Baby Gender

There are various theories out there for predicting the gender of a baby. And this pregnancy, this third pregnancy, I’ve found myself rather amused by it all. Perhaps I could have played it up, tried to hear even more theories, but honestly, I only hang out with a certain number of people, so I had already heard all the theories I was likely to hear.

When I was pregnant with my first son, my hairdresser predicted I would have a girl, because she had found through the years that women coming in who were pregnant with boys tended to complain of more facial hair, or of thicker sideburns, or other side effects to – what she interpreted – as having more testosterone in their bodies. She was wrong, but her logic did make some sense.

During my first two pregnancies, I craved sweets. Actually, I craved tuna sandwiches and chocolate milkshakes (though not necessarily together). At the beginning of this pregnancy, I couldn’t handle anything sweet. Hmm, some people thought, I must be having a girl.

My mother surmised that because she had had two girls and then one boy, that I would take after her and have two boys followed by one girl. Or maybe that was just her desire. I mean, she argued the case quite convincingly that having children of both genders promised a well-balanced family and understanding children.

Some friends just “had a feeling” that this time I’d have a girl. Other friends pointed out that since my husband was one of three brothers, odds were really in favor of my raising three boys.

On our street, we have quite a few families with young children. And the majority of those children born have been boys (I believe birthrate over the past five or so years for our block alone has been 8 to 2 – technically 3 girls, but the couple with the third girl moved away before the baby was born). It’s almost as if there’s something in the water here that leads to more boys being born. So there are quite a few two-boy households, but no more than that. There hasn’t been a rule of three. The only two families on the block with three kids have had two girls followed by one boy. I thought maybe I would be following that rule. That was the theory I chose to go with.

I seemed to be carrying the baby differently this time, gaining weight a little sooner. My hair seems different, growing faster, or slower, or is shinier, or duller.

Are these really signs? Are these really valid predictors? What wonderful gems have you heard of to predict a baby’s gender?

As it turns out, we’re having a boy. Yep, three boys. And no girls. In this family, I will be the only girl. I find myself thinking often about the sitcom “Home Improvement.” And, of course, the countless stories I’ve heard about my husband’s own childhood.

Like how he and the second brother would lock themselves in the bathroom and pour different chemicals into the sink in their own personal Chem. Lab. Or how they would chase one another around the house, through the kitchen, living room, and dining room and back again, taking detours up and down the stairs. One time, after their mom had waxed the kitchen floor, one of the brothers ran out of the family room, skidded across the room, and banged his knee into the half-wall at the other end of the room, producing a hole that the family covered with a microwave. Is this really my future?