It's a... 12 Gender Predictions for Baby #2

Source for shoes picture

One experience common to pregnant women is an intense yearning to know whether their little one is a boy or girl.  Some people choose to find out by elective ultrasound, others wait for their anatomy scan, and still others prefer to keep the surprise until birth.  But every mother wonders.  And from this wondering has developed many many methods for guessing baby's gender.  Guessing being the key word.

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!

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.

  

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.

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!

Baby #2 Bumpdate: The Third Month

So, another month has flown by.  I've found that the weeks seem to pass more quickly with this pregnancy than they did with my first pregnancy.  I guess it's because Liam keeps us so busy (we've also been moving, the hubby started a new job, and we have a few other big things planned in the coming weeks).  Sometimes I feel pangs of guilt when I think about how obsessed I was with Liam when I was pregnant with him and how this time, the majority of the day passes without too many thoughts of Baby #2 (other than feeling like I have a stomach bug and counting down the days to second trimester of course ;).

Perhaps I'm being too hard on myself and life has just been crazy lately (but guilt-tripping myself has always been one of my strengths weaknesses).  There are many moments late at night when I lay awake thinking of our baby who is growing inside of me. This month, the hubby and I spent hours talking about potential baby names. I've obsessed over guessing gender. But mostly, I've laid awake in the stillness hoping to feel this little one move.  That is by far my favorite part of pregnancy. I felt Liam move for sure for the first time at 17 weeks. I remember how much those flutters bonded me with him and made the pregnancy feel real. I've felt two "maybe-flutters". But I'm really looking forward to the "for-sure ones"!

How far along today: 13 weeks+ 5 days.

Baby size:  At 13 weeks, the baby was the size of a peach, approximately 3 inches long and growing fast (as is my belly now)!

Trimester: Second!!  I'm looking forward to the nausea leaving completely (thankfully, it's already easing up some).  I could also really use the promised increase in energy that comes with this new trimester as I attempt to unpack this new house and finish up fixing things and moving stuff around with the hubby.  That stuff is exhauting enough without the additional first trimester "completely-drained" feeling. 

Gender: Nothing for sure yet but we have some speculations that I will share with you as soon as I can get a post together.  We'll see if my OB can catch a peek at my 17 week visit...

Movement: I have felt two flutters/taps that I'm fairly sure were the baby (based off of how those early kicks felt with Liam) but I can't wait to feel unmistakable ones many more times throughout the day!

Cravings: Yogurt, sour patch kids, burritos (Rosa Maria's would be amazing but Moe's is the best we have to curb this craving), cream of wheat with Ovaltine, toast with spreadable butter and jelly, and BBQ Lays potato chips. Unfortunately, one night of giving into the BBQ chips plus sour patch kids made for some horrible vomiting :(.

Aversions: Mexican restaurants, fried chicken, sometimes brushing my teeth (it's crazy and something I experienced with Liam too but it can really push me over the edge into horrible nausea some nights).

The Not So Fun Pregnancy Stuff: Nausea. That has been the biggest challenge this month. It started picking up around 11 weeks. Usually, if I throw up, it's while Liam is asleep (nights actually have been worse this pregnancy) but one morning I got sick and Liam watched me throw up. He patted me from an arms-length away and looked absolutely terrified. After that, I started taking Zofran every morning before I got up. There's no reason to put him through that. For about two weeks, I needed it twice a day even but, knock on wood, the nausea is waning. At any rate, it seems to have become more sporadic and less Zofran-dependent (though some mornings are still bad).  

Another challenge is the continued exhaustion. This has been a challenging month for our family in general.  The needed hard work with the added exhaustion has been a huge hurdle. Sometimes, my body just crashes and I nap after days of pushing myself to the limit and I can barely wake up even after 2 hours. The worst is behind us though, and hopefully, the pregnancy exhaustion will improve too. 

I cry really easily. (Motherhood already made me this way but pregnancy on top of it has increased the effect.) Baby books about growing up: I cry all the way through. And I won't even try I'll Love You Forever. I know better. 

Most exciting moments: Seeing the baby at 12 weeks and 3 days for the nuchal translucency ultrasound. I'm so grateful baby seems perfectly healthy! It is so incredible how much he/she grew! This fact as well as how amazing 3D is always gets me. I got to see tiny hands and toes and a beautiful profile and lots of movement. I'm bracing myself because this one seems to be a wild child. Liam was not anywhere near as active at this age. (He's making up for it now though!). I love hearing the heartbeat with my home Doppler. Since it's easier to find, I was able to share it with the hubby and my mom, which is always fun.  

It is also pretty exciting that I'm starting to show! It's a tiny baby bump but we can really tell now.  The hubby and I had fun taking these first of our baby bump pictures. 

What I'm most looking forward to: Finding out the gender for sure. It'll be fun to have the baby named! I'm also looking forward to settling into our new house. I need the chaos to end.

Big Brother: He has had a rough couple of weeks because of all the packing and moving. He tries so hard to help. He's a sweetheart but it is difficult since we aren't unpacked/baby-proofed and have to constantly accomplish needed tasks.

I tell him he's going to be a big brother soon all the time.  I'm sure he doesn't understand yet but we'll get there.  I'm starting to plan his new big boy room.  As I unpack, I'm starting to not see any point in setting his nursery back up the way it was (though it breaks my heart a little that we'll never have him in his nursery again).  We're planning on transitioning him to a toddler bed by his birthday so that he doesn't feel that the new baby is pushing him out of it.

I'm looking forward to a fun-filled summer with Liam.  It'll be his last as an only child.  And his first where I have lots of time to spend with him.  I'd like to do some special things with him like the zoo, the beach, swimming, etc.

