Conference turris::womannotes-v1

      
      
      
      
      
      Place one teaspoonful of Drano in a cup of the expectant mother's
      urine.  If it bubbles, the baby will be a plumber.
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

>  < Note 551.1 by TOPDOC::AHERN "Who, Dinny?" >

      
>      Place one teaspoonful of Drano in a cup of the expectant mother's
>      urine.  If it bubbles, the baby will be a plumber.
 
	What's that got to do with being a boy or girl.  Didn't you
	ever watch Green Acres ;-), 

	Seriously, Women can make as good as plumbers as men......     
      

	Well, I wonder if it's nice to be back after a 6-month
	absence from Womannotes...I guess I'll find out later..

	I heard if your wife is carrying the baby low, then it's
	a boy, and high, it's a girl....

			Micheal

      
      
      
      
      

    I agree with .2.   If the baby is carried low and most of the woman's
    weight is in front, it will be a boy.
    
    If the woman's weight is distributed more in a side-to-side fashion,
    (I know its difficult to describe) then it is most likely a girl.
    
    Good luck future daddy!
    
    nmw  ;^)

    
    You could always try the Ancient Ultrasound technique.. :-)
    
    Dave
    

    re .1
    
    Thats funny!
    
    re .0
    
    I personally don't believe in these myths anymore.  Not after everyone
    insisted I was having a girl and I ended up having a boy.  I think
    the mother usually has a pretty good idea.  Most of the time the
    mothers feeling is right.  But here some ways I have heard of:
    
    Place some thread through a needle, hold it over her stomache, if
    it goes around in circles 'Its a girl'!  If it swings back and forth
    'its a boy'!
    
    I must be mixed up about the way the woman carries because I had
    always heard that if she carries high and out front its a boy, and
    if she carries low and AROUND its a girl.
    
    I was told that if her face becomes very clear its a boy, if her
    face breaks out its a girl.
    
    PS- my friend tried the thread trick it went in circles, her face
    broke out, and she is carrying low, she found out yesterday she
    is having a boy.
    
    Tanya

    There is a note on this topic in the parenting notesfile as well.
    
    If you try any of the above methods (other than ultra sound) they
    will be right 50% of the time. :-)
    
    The only sure ways are ultrasound and aminocentosis (sp?).

    Well, I had the "ring on a string" trick performed
    on me....can't remember the motion, but it indicated
    a boy.  Then I did the Drano test (if it turns brown
    it will be a boy, if I remember correctly)...it did
    indeed turn brown.  And those "in the know" were 
    certain that I would have a boy, because of the way
    I was carrying him (sorry, I can't remember which
    means which, it's been 8 years...)   Anyway, I was
    very disappointed in all these results because I
    wanted a girl.  Period.
    
    The tests were all correct.  I had a beautiful baby
    boy....my disappointment lasted all of 3 seconds, 
    then I saw his face and it was love at first sight!!
    Now I can't imagine not having a little boy!!
    
    

    I believe that an amenocentosis (sp?)  is probably the best way
    of finding out, but they usually won't do one of those unless it
    is medically neccessary.  Because it can have bad side effects.
    
    An ultrasound isn't really that reliable.
    
    A friend of the families had an ultra sound done and it came
    out to be a boy.  SO everyone bought boy clothes, blue this and
    thats.  It turned out that the cord was what made the nurse think
    it was a boy.  I have heard of that happening a couple of times
    when it is thought that the baby was going to be a boy. Now I am
    sure if they say its a girl there shouldn't be any mistakes with
    that.
                                         
    Tanya

    
    
    
    
    
   Would there have been an Elizabethan period if Ann Bolyn had ultrasound?
                                                                

If she has backaches, it will be a boy. If she has stomachaches, it will
be a girl. At least that's what my mommy told me.

Jenna Pooh

    re .6, .8: the correct spelling is "amniocentesis"
    
    	-Ellen, who *always* checks spelling in the dictionary before
	 writing anything anywhere, including notes.

    Wait and see.
    
    Seriously, does it really matter which it is?
    
    --- jerry

    re .9
    
    
    If Ann Boleyn's mom had had ultrasound there probably wouldn't have
    been an Ann Boleyn - I read somewhere she had six fingers on one
    hand, six toes on one foot, and three breasts.  Cries of "Witch" would
    have taken her long before the guillotine.

