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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Baby gender - Old wives' tales

20 replies

missbumpy · 04/08/2007 19:28

I'm 30 weeks pg with first baby and I don't know the sex but I've been amazed by how many people take one look at me and tell me I'm having a girl (apart from my mum who's convinced it's a boy).

How do they all think they know?! What am I missing out on? Is it something to do with the way I'm carrying? I just think I look enormous, I can't tell if it's high or low or whatever.

Did any of you who've already got babies find old wives' tales to be true (the way you're carrying, fast/slow fetal heartbeat, looking glowing vs looking like a wreck...)?

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softmusk · 04/08/2007 19:30

i did not no what mine where but with both mine the midwife said would be girls cus of fast heart beats and they where

Feedmenow · 04/08/2007 20:05

Missbumpy, I have a dd and a ds and my body shape changed in the way I have been lead to believe is normal each time for the gender baby I had. With dd I unfortuantely got an even bigger backside than before (which I have maintained!!!) and with ds my boobs got loads bigger. Could this be the case with you? Have you got a really big bum ?

2Happy · 04/08/2007 20:10

"What am I missing out on?" - just the fact that, when faced with a bump, people just have to blurt out the first inconsequential, irrational and very often rude thing that pops into their heads. Thus all the folloing can be said to the same person in a day:

gosh you're HUGE are you sure it's not twins?
gosh you're HUGE how can you still have 10 weeks to go?
gosh you're TINY is everything ok?
gosh you're carrying high, it's a boy, I'm never wrong
gosh you've got a girl bump there and I've never been wrong yet

etc etc etc

Original poster

missbumpy · 04/08/2007 20:19

Hmm, I think both my bum and my breasts are enormous at the moment. If I had to say which had grown more I'd say it's my breasts but my hips/bum are definitely looking larger too.

2Happy, you're so right on all the things people say. I think I've heard all of those things (except the "gosh you're tiny" one ) almost every day for a while now!

I'm beginning to realise how fickle people are too. One bloke at work who told me a few weeks ago it was definitely going to be a girl (he reckons he knows these things and never gets it wrong), told me last week that it's actually going to be a boy (on the basis that he asked if it kicks much and I said yes...don't all babies kick?!).

So when people tell me it's a girl do they mean I'm looking really fat?!

OP posts:

Feedmenow · 04/08/2007 20:25

Not fat, just voluptuous!!!!!

mumfor1standfinaltime · 04/08/2007 20:27

I was told by many I was carrying a girl as I was 'huge around the hips'!
Best comment for me was 'oh aren't you fat in the face'!
I had a boy!

2Happy · 04/08/2007 20:28

No, some people think it's to do with the height of the bump - personally I've found that has more to do with the state of my tummy muscles, plus the direction the baby was facing - ds1 was OP and a totally different bump shape to LOA ds2. Their heart rates were also very different, ds1 much slower (supposedly indicitive of a boy).

Monkeybar · 04/08/2007 20:32

Here's some supposed science behind the bump giving away the sex of the baby:
If your bump is all in front - if someone looked at you from behind they wouldn't know you were preg - it is probably a boy
If you are generally round - and you have put weight on your thighs and hips, it is probably a girl.
The science bit: with a girl you will have more oestrogen (sp?) sloshing around than with a boy (testosterone). It is oestrogen that causes the weight gain on thighs, and hips at puberty, so carrying a girl adds to the fat stores in these areas. It's probably rubbish, but kind of made sense to me when I heard it!

Original poster

missbumpy · 04/08/2007 20:33

Now I'm totally confused because I'd say my bump is fairly high and "neat" (which means a boy doesn't it?), my breasts are enormous (boy?), and I reckon my hips have grown a fair bit too (girl?). BTW, do the hips go back to normal afterwards or are they destined to be bigger forever?

The heartbeat is generally over 140 bpm which I've been told can mean it's a girl but not sure if there's any truth in that.