Pregnancy Bumpdate: The First Two Months

One of the things I've enjoyed most this pregnancy is looking back on the journal entries I made when I was pregnant with Liam and noting similarities and differences.  I find my entries too sparse and brief in retrospect so I'm going to attempt to do pregnancy updates (bumpdates if you will) like some of my fellow bloggers.  I doubt I could keep up with a weekly one and I also don't think there'd be too much exciting or different to share that often so I've decided on a monthly update.  For now though, I'll roll the first two into one.

This pregnancy is already different in that we're coming into it with a recent miscarriage and months of trying to conceive in between.  In the preceding months, I had taken numerous pregnancy tests and I was down to my last one so I was determined to wait to test until I could know for sure that a negative meant that we were out another month.  On the morning of March 23rd, the day before my period was due, I began to notice that my usual pre-period symptoms were missing.  So, unable to wait any longer, I used that last test, an "internet cheapie" as they are lovingly called and saw this:

Yep, that's the faintest possible shadow of a second purple line. My gut knew it was positive because I had seen a lot of negatives in the last few months.  But my scientific side needed stronger evidence. The hubby saw the line too but agreed that it was definitely questionable. He said waiting a few days then testing again would be best.  I knew he was right, but...Did I mention I'm IMPATIENT?  And that my husband is sweet and understanding?  I lasted until the afternoon then went out and bought a First Response Early Result.  I was nervous when I took it, but that didn't last long thankfully. Pretty much instantly these two beautiful pink lines popped up.

We were both ecstatic and there was some happy dancing involved ;).

With Liam, we waited until I was 6 weeks along to tell our families and 10 weeks (after 2 ultrasounds) to tell the world.  With our miscarriage, we hadn't told anyone and I was about 5 weeks.  It was awful sharing the bad news without ever having a chance to share the good news.  So this time, we told our immediate family the same night we found out.  We Skyped them with Liam wearing his "Keep Calm I'm going to be a big BROTHER" shirt.  It was perfect!

With Liam, miscarriage was a worry but it felt far away like all the other horrible things that can and do happen to people.  This time, the fear was strong and real.  I probably took 6 total pregnancy tests--a poor woman's quantitative hCG test.  I loved watching the test line darken and the control line begin to disappear.  But as such things go, the last one I took, the control line became darker and the test line fainter so I really just gave myself another reason to freak out.

I read things online about other people having similar things happen when hCG levels got high enough.  It's called the "dilution effect", but it really doesn't make a lot of sense to me to this day.  I didn't find it super reassuring as a result.  On top of that, my nausea came and went around that time.  The fainter test plus the disappearing nausea made me worry.  I had a "pregnancy confirmation" on April 9th (the day after the fainter test) and the nurse offered me a quantitative hCG to reassure me. It came back at 40,000 and for 6 weeks that seemed great.  I had my scientific reassurance and I was finally able to push my fears to the back of my mind.

I had my first ultrasound at 8 weeks and we shared our big news with everyone that same day.

Lots of back story this time since it's the first one but let's get into the bumpdating shall we?

How far along today: 9 weeks+ 5 days

Baby size:  At 9 weeks, the baby was the size of a green olive, approximately 1 inch and growing fast!

Trimester: First and so ready to move onward and upward out of the nausea/exhaustion months!

Gender: No telling yet but I look forward to trying out all of the wives' tales just for fun (I'll do a post on the predictions afterward).  I can see the perks of a brother for Liam and being able to reuse clothes too but I'd love to have tutus and hairbows in our future too.

Movement: None that this Mommy can feel yet but ready to feel something soon.  That is by far my favorite part of pregnancy!

Cravings: Yogurt, ice cream, sour candy, chocolate, and BBQ Lays potato chips (pretty much bad-for-me foods)

Aversions: Pretty much all real food whenever a wave of nausea hits.  Heavy meats seem to settle worst with me.  Korean food (usually my favorite) made me very sick last week.

The Not So Fun Pregnancy Stuff:  Hunger and nausea sometimes simultaneously or rapidly following each other, in no particular order (so confusing!). Gas and bloating was insane at first but seems to be settling down finally.  And unbelievable exhaustion (though the second month was spent in the PICU so that may have something to do with it).  Mood swings are strong and tears seem to be involved more often than not--happy tears, angry tears, sad tears...you name it!

Most exciting moments: Seeing the baby and hearing the heartbeat on ultrasound at 8 weeks then finding the heartbeat with my home doppler at 8 weeks + 4 days.

What I'm most looking forward to: The 12 week ultrasound.  I love seeing the baby and hearing the heartbeat but I'm also excited to try out a few gender wives' tales for fun (more on that later) ;).

Big Brother: We don't think he has any idea yet and it's kind of fun to see him smiling in his big brother shirt knowing that the significance is lost on him.  He has been very very clingy this last week though so a part of me wonders if he somehow knows more than we think!

Picture:  No bump to show off yet and I'll spare you my bloat but I'll start those next month!  I'll share our first ultrasound picture instead. It's a camera phone snapshot of the screen but it's baby's first picture!

I'd like send a special thank you to Alli at Beautiful Family Affairs for the inspiration of these posts!

Keep Calm...

Somebunny has an Easter surprise he wants to share with everyone.

Keep calm...  

We're egg-specting! 

Liam is going to be a BIG BROTHER!

Pink or Blue, Baby #2 is expected to hatch sometime around December 1, 2014.

And we are egg-static!

But seriously, all egg puns aside, we are thrilled 

to be announcing that Baby #2 is on his or her way. 

 We are in love already!