Jordan and I decided at the beginning of this ride not to find out the sex of the baby ahead of time. We thought, "There are so few true surprises in life, and we can always find out early with our future children...why not wait?"
Little did we know it would start to drive us crazy around week 27. We are DYING to know!
We've had several friends recently who were absolutely certain they were having one thing, only to discover their baby was the other.
This question is looming so large in both our hearts right now - picking out names for a boy and a girl, wondering what special little touches to add to the nursery - that I thought I'd share a post about the old wives tales that "predict" the baby's sex.
'Cause if it's all I can think about, by God, I'm gonna make you guys think about it with me.
(Also I'm using pink and blue for this post because it's a fun visual and not because I think boy = blue and girl = pink and gender roles and sexism and blah blah blah so cut me a break.)
1. Where are you carrying?
Low = boy; high = girl.
This test predicts that if your baby bump sits up in your ribs, you're having a girl. If you're swingin' low, it's a boy. Mine has been l-o-w this entire pregnancy, so signs would point to boy.
2. What are your cravings like?
Salty = boy; sweet = girl.
Really, I've had both. But first trimester and third trimester, they've been tending back toward the sweet - I've been able to put away sweets (even incredibly rich sweets) like nobody's business. I've also been reaching for fruit or fruit juice a lot, which is definitely in the "sweet" category!
3. Fetal heart rate?
> 140 = boy; < 140 = girl.
I (eek!) can't even remember what the fetal heart rate was the first time we got to hear it, but I do remember thinking, "That's a boy!" So...boy, I suppose. Also this is not scientific so it doesn't matter.
4. What's going on with your skin?
Clear skin = boy; breakouts = girl.
They say that girls are supposed to "steal your beauty," which supposedly means you break out more, your hair thins out, you have terrible morning sickness, etc. Apart from the occasional few breakouts here and there, my skin has been normal!
5. Morning sickness?
No = boy; yes = girl.
As I was saying. The girl babies evidently want to make you miserable, according to these old pieces of nonsense. I was certainly nauseated and had some food aversions, but never actually got sick during my first (or any other) trimester.
6. Ring on a string!
Circles = boy; back and forth = girl.
This test is very witch-y and fun. You pluck a strand of hair from your head, loop it through your wedding band, and have a friend dangle the band over your belly. If the ring swings in a circle, it's a boy. If it swings back and forth, it's a girl. We repeated this test several times at one of my best friend's bachelorette parties, and it was always the same result for me: circles! Interestingly, we did the test on other people and it swung back and forth. So it felt accurate - even though, you know, it's a piece of hair around a ring. SCIENCE!
7. Chinese calendar?
There aren't two options to choose between on this one - you have to chart the date your baby was conceived against your own birthday. For whatever it's worth, that math = a boy for us.
8. Which side are you sleeping on?
Left = boy; right = girl.
I have definitely been favoring my right side in these later months. That's the side I fall asleep on in bed and the side I end up lying on on the couch while binging episodes of VEEP with Jordan every night.
9. Dad's weight gain?
None = boy; a little extra around the middle = girl.
As much as it would thrill me to watch my very trim husband pack on the pounds with me, alas, Jordan's still very trim (dammit).
10. Mom's gut feeling?
I have to say, from Day 1, I've been feeling like this was a little boy. Early on in pregnancy - like, maybe week 8? - I went to a meditation session in Asheville (I know, SO very "Asheville" of me!). The intention I set for the meditation was to "get to know the baby." About halfway through the meditation, I started seeing a deep blue pulsing in front of me - sort of in that way that immediately after you close your eyes when you look at something bright, you can still see the shapes and colors of what you were looking at.
Weird, right??
Anyway, ALL of these (even my meditations "blues!") are just silly and fun, but they're something for us to focus on while we very impatiently wait to see exactly who it is we'll be spending the rest of our lives with. Most signs point to boy! But who. even. knows.
HURRY UP, DECEMBER 15th!!