    Yet another useless bit of trivia ...
    
    -Jody
    

    
    re: .13
    
    Is that really true??  Can anyone confirm?
    
    That is pretty bizzare.....
    
    As for the baby...I was always told that if the baby is really active
    and kicks alot, it'll be a boy.  Girl babys are more passive, according
    to MY mommy....
    
    Personally...I think my mommy is silly.....;^)
    
     

    Anne Boleyn had six fingers on one hand.  (I never heard of the
    other attributes.)  Because of this, she started the style of
    long, pointy sleeves that half-covered the hands.
    
    When they were excavating in the Tower of London graveyard, they
    were able to positively identify her body because of her
    polydactylism.
    
    							Ann B.

    RE: .13-.15 "multiple digits"
    
    The six fingers and three breasts have been documented, but I never
    heard about any extra toes.  Too bad she din't have an extra head.
    
    

    re: .0
    Don't even bother with all of those stories.  If you are planning
    more than one child, then buy what you think is cute, for whatever
    sex, and hope that at least one of them will wear it.  If you are
    planning only one child, or if you want to play it safe, buy things
    that are unisex.  Girls can often wear "boy's" clothes, but I suggest
    that you DON'T put a boy in a frilly dress unless it is for
    christening.  :-)
    
               Carol

If you're really wondering, I'm offering a wonderful new service -- just
send me $20 and a lock of hair and I'll tell whether it'll be a boy
or a girl (father's or mother's hair -- no discrimination here).

My method isn't 100% successful, but I will offer a money back guarantee.

M.

  Nice one, Martin.  That's right up there with "we'll teach your dog how
  to swim for only $5."

  JP

      Being new to all this I was wondering how other parents
    tried to figure out what sex the baby was....
    
    
                 REK
    
    PS Sal, the money is in the mail...

Don't worry REK, it's going to be a girl and she's going to grow up to be
just like you. HAHAHAHAHAHAhehehehe

Jenna Pooh

    Well in my case, we 'knew' we were having a boy...and I was calling
    my 'stomach' Michael by the 5th month....and Michael will be home
    for Thanksgiving in about a week, from his first fall in college....
    but as to why we 'knew' he was a boy...I dunno.

We have two boys - ages 2 1/2 and 5 mos.  During the first pregnancy, I was
the only one who insisted it would be a girl.  During the second, we were 
both pretty sure it would be a boy.  Judy says that she dreamt of boys during
both pregnancies; and that is what convinced her of their sex.  I'll never 
figure it out.  I figure any method of determining the sex will give you at
least a 50% chance, so why not guess.  My only disappointment in this whole
thing is that we are quitting at two, and so will probably never raise a
girl.  I was really looking forward to that.

Re 0.  I hope your husband changes his mind.

/Mike

    My aunt had some kind of theory about sleeping on one side or the
    other before,during or (?after) conception, and that would affect
    the baby's sex.  
    
    I don't see how it would work after, but maybe the people who developed
    these "theories" didn't understand the biology!
    

    My wife knew her baby was going to be a boy. Neither of us knows
    how she knew; she just knew. She was right, of course. I read
    recently that a very high percentage of mothers to be who 'know'
    what their baby is going to be are right. No one seems to know
    how they know though.
    
    			Alfred

    They were so sure I was going to be a boy, maybe because I was kicking
    a lot, maybe because they wanted one so much, whatever...but when
    I came out they had to scrap the name "James" and come up with a
    female one.  "Jody" was the logical nickname, but they had to think
    of a "fancy legal family" name to go with it on all the legal
    documents...they decided against Josephine and Joanne, and came
    up with "Judith", but I don't really like to be called that.  It's
    strange to think they might have wanted a boy (didn't even consider
    it until recently), but that could explain why I was a tomboy all
    through school, was Ms. Fix-it around the house, majored in
    Electronics, and went to a vocational high school and an engineering
    college.
    
    -Jody
    

    My two cents about all this is that people tend to remember their
    "successes" with predictions and forget (or don't tell you about)
    their "failures".  Also, since it would seem that most couples express
    a preference for a boy, and somewhat more than half of babies born
    are boys, the odds are in favor of a lot of people having their
    pet theories vindicated.
    
    Personally, I favor the old "what side of the bed the man hangs
    his pants on" theory.  (I put mine on the floor - does that mean
    that Tommy should have been a cat?)
    
