<b>By Pamela Brownstein</b>

Ever since I found out I was pregnant with my second child, I tried to remain neutral about the gender. I hoped only for a healthy baby, and thought about the benefits of either a boy or a girl. We already have an adorable little boy, so it could be fun to have two — and we wouldn’t have to buy any new clothes.

But as the pregnancy progressed, I realized I <i>really</i> wanted a girl. It started out secretly, just me daydreaming about little pink outfits and playing Barbies and house and dress-up (all things I loved to do when I was young).

Then I admitted it to my husband, Daniel. He said it would be nice to have a girl because then we would have one of each and wouldn’t have to worry about having any more kids. Since it feels like I’ve spent the past two years being preggo, and considering I’ll be 35 later this year, the thought of being done was comforting.

There are other factors at play as well, mostly that both sides of our family are dominated by boys. My sister has one boy and Daniel’s sister has three, so we thought it would nice for our parents to have a granddaughter. And, my two best friends from college are also pregnant with girls, so we’ve been chatting about how neat it would be if we all had girls within the same year.

For all my obsessing, I had to accept that it was beyond my control and kept telling myself it would be fine either way.

Last week, at 20 weeks along, we had an ultrasound to find out the sex. I tried to stay calm as the technician checked all the measurements, but the anticipation was intense. The baby was moving around inside, making it hard to get a good look. Finally, we were able to see on the screen with certainty what I had longed to know: We’re having a girl.