I should have asked the baby's sex at the 20 week scan if I'm this bothered really!

OP posts:

rantinghousewife · 04/08/2007 20:41

I found everyone had a different theory on what I was having!! On a psychic meg note, I did guess correctly both times the sex of my two. My friend guessed wrongly both times, she was convinced with ds that I was carrying a girl and with dd she was convinced it was a boy (note to self, do not ask her to pick out my raffle tickets). Similiarly, a chap I worked with predicted dd would be a girl, based on the fact that I was the same shape as his wife was when they had a girl. And I've heard different theories about if you're all round it's a boy and if you're all front, it's a girl. Think it's all a load of cobblers tbh and I can never tell what another person is having by how they're carrying.

rantinghousewife · 04/08/2007 20:43

And if you're interested missbumpy, with ds, all round, with dd, all front. I do think different people carry differently tho'

Original poster

missbumpy · 04/08/2007 20:52

Thanks. I guess I'll just have to wait until October to find out. I'll keep you posted.

I know it sounds weird but I feel like it's a girl. I can only think of girls' names and I can't really get my head around the idea of it being a boy.

OP posts:

ScoobyDooooo · 04/08/2007 21:00

I was all out the front with ds like a football & with dd i was coming out from the sides IYKWIM? i put on weight everywhere with dd but only on my stomach with ds & my boobs were enormous.

paddyclamp · 04/08/2007 22:38

I had one of each and carried them both exactly the same way, put weight on in exactly the same places both times. I think shape of bump has a lot to do with your body shape tbh.

The only difference with me was that with DS i was hardly sick at all but with DD i had round the clock nausea for the first 3 months.

BUT... my friend was sick with either of hers and she also had one of each!

Do you have a hunch? I did with both of mine and i was right! But that's cos i was able to work out where in cycle conception took place

lemonaid · 04/08/2007 22:43

I seem to remember (can't quote you my source, of course) that the only old wives' tale about gender that's been shown to have anything more than a 50-50 success rate is the mother's hunch (that's not much better than 50-50, but enough to be just about statistically significant).

leakyR · 04/08/2007 22:50

Absolutely everyone (friends, relatives,old ladies on the bus) told me I looked like I was carrying a girl. My gran even gave me a pink pram blanket and a fluffy girls hat 6 week before I was due.

I had a boy!

My mum came out with the classic "I think you're having a girl because of the way you're carrying - mind you I looked the same carrying your brother as I did carrying you"

WTF!!

lazyemma · 05/08/2007 07:14

It's all a load of big hairy bollocks, especially the ones that sound a bit sciency and therefore plausible. The reason people believe these things is that they turn out to be true 50% of the time - about as accurate as I'd be if I said you were having a girl, say, because you like prawn cocktail crisps.

lazyemma · 05/08/2007 07:14

And as it happens, all the old wives tales predicted a boy for me, and I had a girl.

Jbck · 05/08/2007 10:57

My SIL in Oz watched an afternoon, Oprah type show when she was pg & they had a 'study' of pg ladies using old wives methods for predicting the sex. They tried each lady with all the methods (don't know what they all were) and the highest success rate was the old wedding ring on a thread trick. They followed them all thru to birth so had conclusive results to compare. She did it following the show & had what it predicted.
Mine worked with DD but I've not got proof yet for this one so I'll wait & see.
Chinese calendar is guff from most people I know who've tried it yet others swear by it.
Friend from work had 2 completely different pgs in every respect & 2 DDs.

HermyGrain · 05/08/2007 11:02

I have carried differntly for all 3! - hoping this isn't a 3rd kind?!!
2happy - it's so true, people say whatever they think, no-matter how it'll make you feel.
I was much bigger round with dd than ds though - def bigger bum!!
And the heartbeat thing was true too - over 140 for dd only about 130 for ds. Its over about 150 this time so will just have to wait and see!!?

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