    					Steve

	Re: Jody,

	I'm sure you've made some happy that your a female though.

	Re: Steve

	Maybe not a cat, but a rugrat ;-)

			Micheal

    re .27
    
    Gee, we knew the correct sex of all of our children well in advance
    ....unusual success rate?
    
    
    of course that is because four of the five were adopted :-)

    If you REALLY want to know what sex the baby is, get tested.  Anything
    else is just guessing.  Paul and I were both convinced that his
    sister's second baby was a boy, even though her doctor had given
    her a 60% chance of bearing a girl, and we were right - David Jacob
    Mandel is about two weeks old now, a fine although noisy nephew to
    keep our two-year old niece company.  But we admit we were guessing,
    and Susan herself (my sister-in-law) had no guesses as to what sex
    the baby was until he was born.   (The best thing about this birth
    was that it was natural - our niece was a breach baby and a C-section
    - poor Susan!)

I wish people wouldn't worry about the sex of the child.  All too soon
the baby will be molded into a sex role.  You don't need to know the
sex to go out and buy cribs, diapers, sleepers, and all the rest of
the paraphernalia needed.  Also, you should be careful not to become
to attached to the idea of which sex baby you will have in case you
have the other.  

...Karen

In bygone days, a friend had a girl, and then a boy.  During an evening of
chit chat she allowed that her legs grew unusually furry when she had the
girl, not so when she had the boy.  I have mentioned this to all pregnant 
friends, and guess what....


						KBear

    re:.31
    
    Thank you. I thought I was the only one who considers the whole
    guessing game ridiculous.
    
    --- jerry

    re .33 re .31
    
    It is sort of like shaking presents and looking at the shape
    of things that are wrapped under the tree...it helps make the
    waiting go faster, and you are always just a bit curious about
    what is in there, :-)

    I was amazed by my friends who had amniocentesis and decided not
    to be told the sex of the baby!  They said they wanted to be surprised.
    I couldn't bear waiting to find out if the information was there
    to be had.

    Re: .35, others
    
    Count me also as one who not only declines to guess, but who
    does NOT want to know in advance, even if I could be told
    with certainty.  I think I've talked about this in PARENTING,
    but my feeling is that there is a danger of some resentment
    building before the child is born if the sex isn't the one you
    would have preferred.  
    
    I think the surprise is one of the fun parts of having a child.
    I was thrilled to be the first one to notice that Tommy was
    a boy (or at least the first to say anything!), even if I was
    quietly expressing a SLIGHT preference for a girl beforehand.
    
    If you don't take it seriously, guessing, and testing yourself by
    various folk tales, is relatively harmless (except for the Drano
    trick - Drano is nasty stuff!)  But even if YOU don't take it
    seriously, your relatives just might.  Once the child is born,
    that's it, and you and your relatives will love your child for what
    she or he is.
					Steve

    	All of our babies have turned out to be children, but two of
    them are perilously close to turning into adults at the moment.
    Since this is more or less what was predicted we do not worry about
    it too much.
    
    	Seriously, the only reliable way of telling in advance is the
    genetic analysis with that nasty long word that several others have
    already mentioned.
    
    	In France the genetic analysis is performed as routine, since
    it can detect some genetic defects and the mother can be advised
    to have an abortion. While the advice is not based on the sex of
    the baby, that information is available for any mother who is
    interested.

    I would love to know for sure, but since I have no other reason
    to have the amnio, I won't take the risk.  
    
    If nothing else, if it is a girl then we can stop racking our brains
    for boys' names that we want.
    
                Carol

    If you have only a girl's name selected...you'll have a boy.
    If you have only a boy's name selected...you'll have a girl!
    
    
    But seriously...when people asked me during my pregnancy whether
    I wanted a boy or a girl, all I could think was that if I were lucky
    enough to be able to choose something for my baby before its birth,
    the last thing I'd choose would be its sex.  First, I'd wish it
    were healthy...then happy...then nice (compassionate, giving, etc.)...
    then intelligent...then talented...then beautiful...
    
    -Tracy, whose daughter is all of the above
    

    I think if people grew up and had good experiences with children
    of both sexes they are likely to have the attitude that you do (.39).
    
