I've Heard it All

I'm sure any of you ladies out there who have been or who are prego have, like me, heard every old wives tale you can possibly imagine. You've had everyone comment on the size and shape of your belly. You've been groped (I, believe it or not, don't mind this much, of course depending on the person), you've been commented upon about your "condition" as if you're now inflicted with some sort of serious disease. You've been told all manner of silly advice about morning sickness, weight gain, stretch marks. You've been told the horror stories of labour and delivery. And the list goes on and on.

The least intrusive of all, possibly the most silly in its predictors, but just plain fun as we've ALL been there trying to place our bets: Is it a boy or is it a girl?

Hmmm....let's take a look at some of the methods of determining sex I've heard so far:

1. Heartrate: I've been told a heartrate less than 140 beats per minute, it's a boy. More than 140 beats per minute, it's a girl. I was keeping this in mind at my midwife appointment yesterday. And guess what the baby's heart rate was? Precisely 140 beats per minute....so what does that mean I wonder? lol :)

2. Shape of the infamous baby belly: If you're carrying high, it's a girl. Low and out front, it's a boy. According to Canadian Living.com this "myth" was startied in English folklore based on the fact that a girl requires more love and protection and therefore needs to be closer. A boy, on the other hand, needs more independence and stays further away from it's mother. Bah! Here's what doesn't make sense....the uterus doesn't even rise above the bellybutton at all until about 21 weeks or so. And so it's not until the very end that the baby could even possibly be "up high". Whatever!

3. How Active is the baby? So far my baby feels quite active, kicking me from the inside out, playing soccer with my bladder, rolling around, and all that good stuff. Feels very fascinating at this point. What I've been told? According to this, I must be having a BOY, of course. Boys are supposed to be more boistrous and sporty, girls more subdued and quiet. Ha! These people have obviously never met my very "subdued and quiet" nieces...Double HA!!

4. Dreams: Whatever the sex of the baby in your dreams, that's what you're having. In all of my baby dreams, it's a girl.

5. Cravings: Sweets: Girl; Salt: Boy. I've always craved sweets, particularly chocolate. This has not changed in the least during my pregnancy. Salt is yucky. Yup, must be a girl.

6. Morning Sickness: If you have morning sickness then you're having a girl. If you do not have morning sickness, it's a boy. Believe it or not there was a study done on this by swedish researchers and it was discovered that 56% of women with severe morning sickness actually ended up having baby girls. I've not been sick at all - well, one incident after lunch when I thought for 5 minutes or so that I might die - but otherwise, nothing. Still don't think I'll be painting the nursery blue on a percentage rating of only 6% above the 50/50.

7. The Ring Thing: You know the one where you suspend your wedding ring or a needle over your belly and the pendulum/circle swing indicates the sex? I think it's a girl for the circle, boy if it swings back and forth. I was convinced this one actually worked until Steph had a boy despite the needle clearly stating girl. So disappointing! But I've never had this work on me anyways, I get a different result every time someone does it.

8. Chinese Conception Chart: Apparantly this chart was developed way back in the 13th century by a scientist and it's reputed for being very highly accurate in China. I'm thinking we may possibly be in the wrong continent for this one. But it did actually work when I calculated for my sister's 3 kids - all girls! According to my chart, it's a boy!

9. Beauty or the Beast: If you lose your looks during pregnancy then you're having a girl because she's stealing your beauty. If you look great during your pregnancy then it's a boy because he apparantly doesn't need to be beautiful....? Nobody has commented about my facial appearance so far being either good or bad. They probably know better than to possibly try and tell me I look like crap. People have commented about my face shape "changing" but they've never explained if they feel it's because I'm having a boy or a girl.

10. Weight Gain: Not on me...on the hubby. If the husband gains weight, (yes, he has...Jamie's been a very "sympathetic" husband during this pregnancy - I swear he has WAY more cravings than I do..he he) it's a girl. If no weight gain, it's a boy.

11. Full Moon?: I've heard people talk about the moon cycles and how if it was a full moon during conception then it's a boy and if it's a half-moon, it's a girl. But I've never paid enough attention to know the full details of this "predictor" and I honestly had other other things on my mind "during" (if you know what I mean) than what the moon phases were.

12. Ovulation: The only one that may actually have some scientific origin. The closer to ovulation that you conceive then the greater the chances of having a boy. That's because the "male" sperm have a tendency to swim faster and therefore find the egg more quickly. If the egg is still a little far away then the male sperm tire and die off leaving the patient "female" sperm for fertilization a couple of days later.

Lucky #13: Mothers Intuition: According to one online study, about 71% of expectant mothers who had no previous medical indication of the sex of their child, guessed accurately about the sex of their baby simply according to how they felt. My feelings so far? Girl. Although when talking about the baby I almost always say, "He".

I found this test online http://www.childbirth.org/articles/boyorgirl.html According to the quiz, I have a 60% chance of having a boy.

I guess it really is going to be a surprise.

What predictors have you heard? Any of them "work" for you?