Here are a few that I tried this go-around. These are just for fun! Especially the old wives' tales are not meant to be taken seriously. I quite enjoyed putting this together and hope you enjoy the results. The hands-on ones in particular made me feel like a kid again experimenting in my bathroom with my best friend. From wives' tales and seemingly silly stuff to somewhat more scientific guesses, here's how baby #2 ranked on each. (You can find the first 9 at this link: wives tales)
1. How are you carrying?
Low means boy; high means girl. Showing mostly in the front suggests you're carrying a boy; expanding horizontally is a girl.
As with my first pregnancy, I can't really tell this early about carrying low or high since my uterus hasn't even reached my belly button yet (that's a 20 week milestone). I carried Liam very high but had no idea about that until well after we already knew his gender (and strangers continually insisted he was a girl as a result).
I can say that I do seem to be carrying out front, though. At any rate, I haven't seemed to round out anywhere else (yet). So, based on this... BOY!
2. Break outs
Little girls are said to steal their mothers' beauty so skin blemishes are a sign of a baby girl.
Well, for me, hormonal changes always give me acne. Same with baby boy #1. But, based on this... GIRL!
3. Swinging ring
This is one of the kind of silly ones but you are supposed to tie your wedding ring on a string and hold it over your belly. Swinging back and forth means girl. Circle means boy. So...GIRL!
4. Baking soda potty time
Baking soda + pee. Fizzles = boy. Not = girl. So... BOY!
5. Baby's heart rate
Under 140 bpm (some sources say 150) is supposed to be a boy. Higher is a girl.
This little one has been consistently in the high 160s (as was Liam until way late into my pregnancy). But based on this... GIRL!
6. Cravings
Salty and sour mean boy. Sweet means girl.
Unfortunately, I crave both. I've always been a sweet tooth though so that seems to be winning out...GIRL!
7. Chinese Gender Prediction
Based on your age at conception and the month of conception (using the Chinese lunar months), there is an ancient Chinese gender prediction calendar. You can try and calculate yours here: Chinese Gender Predictor Tool.
Liam's said girl. This time it says... BOY!
8. Sympathy weight
If your husband is packing on the pounds with you, it's supposed to mean girl.
My husband watches his weight and is an avid runner. With Liam, he lost a bunch of weight (which I hated of course ;). He's stayed steady with his weight so far (it'd be hard not to since he's at Army training this month). So... BOY!
9. Morning sickness
Morning sickness is supposed to mean girl.
I had morning sickness with both of my pregnancies but it was definitely worse this go around so... GIRL!
10. Mood swings
Mood swings are supposed to mean a baby girl since you have extra female hormones in your bloodstream. OK, based on this it's definitely (just ask my husband)...GIRL!
10. Mood swings
Mood swings are supposed to mean a baby girl since you have extra female hormones in your bloodstream. OK, based on this it's definitely (just ask my husband)...GIRL!
11. Skull theory
I've had a bit more trouble understanding this one but the basic idea is that boys and girls have differently shaped skulls. It's based off of the differences that grown men and women have in their skulls (which, it doesn't take much thought to realize that these changes are strongly influenced by hormones at puberty and may be absent in fetuses as a result). But, here's a comparison.
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| Link to skull picture |
From what I've read, the science isn't really there but here are the basic differences I could find that fetuses are supposed to show. Males are supposed to have a more sloping or flat forehead while females' are more rounded. Males also have a more blocky jaw and maybe a bigger occiput? (This is where it gets hard for me to see differences in the examples but if you want to try your guessing skills here's a link to a quiz: skull theory quiz slideshow.)
Here is our 12 weeks +2 days ultrasound of baby #2.
The forehead seems rounded to me (definitely not flat or sloping). However, I can't really tell about the jaw or back of the head. Feel free to correct me if you're a skull theory expert but based on the forehead I say... GIRL!
12. The angle of the dangle (AKA Nub Theory)
This is my grand finale because it has the most scientific basis. In fact, a quick search of PubMed led me to believe that this guess can be more than 90% accurate (in perfect research scenarios with proper training and good equipment). The theory claims that based on a side shot of the genital tubercle (lovingly known by many as the "nub"), you can tell girl vs. boy based on the angle it forms with the spine. 30 degrees or greater (pointing toward the head) means boy and parallel to spine means girl.
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| Angle of the dangle picture source |
The basic concept is based on developmental biology and the progression of the indeterminate genital tubercle to penis or clitoris. The penis elongates and moves upward. Therefore, boy guesses are thought to be more accurate as girl guesses could be wrong if the ultrasound was simply a little too early.
Liam's nub was completely girly. Here is baby #2's nub....
That, my friends, couldn't look more boyish if it tried. So... we are thinking BOY!
We can't wait to see if this last one is accurate. It's pretty crazy that I feel like we found out the gender at 12 weeks, but, like they say, we aren't going to paint the nursery yet. Anything this early is a guess, educated and scientific or not (my ultrasound tech didn't even want to look for said nub).
I'm really loving the 50/50 split between boy and girl predictions overall, though. Liam's were all girl predictions (other than the hubby's lack of sympathy weight...which if that's what we're waiting on, we'll never have a girl). It's fun to see that every pregnancy is different, even if the gender is the same.
Stay tuned to see if baby #2 ends up being baby boy #2!
We can't wait to see if this last one is accurate. It's pretty crazy that I feel like we found out the gender at 12 weeks, but, like they say, we aren't going to paint the nursery yet. Anything this early is a guess, educated and scientific or not (my ultrasound tech didn't even want to look for said nub).
I'm really loving the 50/50 split between boy and girl predictions overall, though. Liam's were all girl predictions (other than the hubby's lack of sympathy weight...which if that's what we're waiting on, we'll never have a girl). It's fun to see that every pregnancy is different, even if the gender is the same.
Stay tuned to see if baby #2 ends up being baby boy #2!
I absolutely love this blog entry!!! It was so fun to read!
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