    As I was growing up, I had terrible experiences with little boys.
    I didn't have any brothers, and I found the boys in the neighborhood
    to be loud, fast, excitable, often violent, and preoccupied with
    sports.  I had no way of relating to them or playing with them.
    My main memory of the boys in the neighborhood is getting hurt if
    I tried to play with them.                      
    
    When I babysat, I intuitively understood what made the girls tick,
    and developed good relationships with them.  Except for very musical
    or very intellectual boys (who had something in common with me!)
    I was at a loss to relate to boys.  I couldn't get into or appreciate
    their world.
    
    Even as a teacher I found this to be true, although I worked very
    hard to develop positive relationships with the boys I taught.
    
    I never wanted a child, and I never plan to have one.  But if I
    did, I would be terrified of having a boy and not being able to
    develop the kind of positive, loving relationship with him that
    I could with a girl.  I would hate to start something I had serious
    doubts about being able to do responsibly. 
                                                                 
    This would be a major preoccupation for me, and a major concern
    throughout the pregnancy.  I would want to find out as soon as possible
    so that I could get used to the idea if I had to.
                                              
    I'm glad it's only a theoretical issue!
    
    Holly

     I think some of the readers got the wrong impression. I want a
    healthy baby first. I was just wondering if there were any way
    of know ahead of time. I will be overjoyed with the baby, it doesn't
    matter if its a boy or a girl. I will love this baby no matter what.
    I know if I want to find out I can, I don't want to. I was just
    wondering if there was a non-scientific way........
    
                   REK
    

    Re .40, I've always felt much the same as you do about little boys.
     Except I always wanted a daughter (first, I wanted a sister for
    years, then that changed to a daughter).
    
    My mother and I used to joke that boys don't turn into humans until
    they're around 21 (and some never do!) :-).
    
    It has been my experience that little girls under the age of 5 are
    the sweetest, most loving people on earth.  Usually if you're nice
    to them, they'll be nice to you.  As a teenager I had great success
    babysitting for little girls.  We would play games, have interesting
    talks and they would always ask their parents to have me back. 
    With little boys, forget it!  The little girls seemed to idolize
    me, the little boys would shout "You're not my mother!  I don't
    have to do what you say!"  (Nasty little buggers.)
    
    The result was that I wanted a daughter very much when I was pregnant.
     That's one time when I got what I wanted and I love having a daughter
    and have no regrets about never having a son.  I wanted a baby who
    would grow up to have the same orientation as I do.  I wanted a
    baby I could dress in pink lace and name Melissa or Jessica or Vanessa,
    and buy dolls and a canopy bed.  
    
    Of course, the most important thing is to have a healthy baby, but
    that goes without saying.  Hearing the doctor tell me I had a girl
    was one of the happiest moments of my life.
    
    Lorna
    

I find it curious that many of the 'methods' for guessing the sex of a baby
are at least plausible...

The Pendulum trick would depend on the gravitational density shape of the baby
'round' = girl, 'long' = boy.  This is related to the low & front = boy, high &
sideways = girl test.   Backaches = boy, stomachaches = girl will also tend
to reflect the shape and position of the baby.

That male unborn are more active seems to indicate that there *are*
psychological differences between men and women other then conditioning. 

The Chemical reaction to mother's urine, could be caused or uncaused by male
chemicals of the baby showing up in the mother's system, as RH factors do. Face
breakout = girl could be caused by added female chemicals in the mother's
system.  Furry legs = girl could be for the same reason, but I don't know what
the mechanism would be. 

The 'I just know' method... perhaps there is some mental link between the
mother and the unborn.  Dreams tend to fall in this category. 

The theory of sleeping on one side or the other, and the theory that having sex
before ovulation results in more boys, and having sex after ovulation results in
more girls, could depend on which type of sperm is more energetic, or lives
longer. 

I can't thing of any plausible explanation for the theory of what side of the
bed you hang your pants on.

I think that guessing is part of the anticipation of the great event. I agree
that you shouldn't get too attached to a particular outcome, but that rule is
usefull throughout life. 

RE: .36, (.38)

"my feeling is that there is a danger of some resentment building before the
child is born if the sex isn't the one you would have preferred."

I think that it's certainly better to go through the guessing games, and
imagining the outcome, then to ignore the decision.  In my experience there is
more of a danger of resentment if you don't go through the guessing games. 

Jim.

