Finding Joy in the Desert: Gender Reveal

On October 11, just over a week after we found out that our baby has Trisomy 18 and that he is a boy we decided to throw a gender reveal party for Moriah. I have always been a HUGE advocate of the gender surprise at birth. Experiencing this with Mo was one of the best surprises ever-- however, once we found out that we may not have the opportunity to meet our baby before his passing- we felt that it was important to find out his gender so that we could name him, bond with him and celebrate him- while we have him here (even if it is in utero) with us.

One way that we are able to celebrate him is to create memories surrounding who he is as our son and Moriah's brother. This is not only important to Chris and I but we feel it is important for Moriah - who is anxiously awaiting her sibling and is trying to process the fact that he is sick and may never play with us here on earth.

Enough said-- I could not help but share a few pictures- from that night (which Moriah still talks about). Our heavy hearts were eased and we truly celebrated together. What a precious family memory.

We started our evening by making one of our favorite meals- homemade pizza!

I had prepared a bin full of items that would act as decorations for our 'party'. Moriah knew that they would either be all pink or all blue and she knew that pink would mean she was having a sister and blue would mean she was having a brother! We were a bit nervous about her reaction as she has wanted a sister all along!