What exactly are the wives tales?

[jojo2324]

I am trying to get a general consensus when it comes to determining a baby's sex. I hear so many different things! My husband and I don't want to know, but I can't help but guess...all the time! I am thinking that we are having a boy because my tummy (7 months) is all in front. However, my belly begins right where my boobs end and slopes right on down. So I am carrying all in front and high. I have heard that boys are low, and I have seen women who are having boys whose stomachs really seem to be just a little pouch at the lower end of the tummy. I did the Chinese astrology something something chart, and that says that I am having a girl. I have yet to swing my ring around my stomach or pee into Drano (don't think I'll do that ever...who thinks of this stuff? Let's pee in Drano!). I cannot seem to keep those things straight. If the Drano fizzes, it's a boy? If the ring goes straight, it's a girl? Anybody kow for certain what the determining factors are? I just like to torture myself! Thanks! :)

[m2tandk]

Whats the babies heartrate? If its fast(like 165 or so) its supposedly a girl. If its slower(around 140) its supposedly a boy.

kelly

[maura]

I don't know any old wives tales - but now that you mentioned it - let us know when you deliver and if any were true!

[jojo2324]

My baby's heartbeat is always 147! Or 149...what does that mean? Smack in the middle :)

[m2tandk]

I would say more boy than girl, but I guess you will just have to wait and see!!! :7

[suzska]

Now I can't remember, but I think my son's HB was around that all the time. Okay, I looked back, and it was in the 140's to 150's most of the time. Once it hit 162. And I'm very short waisted, so I didn't carry high or low, I just carried! LOL!

Anyway, here are some sites:

http://www.babyman.net/
http://www.amazingpregnancy.com/oldwivestales/index.phtml
http://www.childbirth.org/articles/boyorgirl.html
http://www.bobandtom.com/frames/draino_test.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5552/gender.html

FWIW, Babyman was correct for me.

My mother was convinced I was having a girl, because her mom had her when her mom was 32, and my mom had me when she was 32, and I was 32 when I was pg/due.

--Sue B.
SAHM to Evan Jeffrey 03-11-01

[jojo2324]

Well, took most of the test (minus the Drano) and all signs point to girl! I guess I'll just have to wait and see...But three months more! It seems so far away...

[KathyO]

Drano: "Green if it's a boy and brown if it's a girl". I didn't do it, but I remember the commercial jingle to that effect.

Craving sweets, a girl; craving salt, a boy.

Looking blooming and radiant, a boy. Looking tired and a little haggard, a girl. (Apparently girls "steal" their mothers' looks. Or something.)

If the encounter that resulted in conception was just before your most fertile point, a girl. If after, a boy. (Apparently X-chromosome sperm swim slower and last longer than Y-chromosome ones, and so they're still hanging around if the egg arrives on the scene after they do.)

I think that the ring swinging straight is a boy, and swinging in circles is a girl. I think.

Have fun!

[candybomiller]

All I know is: don't trust the Chinese gender chart. According to that, I was supposed to have a girl. (And I have to admit, since I did want a girl, I kind of figured out when I would have to get pregnant in order to make it work.) Apparently, God doesn't put much stock into the CGC because according to the ultrasound, it's a boy in there.

I have never heard of the Drano thing. Weeeeeeeird.

Also, every one of those web sites say I am having a girl. Maybe I shouldn't have bought everything in blue...

[KathyO]

This isn't QUITE an old wives' tale, but I have to tell it anyway.

My good friend and her husband were told twice by the ultrasound technician that they were having a girl. On the Big Day, she gave birth to (you guessed it) a lovely baby BOY!!

Her father's comment was the best. "It's the stealth penis," he said, "It doesn't show up on radar."

KathyO

[m2tandk]

the Chinese chart was wrong with both of mine!

[Boogiemama]

stating the obvious:

Drano can be dangerous I would not mess with it.

Save it for clogs only and let your husband do it when you are pregnant.

[emilyphill]

The chinese chart has been right for us and everyone we know! Start buying pink!

Here's a sight for it:
http://babyzone.iwon.com/babynames/chinese.asp

[suzska]

Well, I hate to disappoint, but that chart says my son should have been a girl!

[egoldber]

And it says my girl should have been a boy. Oh well!

[Momof3Labs]

It's wrong for me, too (assuming that the ultrasound tech was right)!

