Gender Games: Round One

 



 

Were you hoping Gender Games would come back? I hope so, because I think it's a lot of fun. There are some crazy ideas out there!

For those who are interested in the play-by-play, I'll explain and/or source each game below:

Chinese Calendar: I use the one from babycenter.com. It adjusts for lunar age, which is apparently key in making sure it's an accurate prediction. However, this one predicted that both Lincoln and Emilyn would be girls. So it's 50/50 so far.

Mayan Calendar: I use this description. from Babies Online. You take the mother's age at conception and the year of conception and add them together. If the result is an even number it's a girl. If the result is an odd number then it's a boy. My kids were all conceived during an odd year of my age (25, 27, 29) Lincoln was conceived in 2011, Emi 2012, and ChiaMia 2014. Lincoln = even (wrong). Emilyn = odd (wrong). So 0/2 on the Mayan Calendar. According to this, ChiaMia should be a boy.

Time of the year conceived: this supposedly has something to do with the fact that girls are hardier than boys. Apparently the theory that boys are the more fragile sex does not end at the sperm level. So, boys are more likely conceived in the fall months in order to be born in the summer and be less vulnerable to pathogens by the time winter comes around again. Lincoln was conceived in January, Emi in December, and ChiaMia in November. All winter. However, only Lincoln was actually conceived in a state that has a COLD winter. Emi was in south Florida and ChiaMia here in Phoenix. So if this one is supposed to be related to temperature and primal survivability we've got it skewed by geography.

Day of conception: this one goes off of the Shettles Methodology that babies conceived from intercourse on the day before or day of ovulation are more likely to be boys because boy sperm swims faster and lives shorter. Babies conceived from intercourse 3+ days prior to ovulation are more likely to be girls because the girl sperm live longer and can outlast the less hardy boy sperm. Ultrasound and my charts correlate that this baby was conceived on the day of ovulation. I have yet to determine how much faith I have in this method. It makes sense to me, but the evidence is considered anecdotal. Most "surprise" babies are girls since many are conceived from intercourse on the far outlying days prior to ovulation. But I've met a few women through the Facebook world who have 6-8 days prior baby boys. So no method is 100%, even if the theory is true. Lincoln was also a confirmed day of ovulation conception baby and Emilyn was questionable since there were opportunities on more than one day. Since this was exactly like Lincoln, I say this one says it's a boy.

Baking Soda Test: I'll give this one its own post too, but it's pretty simple: 1 TBS of baking soda in a glass. Add urine to cover baking soda. Watch reaction. If it fizzes and foams it's a boy, if it does nothing it's a girl. I didn't know about this test when I was pregnant with Lincoln, but I did do it with Emilyn and it said Girl. This time around it said Girl again.

Fetal Heart Rate: this one has been proven to be not true in the least. Babies heart rates vary based on activity level, sleep/wake cycles, and gestation. But it's still quite a popular old wives' tale. I've mostly seen the cut off at 140, but some say 150. A FHR < 140 is supposed to be a boy and >140 is supposed to be a girl. Lincoln was usually lower and Emilyn was usually higher. ChiaMia so far has been 150 and 160. So borderline girl.

Morning Sickness: Apparently you're 50% more likely to have a girl if you have bad morning sickness. I'm not really having any. With Emilyn I had a horrible cough (remember the broken/bruised rib?) and the coughing made me throw up a lot so it's hard to know how sick I would have been if I'd been healthy. But so far I've only had one morning of out-for-the-count vomiting, and that was in Cancun on the same day everyone else felt ill as well (though they were more like dehydrated/hung over or fever & chills). I am often nauseated (especially when I get HUNGRY) or I feel generally funny in the head - like I'm trying to focus while looking through a fish tank. That sensation is similar to Emilyn's pregnancy, but with Lincoln I had no morning sickness at all unless I was tired. So, so far the morning sickness resembles boy more than girl.

Cold Feet: well, I don't know about my feet, but I'm EFFING FREEZING all the time! I was COLD in CANCUN, MEXICO for crying out loud. I'm cold here too. My feet seem normal though. I've been taking hot baths and showers to get warm at night and then I read that especially in the first trimester hot baths weren't a good idea. I have no idea what my water temp was, but 100 degrees as advised doesn't even feel warm to me, so now I'm totally freaked out that I was in really hot baths every night for the first 10 weeks and I hurt the baby.

Mommy Instinct: I read moms are usually right. I'm 50/50. I'm really only leaning toward boy because I feel that in comparison between my first two pregnancies, this one is far more reminiscent of Lincoln than Emilyn.

Lincoln says: BOY! Don't even try to tell him it's a girl, he'll tell you, "NO! It's a BOY!" <<this is the main reason we are considering finding out…  he was right with Emi, he said girl more than he said boy. Emi just says "baby", go figure.

 Sleeping on left or right:  I've ALWAYS slept on my left. None of my pregnancies have changed that. But I do suddenly want to sleep on my stomach…. those days are soon to be OVER.

Dreaming of boys or girls: I guess you dream of the opposite. Not sure why. With Lincoln I only dreamed of turtles and with Emi I did dream of boys. This time I've dreamt of both. I was hoping that was a sign for twins ;-)

Mood: I was definitely short tempered and angry with Emi, which I am 10-fold this time. I was also very tearful in the beginning. With Lincoln's pregnancy I was depressed very early on, so even throughout his pregnancy I was not even keel. I have road rage for sure during my pregnancies. Not in the driving like a maniac way, I'm a very conscious driver, but I scream, swear, and shake my fists at all the idiots around me. Stop signs mean STOP, Jerkface! And motorcycles who cross 5 lanes of traffic back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and around a curve at 85 MPH make me so mad! I hope you're an organ donor because someone's going to need those. (Much love to all my motorcycle-riding friends who drive safely and responsibly; I'm not swearing at you.)

OJ: t this site has a good list and OJ is under the girl. Not sure if it's tied to the sweet idea. Here's one thing: I've NEVER liked orange juice. I associate orange juice with vomiting in the car as a kid. This whole orange juice with ice thing is completely unique to this pregnancy. Baby just had to have his/her own thing.

Lincoln and Emi are super interested and very excited. There's a lot of love growing around here.

End Tally: 6 GIRL : 6 BOY. What a great way to start the game! 

If you want to read about the Gender Games from Emilyn's Pregnancy You can follow the links below:

Gender Games: (for all gender games tagged posts)

Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Red Cabbage Test, Early Gender Prediction, Intelligender  (for individual posts)