Week 29

A few weeks ago, Shannon told me about something that she heard on the radio.  She said that they were doing tests on pregnant women to guess the gender of the baby, and since I don't know what I'm having, she suggested that I do the test, too.

The test she mentioned was the Drano test.  I had heard of this one before, because Scott's mom did it when she was pregnant with him, and it worked.  So, I looked up the test to get the directions.  Here is what I found:

This baby gender prediction method has been around for decades, and makes it's rounds regularly on the web as a potential way to find out what gender your baby is.

The recipe to test this method is below, but it is NOT advisable that you try it as it produces very toxic fumes and the results are unreliable.

The drano / draino gender test should be performed after the 4 month of pregnancy.

This test must be performed outside in a glass / jar that holds can hold twice as much urine as you use as there is a bubbling, smelly, and caustic chemical reaction when you add your urine to the crystal drano.

What is needed for the Drano / Draino Gender Prediction Test:

• Approximately 2 tablespoons of CRYSTAL Drano
• Medium glass or glass jar. It is best to just throw the mixing glass away after performing this test.
• Two to Three ounces of urine, preferably the first morning urine.

Take the test materials outside. Add your urine to the glass jar with the crystal drano in it. There will be a rapid chemical reaction and it is best to stay well away from the glass jar while the fumes are being produced.

When the reaction stops, observe the color of the test.

If the mixture darkens to a brownish color within the first 10 seconds - It is a boy.
If there is no darkening or color change after 10 - 15 seconds - It is a girl.

When you are done, you will need to carefully dispose of the mixture as it will have a very bad smell and still be very caustic.

The color results above are not very reliable as you will find many different variations of the colors in the results with people interpreting them all differently. This is not a reliable way to determine the gender of your baby, and could have serious side effects to the mom to be if the fumes are inhaled or the mixture gets on the skin. NOT RECOMMENDED as a baby gender prediction method. 

Needless to say, I was a little scared to try it.  I haven't had a Diet Coke since last August (except for when I was upset about losing Grovo, and I knew I couldn't be pregnant again).  If I won't even have aspartame and caffeine while I'm pregnant (not to mention cold meat, salicylic acid, Tylenol, and allergy medicine), I'm not up for dealing with toxic chemicals.  And I don't feel right about making Scott inhale the fumes either.

But, I know that gender predictions can be fun, so I found a list of other predictors.

HCG Levels - This is a scientific "test."  Baby girls produce higher HCG levels than baby boys.  Since pregnancy tests test for HCG, women pregnant with baby girls tend to get positive test results sooner than those pregnant with boys.  I don't know if I would've gotten an early pregnancy tests since I refused take a test in unlucky 2010, and in most cases, women don't know their exact HCG levels.  However, since I had a miscarriage, my doctor did an HCG test on me to make sure that this was a viable pregnancy.  My levels were so high that we wondered at first if I was having twins.

Boy:  0     Girl:  1

My hair (on my head) - An old wives tale says that if your hair is shiny and full of body, the baby is a boy.  If your hair is dull and lifeless, it's a girl.  I've never had the thickest hair, but it's been even worse throughout this pregnancy.

Boy:  0     Girl:  2

My hair (on my legs) - Another old wives tale says that your leg hair grows faster if it's a boy, and it grows at the same rate or slower if you're having a girl.  For nearly 20 years, I have dealt with thick, black leg hair that grows at an astronomical rate.  I would shave in the morning, and a few hours later, I would have stubble.  It was like 5 o'clock shadow on my legs.  Except it appeared at noon.  I went through laser treatments, and some patches got better, but overall, I still had to shave on a daily basis.  A few months ago, I noticed that I didn't need to shave as often, and the hair that I did have was a lot lighter.  In fact, I can now go four or five days between shaving!

Boy:  0     Girl:  3

Morning Sickness - Supposedly, girls their moms sicker than boys do.  Of course, I've heard of all the exceptions.  Scott's mom was sicker with him than she was with his sister.  A woman at school was sick all nine months of her pregnancy, and she had a boy.  But, the old wives tale says that morning sickness means it's a girl.  I was SO sick from weeks 6 - 16!  NOTHING made it better.  Medication made it possible to still work, but it didn't stop the sickness completely.

Boy:  0     Girl: 4

My butt - Apparently, if your butt grows, it means you are having a girl.  This conversation took place early in my pregnancy.  I had just gotten some new maternity pants, and I tried them on to show Scott.

Me:  "I love these pants.  They make my legs look thinner!"

Scott:  "Yeah.  You're getting some junk in the trunk, though."

Isn't he sweet?

Boy:  0     Girl:  5

Baby's heart rate - If the baby's heart rate is 140 or higher, it's a girl.  139 or lower means it's a boy.  Our baby's heart rate has been right around 145 pretty consistently for the past few months.

Boy:  0     Girl:  6

Carrying high or low - If you are carrying high, it means you are having a girl.  Carrying low means it's a boy.  Are you ready for this one?  I've been carrying the baby low the entire time.

Boy:  1     Girl:  6

Shape of belly - If your belly is shaped like a watermelon, you are having a girl.  If your belly looks like a basketball, you are having a boy.  Most people say my belly looks more like a basketball.  I'll let you judge for yourself.  Scott says it's a WNBA basketball.

Boy:  2     Girl:  6

Where the baby kicks - In Norway, they say that if the baby kicks you on your left side more, it's a girl.  If it kicks on the right side more, it is a boy.  If you remember from last week, I am bruised on my right side from the baby kicking me.  Looks like the boy votes are trying to catch up.

Boy:  3     Girl:  6

My face - If you gain weight in your face, or if your face swells, you are having a girl.  If your face looks the same, you are having a boy.  Most people say my face looks the same.  I appreciate them being nice, but I realized today that my face is slightly puffier.  Don't believe me?  Go look at my facebook pictures.  The ones taken at my wedding, when I was swimming with dolphins last summer, and one taken of Scott and me last September (I'm wearing a black and purple tie-dye-ish shirt) show a thinner face than the ones taken more recently, like at the wedding I went to mid-June.

Boy:  3     Girl:  7

Chinese gender prediction chart - I got pregnant in December when I was 31 years old.  According to the Chinese gender prediction chart, this means that I am having a girl.

Boy:  3     Girl:  8

Mom's feeling - Ever since I first got pregnant, I have felt like I am having a girl.  I have wavered from this once or twice, but I always go back to the feeling that it is a girl.

Boy:  3     Girl:  9

I'm sure there are many more tests.  I haven't tried the ones where you have to hold something on a string over my belly or hand because I believe the person doing that "test" has too much control.  I might as well just ask the person what they want me to have.  But, if there are other tests that you know of, and you want to see how they turn out for me, just ask.

Finally, this week's pictures: