Gender Determination

I mentioned how in my previous post my husband and I weren’t sure we wanted to see our baby in 3d. Well, last Friday we decided to go ahead and do it anyway!

Finding out that UST Hospital charges PHP 1,000.00 for a gender 2D determination ultrasound tipped our decision scale. Face 2 Face offered a basic 3D Scan package for the same amount. For PHP 1000.00 you can get a 10-minute ultrasound, 2 pieces of colored photos of the baby and the option to know the baby’s gender.

And so at 24 weeks pregnant, we went to Face 2 Face’s SM North branch and availed of their 3D Scan package. It was a good thing I called to inquire about the time the shop opens. I called the SM North branch. The lady on the phone was quite pleasant, answering all my question. I found out that each branch had a different schedule so be sure to call in first. According to the lady, on Fridays, her branch is open from 12nn-8pm.

My husband and I arrived at the shop a few minutes after 12. When we got there, however, the lights were still off, and the door was locked. We ate lunch at Napoli first (found at the same floor…yum ,yum) but made sure to call the shop again at around 12:30 just to check and get ahead of an anticipated line. The lady on the phone said that she just had her lunch break but that the shop was actually open (uh-huh.) So while waiting for our pizza to arrive, I quickly went back to the shop to fill out a short form and have my name enlisted. There was only one couple ahead of us –good, I thought. But the lady told us that the doctor wasn’t to arrive until 2:30 and that the couple ahead of us availed of the Gold 3D/4D Package, which meant a 30-minute ultrasound session! We were told to go back at 3:00pm for our turn. Furthermore, our photos weren’t to be ready until 4:00 pm. Luckily, my husband and I were in a cheerful mood.   

  

Fast forward to 3 pm: The shop had around 2 other pregnant women in the waiting lounge, but since we enlisted early, it only took one or two minutes for my name to be called. The ultrasound was performed in a private room by a female doctor and her assistant. My husband sat on a couch while I occupied a stretcher. In front of the stretcher was a screen that showed the baby’s image, switching from 2D to 3D view. Even if the baby was only 24 weeks and still lacked fat under the skin, it was still an adorable, amazing sight to behold. Compared to the last ultrasound image, it had grown remarkably.

On to the main event: Gender determination.

 Benedict and I were eager to see our baby and know its gender. Up until we had the ultrasound my intuition told me I was going to have a boy, so did Benedict. We had already come up with a boy’s name months ago, but had never agreed on a girl’s name up to that point. Imagine our surprise when the doctor said “babae po.” What was that? Come again? Haha. The doc showed us the baby’s little private part and true enough, she was a girl! We felt disoriented for expecting the wrong gender, but happy nonetheless. Images of pretty dresses and bowties flashed before my mind. A girl! What a blessing!

Unfortunately, after a few minutes our little girl turned her back to the camera, so the doctor couldn’t get a decent photo of her face. She told us to go out for a walk and a cold, sweet drink, and then come back after 30 minutes. This is to trigger movement to a more camera-friendly position. We followed doctor’s orders and did a quick rescan around 4:00. After that, the lady at the front desk showed us her computer screen and asked us to pick out the 2 photos we wanted printed–one photo of the baby’s face, and another photo showing its gender. There were around 9 photos to choose from. Since Benedict and I wanted different photos of the baby’s face, we got 3 photos instead (an additional photo costs Php 50.00). We were then asked to return (once again) at 6:00pm to claim our photos. Meanwhile we made sure to broadcast the good news to our family and friends via phone and wifi. Here are the photos of our dearest: