Hands down, the question(s) that we get asked the most: “Do you know what you are having?” followed up by a quick “What do you think it is?” This is a really tricky thing to answer. (Well, not the first one – no, we don’t.) I’m certainly not saying that there is nothing to basic intuition, particularly with mothers who have such an intimate relationship with the child from the very beginning. Everything else involved with growing this child is inextricably linked to mom – the most exhausting (in my opinion) part of being pregnant is that you never have a moment where you forget what is going on inside you. Ever. And there are times I’d like to, at least for a few moments. And those few moments would be the first few moments that I lay down to fall asleep. Temporary unconsciousness would be quite welcome then, thank you very much.
I’m even going to go as far as saying that I really did know that E was going to be a girl. I don’t remember exactly when I came to that realization, but if I’d been the betting type I would have thrown all my chips onto the pink square. I never voiced that opinion out loud, and I’m not sure what I really based it on… it was just a hunch, and it turned out to be quite correct. I don’t, however, think that I now possess psychic powers. I just think that I came out on the winning side of a 50/50 gamble. Because that’s what it is – a 50/50 chance. And no matter what “method” of prediction that you subscribe to (other than crystal clear ultrasound visual proof, or even more rock-solid fluid testing) it is all just a convoluted way to end up on one side or the other of a two-sided coin. I don’t remember too much about my statistics class in college (except that the guy in front of me needed to lay off the beans at lunch) but I do know what will happen if you flip a coin in the air and make some tally marks under “heads” or “tails”. So that’s where I stand, and M puts it best when he answers those questions. “Do you know what you’re having?” “Yep. A Baby.” “What do you think it is?” “It’s bound to be one or the other.” And sometimes E chirps in with “Maybe both.”
I think she’s still holding out hope that there’s more than one coming out.
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I promised at thirty weeks that I’d set up a poll, and…drum roll please… there it is – just look a little to your right. I don’t really have any hard and fast rules for it. I suppose you could vote over and over again for your choice if you feel really passionate about it. Or cast a vote every time you come back to the site. Or vote as often as you call in or text a vote for your favorite Idol or Dancer. But if you’d like it to remain somewhat representative of the readers’ views, then stick to once, and just click for the results every once in awhile to see where things stand. I’ve set it up to go through the end of June. I may add in others with birth date, or size, or number of hours spent in excruciating labor, but for now it’s just a simple boy/girl question. So cast away.
To help you out, I decided to do a bit of research into all the old wives’ tales about gender prediction, and let me tell you – there are a lot out there. I’ll give you the facts, only the facts, and I’ll try not to cloud your judgement in any way with my own personal bias. And I will say that I’m leaning in one particular direction – not based on any of the following assumptions, but by the aforementioned mother’s intuition. It’s not as strong as it was before (yet) but there’s an inkling of it there, and my track record thus far is a perfect 1 for 1, so what’s the harm really? Meanwhile, this baby can enjoy the next few weeks being the only person on this planet that really knows what he (or she) really is. The rest of us will just have to wait til that lucky day when we finally meet.
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The following are a select number of questions that are supposed to predict the baby’s gender, followed by my answer and the result. Hope this helps!
You’ve seen the photos as the weeks have progressed, but I’ll give you a written description of my “shape”. Most certainly a “basketball”, not a “watermelon”. Prediction: Boy
Chinese Lunar Calendar (based on my birth date and time of conception). Prediction: Girl
Fetal Heart Rate (higher, above 140 means girl, lower means boy) Our typical range is in the 130’s. Prediction: Boy
The hair on my legs is not growing at a faster rate than pre-pregnancy. Prediction: Girl
Morning sickness? (Oh my lord, yes – and still). Prediction: Girl
Crave orange juice everyday? (Does this count if I throw it back up? I don’t know, but yes, I crave it) Prediction: Girl
Carrying high – girl, carrying low – boy. Prediction: Boy
Attractiveness of Mom – okay, this is a tough one, and not really fair for me to call myself, but I’d have to say that I don’t cringe in front of the mirror and I have not suddenly sprouted a beard or a third eye, so I’m going to call it the same, and not less. Prediction: Girl
Have I craved spicy or sweet things? Have I not desired sweets until the third trimester? Definitely would sit down with a nice plate of Indian food versus a tub of Ben and Jerry’s. Prediction: Boy
Pencil tests / wedding ring tests / needle tests / any test involving holding an object suspended from a string and dangled over a wrist or the heart or the belly – haven’t done any of them, after being subjected to this at someone else’s baby shower. Simple yes or no question predictions are fine – anything requiring props and Ouija board like interpretations are not my style, so I’ve got nothing for you there.
Roundness of face? Hard to tell – mine starts out pretty round, and I don’t have extra weight or bloating so… Prediction: Girl
Activity level of baby? (Can off the charts be an answer?) High. Prediction: Boy
I actually did a 38 question survey while doing all this research and hit the giant “Predict Gender NOW!” flashing button at the bottom of the screen. I kid you not – this is what it said:
Congratulations! You have a 50% chance of having a BOY! And a 50% chance of having a GIRL!
Nineteen questions went one way, nineteen the other. So you see – I’m really counting on YOU to figure this out. So VOTE!
I have to tell you, my vote was O’s, well at least thats what he said way back at the beginning so I will stick with it! Good luck on having a Boy OR a Girl!