When we found out we were pregnant with baby number 6, there was one thing my husband and I were sure of. We were going to wait to announce our pregnancy until after we knew the gender of our baby. Quite honestly, I didn’t want to hear what people thought I must need/want/be having.
Waiting 16-20 weeks to announce a pregnancy is not always easy. Especially when it’s number 6. You tend to be showing much earlier and if children notice — children talk. This meant we also had to keep it a secret from our kids. There were a few “mom, you’re belly is kind of getting a little big..” from our very blunt 5 year old.. but overall my boys were oblivious.
The day came. As I sat in my OBGYN’s office 16 weeks pregnant, he wheeled in the ultrasound machine and declared “we’re going to look..” and look he did. Very closely. As the words came out of his mouth, there was a pause. I honestly was waiting for “and there’s another boy!” — but that is not what he said. “You know, It’s not what I am seeing, but rather what I’m not seeing.. ” Then, we stared intently for more than 10 minutes. Poking, prodding, getting images of every angle baby would cooperate for. We knew his verdict wasn’t 100%, but because hiding it was getting increasingly difficult as each week came, we decided that his “95% positive” was assuring enough to do our announcement. We could always amend our photos later if our 20 week anatomy ultrasound happened to show something otherwise. Haha.
We messaged back and forth with our family photographer, Olivia of Yah Yah Photography here in Portland, Oregon. She has been photographing our family for over 10 years and her excitement over this uncharted territory was equal to ours. Together we knew we needed to do this big and obvious. The photo shoot would not only be telling the world we were pregnant AND having a girl — but the shoot itself would tell our boys they were going to have a baby sister. Something they have begged for. She invisioned a lot of pink – and together our Pink Tea Party “Baby Sister Boot Camp” came to fruition.
We were a little worried our boys would figure it all out before we captured it.. but lucky for us, our kids don’t think twice about the color pink or the random things we do for photo shoots. As the pink treats and balloons came out, they just assumed it was for Spring. Olivia set up the tea party at a park and then she waiting as we all walked over to join her. It was the perfect way to get the little details captured before making the announcement obvious. She then proceeded with a seemingly normal photo shoot at first.
We then walked our boys over to the table, where they began to get confused by the tiaras on the table – but brushed it off fairly quickly. I mean, there were cookies, cupcakes and jellybeans to be had.
After a moment, Olivia declared that she had forgotten something in her car and needed Dad to go retrieve it. He came walking back with “It’s a Girl” balloons and two chalkboard signs. One said “Baby Sister Boot Camp” and one was adorned with baby sister’s name. That’s when it hit them — and we captured their reactions both on video and in these amazing photos.
The hardest part was the week after we did this photo shoot, having to keep our children away from anyone they may spill the beans to. Hahaha. Proud to say, we managed that nicely and it was a very successful surprise for everyone.
By the way — We have since had 2 more ultrasounds, with a total of 5 people in all telling us she is, indeed, a girl. I guess I’ll believe it. Hahaha.
How and when did you announce your pregnancy and/or the gender of your baby?
As my due date approached, I knew this situation would be no different. Call it mom instincts (or just common sense based on the fact that I was 39 weeks pregnant and looking more like 33 weeks) but I knew he would be born small. Each of my 5 kids has been born smaller than their previous sibling. Small for Gestational Age is a term we are familiar with. He was born small. 
We (with the guidance of his medical team) decided to see where time got us. My milk came in quickly and with abundance and he was nursing well (despite a fairly significant tongue tie that was examined by no less than 6 doctors and feeding specialists and determined not an issue at all!) However, as each of his first 4 weeks of life flew by, his weight gain was not enough.
As he approached 4 months old, you could finally see the progress he was making. I finally felt like it was doing its job and things were working. Like our baby could actually thrive. How long he would need the tube, however, was still not clear. 
We have been, and will continue, to document his progress on our social media channels. I was hesitant at first, but as I began posting, more and more moms either facing FTT diagnosis or with tube fed babies began reaching out. Whether it was looking for support and comradeship or to offer support and reassurance. I knew then that using our voice was a good thing. 
If you’re reading this to follow our journey, our little man is 5 months old now. He’s made amazing strides in his growth. He’s still very small for his age (well below 3%) but compared to where he was, he’s doing amazingly well! I don’t know what the future holds for him. He has an amazing medical team that we trust (this is critical!!) and I finally feel like he is thriving.