wanted a big ‘gender reveal’ {lots of pressure, lots of eye balls haha}, but did want to do something special to tell our parents. Since both of our families live all over {mine is in Colorado and Sterling’s is between here and Florida}, we thought a group FaceTime moment would be appropriate. The Tuesday after the holiday weekend, we gathered the troops to fill them in on the exciting news. I crafted a sweet little set up, complete with a massive box filled with light blue balloons and a ‘baby’ balloon in front. We had my Mother In Law do the honors of opening the box, so the rest of the family could see the balloons floating out simultaneously. Such a sweet moment to have been able to share together, despite the physical distance.
Funny enough, they ALL also thought it was a boy!! Hahaha, so no massive surprise to them either. But lots of tears and exciting chatter followed, including telling our immediate family his name. Both his first + middle are family names, so it was important to us for our parents to be the first to know. We’re honoring both sides with his name, and it feels so right.
I of course have been pouring over all the teeny tiny baby boy clothes and moodboarding his nursery – which I cannot WAIT for share more on! But if any of you boy moms have tips, favorite places to buy clothing, etc., I’m all ears!
Photos by Marni Rothschild Durlach
