'Makes Me Sad': Mom-to-Be's Reaction to Gender Reveal Splits Opinion

A mom has split opinions online after sharing the "gender disappointment" she felt after finding out her second child was another boy.

The Tennessee mom took to TikTok to upload the difference between her reaction at her gender reveal party compared to her reaction later that night, showing vastly different moods. Despite appearing full of joy at opening a smoke cannon of blue smoke, she later filmed herself sobbing at the news.

According to mom Nicole Shamlin, she wanted a girl and was left upset to discover her second would be a boy. She was also confused about how she would be able to love her two children equally.

In the post, she described herself crying as "grieving the fact that I'm not getting my baby girl just yet" and wrote that she was left asking "how can I love another boy?" and "Will I be replacing my first son? How can I love two sons?"

The post gained over 240,000 views, but was subsequently shared to a popular Reddit group where it gained over 20,000 votes. With such a controversial topic, it's unsurprising that viewers were left split by the mom's confession.

She did however confirm in the caption that she didn't feel this way for long with it lasting just one day. "We are beyond happy and blessed to be having another boy but I wanted to share my genuine reaction to help others," she wrote in a comment too.

Gender disappointment is reportedly a widely accepted feeling among moms-to-be who discover their baby's gender isn't what they were hoping for. Healthline reported that: "While many people won't admit to feelings of disappointment, it can be a perfectly normal reaction that's much more common than you've been led to believe."

For many, the feelings are temporary and pass quickly, but Healthline recommended that when it doesn't it's vital for moms to seek help from a "safe person" and work through the emotions.

Being common however doesn't mean it isn't controversial and the post showed exactly that.

Some were left confused over the reaction, with one user writing: "I'm actually a bit concerned here because this is a real problem for people."

"Be thankful for the ability to have not just one child, but two, and the child itself," wrote another.

"Gender disappointment is a real thing, but it should NOT be posted about online," added a Reddit user.

Others, however, showed more understanding for the mom-to-be, even delving into their own similar experiences. "Understand the feeling. I'm a mom of three boys. You'd be surprised by how much love your heart can hold," noted one user in a TikTok comment.

A Reddit user defended the reaction too, writing: "'Gender disappointment' is a real thing and completely normal. For most people, it's comparable to when you were hoping for another red skittle but there's none left. Oh well, green skittles are good too so you'll just eat those ones. It's a fleeting disappointment that you get over very quickly. By the time you have a baby in your arms (or hit the end of the pack in the analogy), it's long forgotten."

"I don't know why she's getting so much hate here. These kinds of thoughts are normal. The amount you love your first child is crazy and it seems impossible that you could feel that way with another child, but somehow it makes more sense if they're a boy and a girl. When you do have them, of course, you realize there's room in your heart for both of them - it grows to accommodate," wrote another user.

"It honestly makes me sad people think this somehow makes her a bad mother or something."

Newsweek has contacted Nicole Shamlin for comment.