How We Found Out Our Baby’s Gender Early – You Can Find Out Earlier than 20 Weeks
If you just found out your pregnant, you may be itching to find out the gender of your baby. For us, we wanted to find out if our baby was going to be a boy or a girl as soon as possible. There are a few options to find out your baby’s the gender during pregnancy.
- Genetic Testing
- Ultrasound Anatomy Scan at 18-20 weeks
- Private 3-D Imaging Ultra Sound at 15 weeks
Genetic Testing
Genetic testing is one way to find out your baby’s gender. However, insurance usually doesn’t cover it unless you have a high-risk pregnancy. We chose to opt-out of genetic testing because our insurance didn’t cover it, and to be honest, if there was something wrong with the baby, it wouldn’t change any course of action we would take. I felt that it would cause more worry than good if there was something potentially wrong. There are a few different genetic testing you can have done. These tests are generally offered starting at 10 weeks.
18-20 Week Anatomy Scan
In most cases, doctors will have you come in for an anatomy scan ultrasound at 18-20 weeks. At this appointment, they will look over all of the baby’s body parts and make sure they are developing appropriately. At this time they are also able to see the gender. However, it is not guaranteed that the doctor will be able to tell you the gender at this appointment. If your little one is positioned in a way that makes it difficult to see, then the ultrasound tech may not be able to give you results at this time.
Private 3-D Imaging and Ultrasound
The third option is something we had no idea about until a friend recommended it to us. You can get an ultrasound done privately and relatively inexpensive at 15 weeks, and they can tell you the gender of your baby. I cannot say enough about our experience and I am so happy we did it. We got our ultrasound done at Lake Norman 3-D Imaging in Cornelius, NC.
During our visit, we got to spend almost a full hour with the ultra-sound tech. She was able find the gender of our baby and write it in an envelope for our gender reveal. They also provided us with tons of ultrasound photos, and a flash drive with the photos and videos on them. The coolest part of the ultrasound was that it was 3-D. We were able to see all of our baby’s body parts and facial features. Although, she did look rather alien-like because at that stage they are very small and thin so it is hard to see exactly what they are going to look-like unless you go back when you are farther along. We plan on doing another 3-D ultrasound when it gets closer to our due date. I would love to see what she is going to look like.
What made this even more special is that they offered a streaming service that allowed my parents, my husband’s parents, and anyone else who wanted to join stream the ultrasound. They were able to hear us talking, and see the ultrasound screen the same time we were. Being in a pandemic, this was a great way to have the grandparents to be a part of our pregnancy.
Check with your doctor first
Whatever you decided to do, make sure you check with your doctor to make sure it is the best option for you.
Our Virtual Gender Reveal
I hope you have a smooth and easy pregnancy and a healthy and happy baby! To view some of my other pregnancy posts, click here. Comment below and let me know what you’re having!
