Boy or girl? Gender reveal parties are the fun new way to find out!

By: Jen Savadge Gender reveal parties are the hot new trend in pregnancy and a fun way to share your new baby news. When I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I decided to go for the big surprise and not find out her gender until she announced it herself to the world. But when I was pregnant with my second child, we decided to find out the gender to better help big sister prepare. The three of us went to the ultrasound, found out the gender and then called friends and family to let them know. How boring! If I had known then about all of these fun new ways that couples are announcing their new baby's gender, I definitely would have been on board! Gender reveal parties are the latest trend in the baby world, embraced by couples as the fun new way to announce the exciting news. And the best part is that it's not the couples doing the announcing. More often than not, they are just as surprised as their guests to learn the news! The traditional color choice for a gender reveal party is pink or blue, but feel free to go with whatever two colors you choose to represent your baby's gender. Ask guests to cast their ballot by wearing one color or another or hand out pins, beads, leis, temporary tattoos, or hats to let them show off their choice. Then it's time to reveal the surprise... Here's how to pull off a fun gender reveal party that's sure to have a surprise in store for everyone. A sweet surprise. Gender reveal cakes, cupcakes, and cake pops are a popular choice for gender reveal parties. Ask your ultrasound tech or OBGYN to write down the baby's gender and place it in a sealed envelope. Then take this envelope to your favorite baker. Ask him to bake a cake that's gender neutral on the outside with a creme filling that matches the color you chose to represent your baby's gender. Floating on air. Take your gender-info envelope to your local party store and ask the clerk to fill up a dozen balloons of the appropriate color and box them up. This is a great idea for parents with other children. They will be more than delighted to open the box at the party and reveal the surprise! The clothes make the man? Another cute idea is to head to the baby store and pick out two outfits - one for a girl and one for a boy. I know it sounds like gender stereotyping, but it doesn't have to be a pink frilly dress and a manly three-piece suit. The outfits could simply include t-shirts in the colors you have chosen to represent each gender. Take the outfits to the cashier and hand her the envelope. Ask her to box up and wrap (in gender neutral colors) the appropriate outfit. Have you ever been to a gender reveal party? How did the couple share the news?

First Baby of 2014 Rings in the New Year- It's a Girl!

Tired and happy. That’s how Tracy and Chuck Amadori felt Wednesday afternoon at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Amherst, gazing at their new daughter. Lilliana Rose Amadori, named for her great-great grandmother, arrived at 12:56 a.m. New Year’s Day, the apparent winner of the unofficial derby among area hospitals for the first baby of 2014. She is the couple’s first child. Another baby arrived at 1:42 a.m. in Women & Children’s Hospital, according to Michael P. Hughes, spokesman for Kaleida Health. At 4:07 a.m. in Sisters Hospital, a baby girl was born. After her birth, three others arrived throughout the morning there. Like all new parents, Tracy and Chuck Amadori were content Wednesday to watch their daughter, snuggled in a blanket and pink cap, as she slept on her mother’s bed. Lilliana, born five days earlier than expected, weighs 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and she is 21¼ inches long. “I started having some contractions on Sunday night, but since I’ve never been pregnant, I went to work Monday,” said Tracy Amadori, an X-ray technician for Gates Vascular Institute. She was “up all night Monday” with contractions, and on Tuesday morning she went to her obstetrician, who sent her to the hospital. She gave birth to Lilliana via cesarean section. The Grand Island couple, who did not know the baby’s gender before she was born, had been convinced the child would be a boy. “We didn’t know. I don’t know why, I just had a feeling that it was a boy,” Tracy Amadori said. “I thought he would be like his father. My husband is big into comics and superheroes.” She said the operating crew let Chuck Amadori announce, “It’s a girl.” “It was shocking,” she said with a smile. But the new father, a supervisor at the Grand Island Post Office, seemed more than happy with his little Wonder Woman, named after her great-great grandmother. “I was very close with her,” Tracy Amadori said of her great-grandmother, “so we tried to modernize Lillian so it doesn’t sound so old.” Lilliana and all babies born at Millard Fillmore Suburban and Women & Children’s hospitals will receive a Buffalo Sabres blanket this year. The Sabres are continuing their “Buffalo Baby” initiative. The program was developed last year by team owner Terry Pegula, his wife, Kim, and Sabres President Ted Black to welcome the babies. The hooded blanket sports a “14” on it, to signify the year. “We are very excited to do the baby blanket program again in 2014, building on the success of last year, which saw us distribute over 7,000 blankets,” Black said. News Staff Reporter Lou Michel contributed to this report. email: bobrien@buffnews.com