Perhaps one of the biggest surprises is finding out the sex of your baby. Thanks to modern technology, even that doesn't have to wait until birth.
To keep the excitement of the surprise alive, many expecting parents are revealing the sex of their babies in unique ways. Some find out first, revealing the results to their friends and family; and others put their trust in the bearer of an envelope, finding out alongside the rest of the world. There are countless ways couples are sharing the big reveal.
Box of balloons
"I decided to do a gender reveal because my family is really close, and I wanted everybody to be a part of the exciting news," said Jefferson City native Ashley Walters.
Walters had her doctor write down the gender of her baby on an envelope. She then enlisted the help of a friend who works in a floral department to fill a box with balloons of the appropriate color - pink for a girl or blue for a boy. In her grandmother's garden, surrounded by family, Walters found out who she would be raising for next 18 years.
"My older daughter and I opened the box together, and she loved it! She was so happy to be having a little sister and balloons to play with," Walters said.
Walters was glad she did the gender reveal. "It was super fun and easy, and all my family and friends got to find out together what we were having."
Walters had the occasion captured by friend and professional photographer Morgan Conner.
Sweet feet
Jordan and Heather Wagoner chose to reveal their baby's gender a little differently.
"We wanted to do a reveal that included our 10-month-old daughter, Jennifer," Heather said.
Because she wasn't walking yet, the couple chose to paint their daughter's feet the appropriate color. With the help of Daddy, she pressed her feet down on the white T-shirt Heather was wearing, revealing the baby's gender with footprints. The couple took pictures of each step in the process, revealing the little pink footprints in the end.
"I think it turned out very well, and I still have the T-shirt that I can use to make a keepsake in the future," Heather said.
Pain and paint
Lucas and Chelsea Ellington live just outside of Los Angeles. Lucas, a 2002 Jefferson City High School graduate, was put in charge of coming up with the reveal idea, which resulted in an appropriate activity to announce the couple is having a boy.
"We wanted to do something that would surprise us and make a fun video to share with family and friends back home. We also wanted to do something unique that we hadn't seen done before," Chelsea said. "That was the criteria I gave to Lucas."
The couple elected their friend Tom to open the mysterious envelope they brought home from their most recent doctor's appointment. Tom then filled a paintball gun with the mysteriously colored paintballs. Lucas dressed in all white, and Chelsea shot her husband with paintballs, covering him in blue paint, to reveal they're having a boy.
"I could see the paintballs as they were leaving the gun and could tell they were blue. Lucas couldn't tell until he was hit higher up on his chest and could see the paint out of the bottom of his mask," Chelsea said.
The unique idea was recorded and posted on Facebook for friends and family.
"Lucas told me he wanted to be shot because he knew I would be in enormous amounts of pain during childbirth, and he thought it would only be fair for him to experience some sort of pain in return," Chelsea said. "Plus, it would be really funny on camera."
The couple talked their audience through the events that were about to unfold, making the reveal even more personal for family far away.
"It was a blast to do, and we are thankful to have these memories captured on video," Chelsea said.
She added, "Lucas would like to apologize to any future dad whose wife got this gender reveal idea from us."