No one believed Jill and Nick Scaramuzzino when they called family members to tell them Jill was in labor on April Fool’s Day, but the real surprise was still to come.
‘The delivery went really fast, our heads were spinning, then the doctor caught her with a towel and she’s on my chest, and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, I think it’s a girl,?? recalls Jill. ‘We moved the umbilical cord out of the way, and they were like, ‘What???
Claira Leigh Scaramuzzino, born at 4:54 p.m., April 1, at Henry Ford Hospital Macomb in Clinton Township, fooled everyone, including her parents, the doctor, the nurses, and an ultrasound technician who had been wrong only once before in 20 years of telling expectant parents the gender of their impending arrivals.
‘Everyone’s happy with a healthy baby, but it was a shock,? said Doug Floyd, Claira’s grandfather. ‘When is the last time you heard an ultrasound done multiple times was wrong? Years ago, maybe, when ultrasounds were low resolution, but this is crazy.?
Jill had three ultrasounds done during her pregnancy, the first at 20 weeks, the second at 28 weeks, and the third at 35 weeks. While the baby’s sex was hidden in the second ultrasound, the technician was ‘certain? it was a boy on the first and third sonograms and looking at the ultrasound photographs, Jill and Nick, who have two older daughters, also believed they were going to have a son. So much so that they gave away all their girl clothes, painted the nursery in preparation for a boy, and bought and laundered boy outfits.
When Claira played her joke, her parents had fun revealing the secret. Doug Floyd recalls that when his son-in-law called to tell him the baby had arrived, he and his wife Carol headed down to the hospital from their Brandon Township home.
Met by other family members, someone said, ‘There’s your granddaughter.?
‘We said, ‘Yeah, right, April Fool’s, ha-ha,?? said Doug. ‘They were deadpan and they said, ‘No, it’s a girl, we’re surprised, too,? and I said, ‘You got me.??
It wasn’t until he looked at the hospital tag in the bassinet that said ‘Baby girl? that Doug finally believed.
‘We have nine grandchildren and this is the first one to pull this kind of stunt,? laughed Doug.
Jill and Nick Scaramuzzino, who live in St. Clair Shores, had always believed they would be the parents of three girls, and now they are. Jill said she believes Claira, their third child to be born in as many years, is their last.
‘It’s been a whirlwind of children, I think we’re good,? she said. ‘We are excited to have another girl and we’re totally happy.?
Claira weighed 8 pounds and was 21 inches long. Big sisters are Giuliana, 2, and Marisa, 17 months. Proud grandparents are Doug and Carol Floyd of Brandon Township, Gayle Floyd of Sterling Heights, and Tony and Carol Scaramuzzino of Sterling Heights.