Baby Steps

Chapter 8: All American...

20 weeks had finally come and Rosie's heart was filled to the brim with anticipation. The second she woke up that morning, her mind went straight to thinking of gender reveal announcements. Even though it wasn't a plan she and Marco had thoroughly discussed, she thought that it was a good idea to do something small and fun to let people know what they were having.

Throughout the day and up until Marco came home at 2pm, Rosie spent the day searching the Internet for cute ways to reveal little peanut's gender; whether the inspiration came from YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook or simply Google images. After making a list of her favorite ideas and consulting with Marco via text and Skype call, Rosie was able to narrow it down to her top two favorites.

When Marco arrived home and they prepared to head to Rosie's 20 week ultrasound appointment, Rosie thought it would be a good idea to add a little more flavor and suspense to the big reveal.

"Since we both have such strong opinions on what little peanut's gender is, I say we bet on it" Rosie smiled eagerly with her tongue out like a snake; indicating that she was dying for a little competition, knowing she and Marco hadn't competed for anything since the night they first hooked up 5 years ago.

"Alright. What's the wager?" Marco chuckled as he and Rosie got into the minivan and he prepared to get the engine started.

Rosie thought long and hard about the price of the bet before providing an answer. Normally, she would automatically respond with either a drink or loser makes the winner's favorite dinner. However, her pregnancy limited her in both areas. Realizing that she hadn't answered in a while, Marco told her that he accepted the challenge regardless and she could bring up the wager whenever she found one.

~X~

Since they had some time before the actual appointment, Rosie and Marco quickly stopped at Target to buy something special for the gender reveal. Her heart raced a thousand beats per minute as they walked through the doors hand in hand, remembering the dream she had depicting losing her daughter. But she was quick to remind herself that it was only a dream.

It wasn't long before they arrived between the shoe aisle and the craft aisle. Rosie' heart filling with excitement.

"Are you sure this is the way you want to do it? Once you choose, you can't change your mind" Marco cautioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Absolutely. I think it'll be fun to remember down the road" Rosie chuckled as she buried her excitable grin into Marco's broad shoulder.

After approximately 5 minutes, Rosie and Marco found everything that they needed and they were head over heels for the anticipation to be over. Upon returning to the car and making their way to the appointment, Rosie finally came up with a wager for their gender reveal bet.

"Winner gets to pick the movie tonight and make the loser a milkshake" Rosie said decisively as she and Marco were nearing the clinic.

"Deal" Marco replied as they pulled into the parking lot, he held the passenger's door open for Rosie and they made the bet official with a kiss for good luck.

The anxious parents had been in the waiting area for approximately 15 minutes before they were met by Dr. Walsh. Judging by the excited look on his face, Rosie and Marco assumed he remembered that Rosie was now twenty weeks along; which was a momentous occasion for them all. Even though he hardly talked about it, letting patients know the sex of their baby was always his favorite part because he loved seeing the initial joy on the parents' faces.

After checking to see how Rosie was feeling and routinely making sure that the baby was still nice and healthy, Dr. Walsh asked them if they wanted to know the gender; which they eagerly said yes to but with a twist in mind. Rosie then took the liberty of explaining the reveal; which was inspired a series of images and videos she had found on Google and YouTube.

"That sounds doable. I'll ask you to now look away as I write down the answer" Dr. Walsh instructed all the while calling Lucy for help with the reveal box.

Ten minutes later, the appointment was over; which meant that Rosie and Marco were one step closer to being able to know if the baby was a boy or a girl. During the entire drive home, Rosie could not keep her eager eyes off of the butter cream yellow and lime green keepsake box; which featured Pooh Bear and Piglet sharing a meaningful hug. She had considering peeking without Marco's knowledge but was quick to resist, knowing that she would get caught immediately.

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After dinner, Rosie and Marco set up his phone on a makeshift tripod so that they could film the reveal; knowing that it was the quickest way to share the news with family and it was a great way to look back when the baby was older.

Upon initially opening up the box, Rosie and Marco were not surprised to discover a mountain of pink and blue gift basket grass. As per the plan, when they finished digging through the grass they were overwhelmed at the tiny pair of Converse corresponding with the correct gender.

"Holy crap. It's a girl!" Marco exclaimed as he retrieved the tiniest pair of pink Converse from the box. He then wiped a series of proud tears from the corners of his eyes. Never in his entire life was he so happy to be wrong or lose a bet; especially to someone like Rosie.

"I always knew. But it just feels so good to have proof that I was right" Rosie responded with a chuckle through equally happy tears as she leaned in for a celebratory kiss.

As the proud parents ate a simple dinner of homemade chicken and veggie wraps while drinking their chocolate milkshakes, Rosie was quick to think of a cute announcement photo on Instagram. She then placed the pink converse on her growing belly and asked Marco to only photograph the belly. After Marco had gladly taken a few shots, Rosie selected the best one to upload and captioned it: I'm tickled pink #littlepeanut #itsagirl

Upon settling into bed that night, Rosie finally passed out at 12am due to being able to find a comfortable position to sleep. As grateful as she was for a healthy pregnancy, she didn't appreciate the sleepless nights that she was already experiencing without the baby having to physically be present just yet.

However, Marco felt differently as he tried process the fact that he was having a daughter. When he thought for sure that they were expecting a boy, he believed that any job would do justice to pay the bills. But when it finally hit him that the baby was a girl, he found himself going back to the comment that Rosie's dad made on Mother's Day; the food truck seemed like a hobby and not something that had the potential to put real money on the table.

He knew full well that his daughter would look to him for approval in anything that she wanted to do; whether that would be in terms of her education, career or love life. But he just couldn't stand the idea of not having a job that she could be proud of. This was a thought that he knew he couldn't share with Rosie just yet. If anything, he assumed it would be best to surprise her. So, he made it his mission to polish and hand out his resume in the morning.

"I won't let you down, little girl. I promise" Marco whispered as he ever so discreetly laid a hand on Rosie's belly to feel the breathtakingly miraculous kicks; which always seemed to be especially fast late at night.