Is there a time limit to see sex of baby?

[Longislandicedme]

Just wondering as the private clinics near me advertise scans to find out sex at 16-22 weeks.

I’m 21 weeks and had my 20 week scan yesterday but have to go back in a couple of weeks to get baby’s heart scanned as it was laying awkwardly.

We opted to not find out but as we have 3yo DS he’s having a hard time understanding me having a baby so we’ve now thought it may be easier if we could tell him he has a brother / sister coming and be a bit more specific. As we’re going back to the hospital I was thinking of just asking the sonographer if they could check at that appointment and if not we would book a private scan, but if it’s going to be more difficult to see later in the pregnancy we could just book a private scan first.

I know it probably sounds like such a stupid question as I imagine it gets clearer to see later on in the pregnancy I’m just wondering whether baby’s size / position would affect chances of seeing?

Also, if anyone has any advice on getting children to understand becoming a big brother / sister that would help too! I’ve bought books but at the minute he thinks I won’t be his mum any more once I have the baby. I’m an only child so he’s only ever seen me with my mum and not have to share her with a sibling which I think may affect his thinking?

Thank you!

I know it probably sounds like such a stupid question as I imagine it gets clearer to see later on in the pregnancy I’m just wondering whether baby’s size / position would affect chances of seeing?

Yes. They get too big to be able to see, and before they’re too big they wriggle into unhelpful positions.

I had a 4d scan at 30 weeks in 2 pregnancies and you could clearly see the sex.

Does he have little friends with brothers and sisters? I’d try not to make a thing of it but just casually mention that such and such has a little sister just like he’s going to have one. Or auntie x has two children (names). And you’ll be just like her, you’ll have DC as big brother and xx the little sister/brother who is still in your tummy. And: give it time, as far as he’s concerned it’s half a lifetime away!

I’ve had growth scans every 4 weeks and asked them to check each time (last one at 30 weeks) because they weren’t positive at my 20 weeks scan! Was much clearer at the last scan!
With dc1 I had a 4d scan at 30 weeks too and it was very clear to see!
In my experience every time I have another scan this time they ask me if i know/want to know anyway and it’s the first thing they do! I imagine it’s so they know whether they can say he/she when they are talking about baby!

I had a scan at 36+ weeks and the sonographer confirmed it was a girl.

They might be bigger, but they can check internal organs so checked my DD's ovaries.
You have plenty of time to find out what you're having!

It has meant we can tell DD that she's having a little sister! She seems quite excited about the imminent arrival, especially as she's heard she's bringing her a present!

Thanks everyone! At least I’ve got time to decide if I want to find out or not. Even though we opted not to I was sort of hoping for a clue at the scan but our little one gave nothing away!

I will try getting him used to the idea of a sibling, hopefully without knowing the sex. Just thought it would make things a little more real for him but we’ll see!

It very much depends on the position of the baby especially later in on pregnsny. Some things are clearer at a later gestation but not always . Some babies have their knees bent with feet tucked under their bottoms which makes it very difficult. If you're going back in a couple of weeks and you'll be about 23 weeks ask the sonographer if they can see the gender, if the baby has moved into a better position she should be able to see for you.
To the PP who said her DDs ovaries were checked, the sonographer would have seen her DDs labia in order to confirm the gender. Fetal ovaries are not visible, in-utero although many other internal organs are.