Ultrasound when you don't want to know gender

[HotI]

For those who chose not to find out the gender, did you still have the 'usual' ultrasounds? Did you look at the screen? How did the sonographer handle it? (ie did they turn your screen off when they were checking out genitals?) Did you ever get told 'accidently' what the gender would be?

Could you work it from the ultrasound pic?

Just trying to work out the logistics.

ta,

Kate

[TeniBear]

I'd like to know this too - I know even if they don't tell me, I'll spoil it for myself!

[Lulu]

I don't think you can work it out - I never could.

The first thing Ido when I walk in the room is say NO NO NO, dont wanna know the sex, don't tell me!

[[M]umma[M]ia]

just tell them u dont wanna know.

[Arimeh]

We haven't found out for this one, and they asked us if we wanted to know, and we said nope, and DH and I watched the whole thing, and could not even tell that they went near that area!!! They breezed over it so quickly, that we didn't know what we were looking at.

So I wouldn't worry too much - unless you are a sonographer

[feeb]

I have not known either time (both time it has been written down and put in sealed envelope to open after birth)

Just tell them that you dont want to know, some places offer info some will only offer if you ask. I have had scans as normal and no issue with seeing what it was.

This one person who did ultrasound I didnt ask to write it down, long story but at last appt ob did a scan and write it down for me and told me to turn away but that was 24 weeks.

[Glamourcide]

I was told at DD1's 20-wk scan that the difference between boys and girls was determined by a certain number of 'stripes' (I won't spoil it for you by telling you how many!). So when we went to DD2's 20-wk scan, DH and I knew what to look for and we both saw the stripes that indicated a girl, and we were like, 'Bugger, we wanted a boy' lol. The u/s tech was astounded that we knew what we were on about, until we explained what we'd been told.

If you don't want to know, let the u/s know as soon as possible, and don't worry about accidentally seeing bits and bobs (or lack thereof) - it's all in the stripes!

[Laranna]

Tell the sonographer as soon as you walk in the door that you don't want to know! We didn't find out with DS and I had to have a few extra scans due to placenta praevia so every time I walked in, I said "I don't want to know the sex!" Never had a problem with any of the sonographers letting it slip and I could never even work it out looking at the screen. We even got a DVD of the 20 week scan and I still couldn't tell.

[MantaRay]

We didn't find out either time and nothing gave it away. I have heard of it happening - a kindy mum had a sonographer accidently put an XY on the screen - so she knew she was having a boy. I think this would be rare though, and it wasn't a routine scan, it was an emergency one so it would be different.

[tk1999]

We didn't want to know and didn't find out through any of our scans. We went into the scans telling them that we definitely did NOT want to know and both DP and I admitted that when we walked out of our 18-20 week scan we had both been trying to sneak peeks during the scan but both couldn't see anything (we knew about the stripes too LOL), the sonographer did the check over the genital either very discreetly or DP and I are simply not very good at picking up any details LOL

Our Obs on the other hand would always ask at each appointment what I was having and I would answer "I don't know" and he would say "ok, best get off that part of the screen then" LOL he never gave it away though did have me wondering why he had to keep asking LOL

[didispunk]

A really good friend of mine is a Pediatrician and she said with her 2 she looked and looked and couldn't even tell.AND SHE IS A DOCTOR So unless you are a sonographer or have some special powers! its very very very hard to tell. I looked for both and could have never seen a thing.. 3D maybe different.

[butterfly_warrior]

We were asked if we wanted to know, but couldn't even identify the genitalia when it was pointed out to us at 18 weeks.

We had to have more scans later on... and discovered that our boy was a bit of a flasher. At 24 weeks it was really obvious and the sonographer apologised as we'd have found out for sure then even if we didn't already know he was a boy. It was more a fluke of position and movement, but Sam kept moving so that his genitalia were in full view when the sonographer was trying to check things with his heart and umbilical cord. Things weren't as obvious at 32 weeks, but Sam wasn't in quite as much of a flashing mood that day.

Just tell the sonographer you don't want to know - you could even ask them to tell you when to look away if you like.

BW

[CrazyLady]

We had to have more scans later on... and discovered that our boy was a bit of a flasher. At 24 weeks it was really obvious and the sonographer apologised as we'd have found out for sure then even if we didn't already know he was a boy. It was more a fluke of position and movement, but Sam kept moving so that his genitalia were in full view when the sonographer was trying to check things with his heart and umbilical cord.

I wasn't going to find out so the sonographer discreetly whizzed past. but at my Obs appointment the following day I had a change of heart so she gave me a glass of water to drink and got me at the end of her patients (I had a late appt so DP could come). First words were "It's a girl and she's scratching her bum!" Then the little terror took a very unladylike pose to double confirm sex.

Oh and I couldn't even tell on the u/s screen at 20 week check but I was curious!

[mollycat]

When I had my u/sound the sonographer asked if I wanted to know the gender - my reply was if it comes up on the screen and I see it, it's ok, but DH didn't want to know (and he didn't make it to that u/sound anyway - but a girlfriend was with me). I also said if it comes up on the dvd, that was ok.

We both looked at the time and couldn't tell what it was, the sonographer did say to us it was on the dvd if we wanted to look. I spent hours going through it eventually frame by frame and finding out, I did ring her back to confirm what I thought I'd seen. My Ob also confirmed it for me at a following appointment.

DH and our boys still don't know what we're having, although it makes shopping very hard (I can only buy clothes when I'm alone). I did share with 2 close friends though.

[aussienic]

I was always asked before my Us if I wanted to know and when I said no they said no worries we won't go near that area then,.

I did say at one US I didn't want to know (before I lay down) and the lady said thats ok we always ask

[FabFiona]

We did want to know the gender of this one, so told the sonographer when we walked in.

At the point when she knew from looking at the screen she tried to explain to us what she was seeing that made it a boy. To be honest, unless she explained it to me I had no idea what I was looking at. Those bits aren't that obvious to a lay person so I don't think that you will pick it up inadvertently.

[Nai]

We didn't want to know with either of ours and we were asked at the start of the ultrasound and we said that we didn't want to know. When it came time for the sonographer to check the genital area she told us to turn our heads and close our eyes. It was being recorded too so she turned off the recording at that point as well to make extra sure.

[Janie]

We really didn't want to know, but had all the usual scans. I was so petrified that they would 'accidentally' tell us at the 20 week scan, or that we would somehow see for ourselves, but neither happened . There is NO WAY either of us would have had a clue, and the sonographer didn't ask us if we wanted to know. I thought that maybe I would feel curious during the scan, but I totally forgot about the gender part!!! There is SO much to see at the 20 week scan, we were totally entranced, and our sonographer is great, with always explaining everything he's doing in great detail. So it totally went out of my head, until hours later .