Whe I was pregnant with my twins the person that did my ultrasound told me at 12 weeks that I was having a boy and a girl.
16 to 18 weeks
Congrats! I am currently 26 weeks preggo and we found out it is a girl when I was at 18 weeks. Also look into 4d ultrasounds...they are amazing! You will be able to see exactally what he/ahe will look like! Best Wishes!
-ashley
Congratulations. I had mine at 16 weeks. They can tell.. Drink you a coke before going to get him/her moving around. This is my third pregnancy and I have found out each time. If its a boy you can definately tell. I have 3 girls(one on the way) and I watched my friends ultasound when she had a boy..there was no mistaking that lol.
I like to think I'm a "really good ultrasound tech" (10 years' experience and the senior tech at my facility where we perform a great many OB exams). I want to go on record as saying that anyone who expects a 100% accurate diagnosis of gender before 18 weeks is asking for potential disappointment at the time of birth. It depends on several factors. First of all, if the mother is obese, the exam will be less accurate. If your doctor has an older machine, also may be inaccurate. If there is not a lot of fluid around your baby, less able to tell. If your tech is inexperienced, certainly that is a factor.
I will never tell a patient the gender unless I am positive. Not only are you setting the parents up for potential disappointment at the time of birth (a thing I will NEVER do), the tech is setting themselves up for a potential lawsuit. I've even known experienced OB physicians to be mistaken about gender. It is true that boys are normally easier to tell. A competent ultrasound tech or physician with a lot of experience with ultrasound will know the umbilical cord from a penis. It cannot be mistaken--IF you do the right thing and wait till the best time to determine gender, which is around 20 weeks, though I've had patients whose babies, even at that stage, are indeterminable.
Personally, there is no way on earth I'd tell someone who is 14 weeks what the gender is! Maternal hormones can make female labia and clitoris appear as a scrotum and penis at that age. Likewise, a small penis can be hidden and the bulge of the scrotum appear as labia. I can understand being impatient, but why set yourself up for being misinformed? You may as well flip a coin and put all your hopes and dreams on that.
Another question I have to ask, why would you be having a sonogram done at 14 weeks in the first place if there are no problems? There are 3 times a sonogram should be performed in a normal gestation. First, to confirm and date the pregnancy and determine the number of embryos (no earlier than 6.5-7 weeks. Before that the pregnancy cannot usually be confirmed to be a normal one, that is, in utero and not an ectopic pregnancy or what they called a "blighted ovum", in which there is a sac but no baby ever develops). Secondly, around 20-23 weeks to assess the fetus for birth defects, location of placenta, or any other problems that might exist. Third, if indicated, during labor or shortly before the due date to determine how the baby is presenting (breech or cephalic--head down) to determine whether a vaginal delivery is possible or a C-section may become necessary. Your best bet for determining gender is during that second trimester exam.
To have an exam just to determine gender is irresponsible and no physician should allow it. In the medical imaging profession, we are held to uphold the idea of "ALARA", which means "as low as reasonably achievable". That means exposing the baby to high frequency ultrasound as little as absolutely necessary. Ultrasound has only been in common use for a little more than a quarter of a century. With any technology that new, there is no way of knowing if any negative effects may occur from frequent use. It IS known that ultrasound waves have the ability to raise fetal body temperature 1 degree. It is also known that high frequency waves can burst tiny bubbles in the body, a condition called cavitation. One study has shown that babies born of mothers who've had numerous sonograms during their pregnancy had a greater incidence of lefthandedness. So while ultrasound is, presently, presumed safe during pregnancy, until a few generations of children have grown to adulthood, it is not recommended to have any more sonograms than is necessary.
The health of your baby is more important than its gender, and I'm sure you would rather contain your impatience than cause any risk to your baby, nor set the baby up for anything but great joy at its birth, and not even the slightest feelings of disappointment. Besides, whenever I tell parents the gender, I feel I have robbed them of the incredible moment of excitement at the time of birth, when the doctor makes that proclamation, "It's a .......!" I think we've taken something away from the experience by having the tech say, "I am 85% sure it's a ....., but I could be wrong" just because you are curious or having a baby shower. It's so much more fun to call the family and share the grand finale, the unveiling, with them after the whole great miracle has come to completion.
One more thing. If you don't want to know, tell the tech. I personally will not even look so I don't slip and tell accidently by referring to the baby as he or she. Also, it is unrealistic to tell one of the parents or anyone in the family if one of the others does not want to know. I can almost guarantee by the end of the day, the one who didn't want to know will know. That's too huge a secret to keep. Excited dads will not be able to refrain from buying little footballs for their sons.
On a personal note, please realize you have a 50/50 chance of having either gender. Nothing makes me sadder than telling someone that their beautiful, perfect baby is a girl and having the father storm out of the room in anger. (It happens more than you'd believe.) We see terrible birth defects and you should focus on the good fortune of a healthy baby, not which gender it is. Sometimes I say to disgruntled fathers, "It's either a girl or a boy with a very small penis. Which would you prefer?"
Sorry this is so long. It's a pet peeve of mine when parents seem to care more for the gender than the health of their child. If only they saw what I see... Nothing wrong with being curious and having a hard time waiting. Just don't make that the focus of your attention when you have a sonogram. Marvel at the perfect little face, fingers, and toes, and thank your lucky stars they are perfect.
Well the update is that I am having a littl girl