Maria and I decided early on in our pregnancy that we did not want to learn the sex of our baby. But that doesn’t mean we don’t wonder if it’s a boy or a girl! No matter what gender our baby is, we will be thrilled to have him or her in our arms. In the meantime, it’s a little awkward when we try to talk about the baby. Maria and I really aren’t nickname people, so that isn’t an option and I always feel uncomfortable referring to our little one as “it”. To settle the question temporarily until we find out the old-fashioned way whether it’s blue or pink, we decided to try some old wives tales about predicting the sex of our baby. So let’s see what the folk wisdom has to say!
How Is She Carrying?
One old wive’s tale says that if the mom is carrying high (like a basketball sticking straight out), then it’s a girl. If the baby is carrying low (like a watermelon), then it’s a boy. Let’s take a look at the evidence:
What do you think? Looks to me like she’s carrying high, like a basketball. I’m going to count this as one check in the girl’s column.
The Ring Swing
In another folk tale, dangling the father’s wedding ring on a string over the mother’s belly will tell you if it’s a boy or a girl depending on how the ring moves. If it swings back and forth like a pendulum, it’s a boy. If it swings in a circle, it’s a girl.
Maria and I tried this and the ring swung like a pendulum.
We couldn’t find any regular string in the house and had to settle on a roll of jute that Maria had tucked away in her craft supplies. If you ask her, Maria swears that the large size of the knot threw the ring off balance and affected its motion. As for me, I’m putting a tally in the boy column.
Sweet and Sour
Another legend has it that a mother who craves sweet treats during her pregnancy is having a boy. If she craves sour snacks instead, it’s a girl. This one is really hard to gauge for Maria. She doesn’t have much in the way of pregnancy cravings, one way or the other. Lately, she craves Coke and eats a lot of sugar-free popsicles, but it’s mostly because she can’t eat a lot of sweets while managing her gestational diabetes. And we all know that it’s human nature to want what you can’t have. So I’m going to call this one a draw.
Morning Sickness
Here’s one that even I heard before I started researching for this post: if she has morning sickness all day long, it’s going to be a girl. And, as Maria talked about when we announced our pregnancy, she pretty much had some amount of nausea all day long. It was worst at night, but it was kind of an all-day thing. So I’m going to label this as an indicator that we might be having a girl.
The Chinese Calendar
There is a legend of a Chinese lunar calendar that can predict it’s a boy or a girl, as long as you know the mother’s lunar age at the time of conception. It sounds complex, but there are some online calculators that do the math for you. We ran Maria’s information and … it’s a boy!
The Beauty Thief
Here’s one you’ve probably heard before. If you are having beauty issues during your pregnancy, such as acne or hair problems or any of a number of other things, its because you are pregnant with a girl and she is “stealing” your beauty.
Well, Maria’s hair has never been more luxurious and she looks just as beautiful to me as she ever has. I think it’s safe to say that pregnancy definitely agrees with Maria, so I’m going to count this one for the boys.
Your Partner’s Weight
Here’s one about the guys: if the father gains weight right along with you, then you are probably having a girl.
In our case, I gained a little bit of weight around the holidays (who doesn’t?), but I have since lost a good deal of weight thanks to much healthier eating. I think this is supposed to count throughout the pregnancy, so this point goes to the boys.
The Baby’s Heartbeat
Some people say that the baby’s heartbeat is an indicator of whether it will be a boy or a girl. If the heartrate over 140, it’s a girl. If it’s under 140, it’s a boy. Maria admits that she doesn’t pay much attention to the fetal heartbeat when she goes in for a checkup (she’s just always happy that there is a heartbeat.) We have a small fetal doppler at home that my sister lent to us, which we used to do a little investigating. Once we heard a strong heartbeat, the doppler was coming in at 155-168 bpm. Based on that, it might be safe to guess that Baby Gavin will be a girl.
The Linea Nigra
Another myth I’ve heard is based on the linea nigra, the line that develops during pregnancy and runs up the middle of your belly. The myth holds that you are having a girl if the line goes up to your belly button and stops. If it goes any further up your body, it’s a boy. As you probably already suspect, Maria wasn’t in any hurry to share photo evidence of her linea nigra, but her line extends well beyond her navel; yet another indicator that we may have a baby boy on the way.
And the Winner Is …
According to all these old wive’s tales, it’s a boy! The final tally was 3 in favor of a girl and 5 in favor of a boy. It’s going to be really interesting to see if our child’s actual gender matches up when we finally have him or her in our arms.
What Do You Think?
As Maria explained in her last bump update, everyone enjoys making predictions about whether she is having a boy or a girl. We decided to share a little of the baby guessing excitement with all of you. Leave a comment with your prediction for whether Baby Gavin will be a boy or a girl. After the baby arrives, we will award someone who guessed correctly with a $50 Amazon gift card.
This little contest is open until the date and time that Baby Gavin is finally born. We will randomly select one winner with a correct guess that was made before the deadline and contact him/her via email just as soon as we have a chance to breathe and look at our computers after the baby arrives. The winner will have 48 hours to claim his or her prize before the prize is forfeited and another winner is chosen, so make sure you use a current email address that you check often.
Thanks to Linsey from LynseyLou Photography for the wonderful photos!
To anyone who’s curious, Maria’s dress is from Wren and Ivory. It’s not a maternity dress, but it is from their “baby bump friendly” collection.
