Only one short week from today we have to decide if we want to know the gender of baby #2. I am still torn. My heart says “You don’t need to know” and my mind says “Yes, why wouldn’t you!”. All this back and forth in my mind and heart got me thinking about past generations. Our parents and grandparents didn’t have any way to tell what they were having. They did it the old fashioned way and waited it out…AND (this is a big AND) they came up with their own theories on how to tell the gender of the baby.

So this past weekend I began my own research, just like they did in the good-ole-days. Below are some of my favorite “Old Wives Tales” on how to tell the gender of your baby, and the results of my studies. Drum roll please….

If your face looks rounder, the baby will be a girl.  If you gain weight on your rear end, the baby will be a boy. Result: I am having 2 girls AND a boy! I estimate my face has more than doubled in size and my rear end (mainly hip area that now spills over into the rear end area) has expanded. Therefore, I have concluded that based on the actual size and spillage area I am having not 1, but 3 babies.

Tie a red string to the mother’s wedding band and suspend it above her belly. If the ring goes around in circles, the baby will be a girl. If it sways from side to side, the baby will be a boy. Results: It’s a he-she! First the ring swayed from side to side. Then it abruptly stopped swaying from side to side and started going in a circle. Eek!

If your linea nigra is straight, the baby will be a boy. If the linea nigra is curvy, the baby will be a girl. Results: Inconclusive. I don’t have a linea nigra yet so I have to wait this one out a little. If you are pregnant or know someone who is, PLEASE ask them about their linea nigra for me and don’t forget to post the results. This is one “Old Wives Tale” that I am itching to know more about.

-Victoria

That is the question. I am 15 weeks pregnant with our 2nd child and have just made it through the morning-noon-night sickness. Whew! Now the pregnancy milestone I most look forward to is my 19-week sonogram, which I’ll have in just 4 short weeks. The first time I saw this baby was at 6 weeks and honestly, it was literally just a blob. No head or tail. No arms or legs. Just a blob. So, needless to say, to me this is the first “real” and only time that we will see the baby until the birth in July.

When we were pregnant with our now 17-month old son, Ilan, there was no question as to whether we would find out the gender or not. It was a simple, no. We wanted to be surprised.  The best reward for waiting for my husband was that he was able to share in the joy of the pregnancy by being the first to notify all of our friends and family in the waiting room of the gender. It surely was a proud moment and one that he will never forget. For me, not knowing made the pains of labor seem less intense. I was more focused on getting that baby out so that I could find out what it was rather than focused on the contractions and pushing. In the end it was a great experience for us both.

This being our 2nd child, I know what the first question will be from the sonographer. “Do you want to know what you are having?!”. But do I know what my answer will be? I need to be prepared to answer that question come March 2. Do I want to know? Or do I want to keep a surprise like we did the first time around?

4 weeks to decide and counting…

-Victoria