Lori
due 10/12 w/ #1

[jojo2324]

Well, if this baby ever decides to make an appearance, I could tell you if it was right or wrong for me. I'm telling you,at this point, I could give birth to a hyena and be happy. Well, maybe not exactly, but it's getting so hot and heavy...:( 5 more days!

[daisymommy]

Take it from me and don't listen to the Old Wives Tales! From day one I thought I was having a girl. My mother and grandmother both had very clear dreams about me and my brother before we were born (whether we were boy or girl, what we looked liked, etc.) Both Mom and GM said I'd have a girl. I started carrying high as soon as I showed (at two months), and long like a melon (not round like a basketball for a boy). The baby's heart rate was consistently 165-170 (very girl), the Chinese charts said girl, as well as the calendars that say "if you concieved this many days prior to ovulation then you're having a ____." All the other physical signs about morning sickness, etc. pointed to a girl. BUT when I went for my ultrasound it VERY CLEARLY showed little boy parts!!! It was like seeing them up close and personal. Not just the little penis, but two testicles on either side. So there is no way we are just seeing the umbilical cord. Heres the thing. I had bought all pink girls clothes and blankets, was talking to baby "Michaela", dreaming about playing tea party and dress up with my little girl. I was so attached to "her" that for days after finding out "she" was really a HE, I went into a mild state of depression! After talking to my midwife she explained that it's normal in these cases (and she has seen it many times) to feel like you've lost the baby and had a miscarraige. You are mourning the loss of the baby you thought you had in you. That's exactly how I felt! I know it sounds funny, but when you're already pregnant and emotional, you think and feel all kinds of funny things. It took weeks to accept the fact that I was having a boy. Now I can't imagine it any other way. We went out and returned the girl clothes for boys, painted the nursery sky blue, and began thinking of all the great things we could do with our son. Also, now any girls we have in the future will have a big brother to watch out for them! So here is my advice...don't get your heart set on any one gender before you know for sure (either by birth or an amazingly clear ultrasound--which I guess could still be wrong!) or you set yourself up for heartache. I hope this helps someone who has been in my situation. Love and Blessings...

[suzska]

We sort of went through the same thing. My grandmother had my mother when my grandmother was 32. My mother had me when she was 32. I was going to be 32 when my baby was born, so my mother was convinced it would be a girl. DH really wanted a girl. Although deep down I think I knew I was having a boy, I also thought I would be having a girl. Well, the u/s showed boy (or at least that was the u/s tech's "best guess"--she didn't want to commit). At least checking during the u/s gave us the time to adjust to the fact that we were probably having a boy. Now that we have Evan we can't imagine things any other way!

[jojo2324]

Well, still can't tell you what it is I had because s/he is taking his/her sweet time arriving. Well, was due three days ago, so not a big deal. And now I want the pregnancy to go a little longer because I just so happen to have a sinus infection. Can barely breathe, which can't be good for labor! But I digress...

I just found this book, Baby Lore, in the whole pile of books that I have accumulated and it says that you can predict gender based on age and year of conception. If both are odd or even, then it is a girl. If they are not the same, boy. I think this might be along the lines of the Chinese Gender Chart. The book also says that many Manhattan obstetricians swear by it. I don't know why Manhattan OBs are so sure and others aren't, but that's what the book said. According to this, I am having a girl.

Every test I've taken points to girl, but my body is all boy. Although I do think I look pretty haggard at this point :)

One word of advice to those who have not told family/friends you are expecting:
Say your due date is two weeks later than it really is. If I have to field one more "Where's the baby? What's the holdup?" I am going to lose it. Have already once, actually. I am about ready to just deny being pregnant or carry around a doll and say "Here it is!" But hey, I'm 10 months pregnant and it's dang hot here (long island) with no AC. I'm allowed my last-minutes-of-pregnancy rampages :)

Hopefully I'll have an answer for you mommies soon!

[KathyO]

Yeah, we went a full week overdue, and DH and I were joking about starting to answer the phone with, "NO, WE HAVEN'T HAD IT YET!!!"

Looking forward to hearing more,

KathyO

[daisymommy]

When you say "your age" do you mean age at conception/pregnancy, or age you will be when baby is born? I was/am 26 at conception and now, but will be 27 when baby is born.

[jojo2324]

age at conception...but don't rely on it because I had a boy!!!

Clinton Gannon Miller (we'll call him Gannon) was born 11:30 Monday night, 8 lb 7 oz, 21" long and 13.5" head circumference. And before I went to bed that night I had posted the the question about contractions...after 22 hours of them, I think I finally figured it out :)