>< Note 551.44 by BUSY::KLEINBERGER "Have a MAXCIMum Day!" >
>                          -< Smiles all around !!!!! >-
>
>    Hey Rick...
>    
>    Boys are "icky", and never find Happiness :-)
>    
>    Here's hoping for a girl!...
>    
>    Gale

    Gee, that's what I'd always heard about girls  :^{).  Maybe they
    all just have to grow up to be men and women before they stop being
    "icky" and find some happiness.

    Dick

    re:.42
    
    There's nothing wrong with having a *preference*. I only wonder
    why some people feel it's so important to know beforehand which
    sex the baby is.
    
    --- jerry

    re .43: 
    
    >The Pendulum trick would depend on the gravitational density shape of
    >the baby 'round' = girl, 'long' = boy. 
    
    Major problem with this is the strength of the gravitational pull
    of a body as small as a baby (esp. a fetus in an early stage of
    pregnancy.  I seriously doubt there is enough gravitational influence
    to noticeably change the movement of a pendulum.
    
    The other problem with the "round" = girl, "long" = boy is that
    within my own family at least, I was a very long, thin baby, and
    my brother was very short, and looked very plump.  
    
    So much for that theory.
    
    Elizabeth

    re .46, I just assumed that one of the reasons people would want
    to know before hand what sex the baby is is because they do have
    a preference, and they can't wait to find out if they're getting
    what they want.
    
    Other than that, if you know what sex the baby is you can start
    buying appropriate clothes are fixing up the baby's room in a "sexist"
    manner such as pink or blue.
    
    Personally, I think it would be like knowing everything you're getting
    for Christmas ahead of time.  It's more fun to be surprised.
    
    Lorna
    

        We were of the "if you find out, don't tell us" school, too, but
        somehow Selma was sure with all three boys that they would be
        boys. She found that she always thought of and spoke of them as
        "him". Actually, that's not quite true. Actually, we disquieted
        lots of people by speaking ofthe baby as "it". It was a person,
        but not knowing its gender we spoke of it neutrally--except
        Selma would regularly say "he" without thinking and never
        "she". 
        
        We'll never know how accurate her instincts for this are. We
        lost the only baby she ever called she at about the end of the
        second trimester. No idea if it reall was "she".
        
        The one thing we did want to know in advance was how many
        fingers they'd have. Polydactylism runs in my mothers family,
        you see, and though we'd rules out circumcision as unnecessary
        surgery, it is customary to remove the extra finger or toe,
        especially if it isn't fully functional. The decision between
        removing a working digit or leaving your kid a freak was
        something I relly didn't want to have to make. My tendancy was
        to say that working pieces should stay on. I'd have loved to
        have known I didn't have to worry. 
        
        Most of our baby clothes were green or yellow. Almost no blue or
        pink. The boys did wear some pink and some frilly stuff. Any
        port in a storm, and besides peacocks are male, right? I'm not
        happy about the way everyone is supposed to live to some
        externally defined definition. I think boys and girls are both
        victimized by intolerance of personal differences and an
        insistance that we conform to specific external images.
        
        JimB. 

    I wanted to know.  I didn't have a preference but am curious, 
    and picking names for all of the possibilities was TOUGH.
    
    Twin girls - 4 names (first and middle)
    Twin boys  - 4 names 
    girl/boys  - 4 names
    
    I think that the accuracy of an Ultrasound depends on who
    does the testing and what type of equipment is used.
    
    When I had an Ultrasound at 25 weeks and was told that I was
    carrying 2 boys, their was no doubt in my mind that I was.  I
    had been told by my Obstretrician that the Doctor that did my
    Ultrasounds was the best and that if she told me what I was
    having, that was what I was having.
    
    

    A friend of mine went to see a medium/spiritualist 6 months ago
    and was told that sometime within the next 18 months she would find
    herself pregnant and that it would be a boy.  Lo and behold I saw
    her last week, and yes she is pregnant, quite an accident I might
    add, but she is happy all the same.  It will be interesting to see
    whether she has a boy or not.
    
    I also had my tarot cards read for a giggleand I am supposed to 
    find myself pregnant shortly, just hoping they aren't true, for 
    the moment anyway!
    
    Jude - Who apparently hung low (boy), who forced the needle back
    and forth (boy), who made her mother suffer with back ache (boy),
    who was incredibly active (boy) and was named Peter before entering
    into the big wide world!?*!?  (Not sure about the furry legs - will
    have to ask.)