Old Wive’s Tales Just For Fun

Growing YearsI thought it would be fun to review some old wives’ tales, believed to predict the gender of a baby, long before ultrasound arrived on the scene.  Some are just downright strange, some are confusing and some are funny, but all have been used in the past to predict the sex of the baby.  Maybe you have employed some of these techniques to get a jump start on the ultrasound.  Just for fun, try some to see how accurate they may be.

  • Chinese birth charts use the age at conception and the month you conceived to determine the sex of  the baby. There is an extensive chart for this but months and age are Chinese. The Mayans looked at the age at conception and the year the baby was conceived. If both are even or odd, it’s a girl. If one is even and one is odd, it’s a boy!  A much simpliar method of counting.

 

  • How you carry the baby matters.  If you carry your baby high, it’s a girl. Carry low? It’s a boy.  If you carry in front, it’s a boy, and if you expand horizontally, it’s a girl.  But…in Germany,  It’s a boy if you carry high and round and a girl if low and wide. So, I guess it matters where you are living as well.
  • Girls take your beauty.  If you have acne and/or skin blemishes, it’s a girl.  Dry hands and cold feet are signs of a boy.
  • Tie a piece of string around your wedding ring and hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, it’s a boy. If it swings back and forth it’s a girl.
  • In the Italian tradition, a needle is threaded and swings over your belly.  There is an opposite effect, if the thread goes in circles, its a girl and if it swings back and forth, its a boy
  • Place a key in front of a pregnant lady and watch how she picks it up.  If she picks it up by the narrow part, it’s a girl. If she picks it up by the round part, it’s a boy.
  • Put a fork under one side of the sofa, and a spoon under the other side, in the absence of the pregnant lady. When she returns to sit on the sofa, the side she sits on is the sex of the baby.  The fork side, it’s a boy.  The spoon side, it’s a girl.
  • Does heart rate matter? According to legend,.. yes.  If your baby’s heart rate is under, it’s a boy.  If it’s over 140 beats per minute,  it’s a girl.
  • What you crave may matter.  Crave sweets, it’s a girl.  Crave salty and sour, it’s a boy.  And if your spouse has cravings, too, and puts on a little sympathy weight, it’s a girl.
  • If you have morning sickness, it’s a girl. If you have no morning sickness, it’s a boy.
Source: Linda G. Swann, M.S. Early Childhood / SPED