The big debate started pretty much the second we discovered I was pregnant. Rob swears its gonna be a boy and I was hoping for a girl. Several of my friends have voiced opinions on the matter and so far were one up for a boy. Two of them are convinced without a doubt that its a girl, but three are convinced its a boy.
Once people find out you're pregnant they start telling you all these wives tales about how to determine the sex before birth. My best friend Jess, using her sister (who has 2 children, a boy and a girl) as a guideline feels that since I have no acne and now morning sickness and last time she saw me I was "glowing" that its definitely a boy.
Our good friends from Mexico, Fransisco and Maria, said that in Mexico when you are pregnant and you hang around young children, if little girls are more drawn to you then you are having a boy, but if little boys are drawn to you then its a girl. To test that theory the following weekend we visit my niece aged 5 and my nephew aged 3 to observe what happens. Immediately when I walked in the door my niece runs up to me and jumps into my arms screaming "Aunt Jenn!" while my nephew following quickly behind her stops short of my arms and asks "Where's Uncle Wobbie?" and then continues running past me straight into his arms. Over the next few hours my niece drags me around the house showing me her room and books and toys while my nephew couldn't care less if I was there.
Thinking maybe this was a fluke situation, we stop by our other friends who have young children. They have a daughter aged 2, who has met me on regular occasions over the last 6 months and never really came close or wanted anything to do with me, but within 20 mins of being there this time she was my shadow. Following me around the house, standing on stairs so she could look at me face to face, wanting up all the time.... Ok, chock one up for a boy if Mexican theory is correct.
With a significant amount of free time on my hands these days and being as curious as it gets, I googled a found a list of the 52 most common wives tales about pregnancy. Now some didn't have anything to do with gender prediction, but I'll highlight some of the ones that did....
As mentioned by Jess the lack of acne points to a boy. Lack of morning sickness also points to a boy. If you craving salty instead of sweet that apparently means a boy. Being that I could not be more turned off by the thought of ice cream and chocolate, but wouldnt pass up a pickle if you offered it to me, I'd say im all about the salty.
More scientifically speaking, if the baby's heartbeat that is lower than 140 bpm, means boy. My baby's has yet to reach 140 bpm, and upon first hearing it registered at 125 bpm.... anyone else becoming convinced?
Carrying high and round vs low and straight out. I know its still early on, but I am carrying low it seems, which again points to a baby boy. That along with being clumsy as heck, which also apparently means a boy.
For giggles my friend Sarah convinced me to do the ring on a string test. Hold the ring over your belly and if it goes straight back and forth its a girl and if it moves in a circle than its a boy.... verdict says, round and round we go for another point in the boy column.
There is an old Mayan tale that says if you add the mothers age at the time of conception along with the year of conception and get an even number its a girl, odd number means a boy. Being that I'm 25 and its 2010, that would make it 2035... odd number. Boy!
One I found rather odd was the skin under your left eye test. If you look in a mirror and pull the skin under your left eye down and see a "v" or "branches" in the white part of your eye than you're having a girl. I have no such V's or branches... that's another boy point.
If you have dreams of your baby during pregnancy and you dream that you are having a boy, you will have a girl. If you dream about having a girl, it will be a boy. Dreams show the opposite of what you are having. In all of my dreams where a baby is involved, the baby has been a little girl. So again, that points to a little boy inside me.
The side you sleep on... If you lay on your left side then its a boy. If you prefer your right side then its a girl. I've always been a left sided sleeper, so I don't know how accurate this one is for me. Plus I've heard that you're suppose to sleep on your left side during pregnancy because its better for the baby. Either way, I suppose this is another win for a boy.
If the father to be gains weight with you, its said to be a girl. If he stays the same then its said to be a boy. Sorry to sell you out on this one Rob but he has recently been complaining that his pants are a little tighter than normal. Finally a point in the girl column!
The majority of women I know hate having to shave their legs. I'm sure the first person to come up with a product that slathers on and comes off and takes the hair with it and doesn't let it grow back for months or better yet, EVER, will have the world at their fingertips. That being said, if you find your leg hair growing even faster than ever while pregnant, that a sign that you're carrying a boy. Being that I should take stocks with Gillette for all the razors and shaving cream I'm having to buy, we're giving the boy pile another point.
They say that if you experience and increase in the amount of headache you have while pregnant that also means a baby boy is on board. My head has pretty much been pounding since the day I conceived. Excuse me while I reach for a tylenol!
And finally, the baby name debate. It is said, that if you can only think of and/or agree upon specific names for one gender of baby then that's the gender you're having. Checking in on our baby name list, we pretty much have one name for a boy. It was one of the firsts mentioned and it hasn't changed. For a girl, we have about 2 dozen names and it changes daily. Guess its a good thing all signs point to boy.
In conclusion to the Old Wives Tale Experiment, we come out of this with a whopping 14 outta 15 points for a boy, and 1 point leaning towards girl. I guess I can start picking out Tonka trucks and dinky cars.
We'll be finding out for sure in a few weeks at the 20 week ultrasound if it is indeed a boy or girl. It will be interesting to see if any of these wives tales ring true.
