Baby Herman #3: Boy or Girl??

Yes, I know...it's been forever.  I've been too busy being a mom to be a blogger.  I know other people can do both.  I can't.  But guessing genders is fun, so I'm back for a special post.

HCG Levels -I have to guess on this one because of how I found out that I was pregnant this time.  This baby was a surprise for us.  Eric was the one who let me know that I was pregnant.  Eric started getting sick, and no one could figure out why.  It had gone on for weeks, and I was almost to the point of having the doctor do blood tests to figure out what was wrong with him.  I got home from school one day, and Sue said he had felt well all day.  I nursed him, and he started projectile vomiting.  I was ready to pack the kids up and go to the ER.  By chance, I thought to call the on-call doctor (not his normal doctor) and asked if I should take him to urgent care.  She started asking questions about how often he would get sick (everyday, but not all day long, for over 3 weeks) and when he would get sick (after I nursed him).  She asked if I was pregnant.  I said no.  She asked if I was sure.  I said that I have gotten really sick with each pregnancy, and I didn't feel at all sick right now, so I couldn't be pregnant.  She said, "I think Eric is getting your morning sickness."  She told me to quit nursing him and to take a pregnancy test.  It turns out, it's extremely rare, but some babies are sensitive to the pregnancy hormones and it causes them to get sick.  With Eric's sensitive stomach, it doesn't surprise me that he would be effected.  Obviously, the doctor was right.  But, I have no idea how long I had been pregnant at that point.  Based on the ultrasounds, I was far enough along that I should have had a really dark line on my pregnancy test, but it was kind of faint.  When I had my HCG levels checked the next day, they were still pretty low.  In fact, they were so low that I asked the nurse if I needed to prepare myself for another miscarriage.  So, my best guess is that this baby is a boy.

Boy:  1     Girl:  0

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 just looked back at pictures of myself pregnant with Eric in order to find this list of wives' tales.  In those pictures, my hair looked better than it ever has.  With this baby...not so much.  Most of the time, I hate the way it looks these days.

Boy:  1     Girl:  1

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.  

This is what I wrote when I was pregnant with Adriana:  "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!"

This is what I wrote when I was pregnant with Eric:  "Now:  I wish!  I haven't gotten out the tape measure (although some days I probably could), but I would definitely say it's growing faster."

This time around:  I can't quite go four or five days between shaving, but I can definitely do three.  The hair takes a lot longer to start growing back, too. 

Boy:  1     Girl:  2

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.  

With Adriana, I was sick before I knew I was pregnant.  With Eric, I thought I was going to get away with not being sick at all.  And then 6 weeks hit.  I was sick.  Not as sick as I was with Adriana, but it lasted longer.  I think it finally went away around 18 weeks.

Thanks to Eric, I didn't get sick as early on with this baby.  But I did get sick.  In fact, as soon as I quit nursing him, I got really sick.  The kids knew that it was just part of the day, and they thought it was fun to go watch Mommy throw up.  Weirdos.  This one lasted the longest, too.  At 21 weeks, I randomly got sick one night, and I still don't feel great if I don't eat enough.

Boy:  1     Girl: 3

My butt - Apparently, if your butt grows, it means you are having a girl.  

It's huge.  It always is when I'm pregnant.  Thank you, Italian genes.  I don't know if it's as big as it was with Adriana, or if it's closer to the medium-huge that it was with Eric, I just know that it's big.  I would tend to say that it's more like it was with Adriana.  I'll just keep repeating:  "I've lost it twice before...I've lost it twice before..."

Boy:  1     Girl:  4

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.

This baby wants to remain a surprise.  It's heart rate started off pretty high, and has pretty much always been above 140, but it hasn't been as high as Adriana's heart rate was.  At one doctor's appointment, the doctor was checking the heart rate with the Doppler and said, "it's lower than it has been...about 132."  I said, "yeah, we're starting to think it might be a boy."  All of the sudden, the heart rate shot up to about 150.  This baby keeps us guessing!  Overall, the average is a little above 140 though.

Boy:  1     Girl:  5

Carrying high or low - If you are carrying high, it means you are having a girl.  Carrying low means it's a boy.  

I have been carrying this baby low the entire time.  I think I have carried all of my babies low, and this one is no exception.

Boy:  2     Girl:  5

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.

Scott thinks this one looks more like the shape of Eric.  I'm not sure.  I think I've started to fill out on the sides as well, but I'll go with Scott.  If anyone wants to argue that I should change this one, I'll listen to your thoughts.  (I don't necessarily agree with Scott.)

Pregnant with Eric

Pregnant with Adriana

Pregnant with Baby #3

*Trying to line up those pictures was ridiculous, and I've given up.
 
Boy:  3     Girl:  5

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.  

My other two kids have been the exact opposite of this, but I'll stick to what the Norwegians think.  Overall, I think this one kicks on the right side more.

Boy:  4     Girl:  5

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.  

My face is a little puffier, but not nearly what it was with Adriana.  I think it's a little bigger just because I've gained weight, and it tends to spread out more evenly.  Overall, I would say it still looks normal.

Boy:  5     Girl:  5

Chinese gender prediction chart - I got pregnant in February when I was 35 years old.  According to the Chinese gender prediction chart, this means that I am having a girl.

Boy:  5     Girl:  6

Mom's feeling - When I first got pregnant, I was positive it was a girl, just as I had been positive that Adriana was a girl from Day 1.  When I was pregnant with Eric, I was positive he was a boy right away, and then I started to waver, but I still basically thought I was having a boy.  This time, I'm wavering again, and I tend to lean toward feeling like it's a boy, so I guess I'll give a point to the boy side.

Boy:  6     Girl:  6

Dry Skin - If your skin becomes more dry, you are carrying a boy.


I didn't even include this with Adriana because I didn't realize it was a condition of pregnancy.  My skin was never dry at all with her.  With Eric, I had several dry patches.  I had a couple of times when it hurt to wear a shirt because my skin felt like it was being rubbed raw.  This time around, I don't have any dry skin.  Early on, I had a day or two where my skin was dry in some spots, but it went away quickly and has been back to normal ever since.  With Eric it was EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  I'm going to have to say girl with this one.

Boy:  6     Girl:  7

Headaches - If you are more prone to headaches, you are having a boy.

I had no headaches with Adriana.  I had headaches early on with Eric, and they continued off-and-on for the entire pregnancy.  This was one thing that caused me to shift from thinking girl to thinking boy early on.  I started getting headaches toward the end of my first trimester.  But then they went away.  For the past 20 weeks or so, I haven't had any headaches.  So, overall, I would have to say girl with this one.

Boy:  6     Girl:  8


Previous child's first word - If your previous child said mama first, you will have a girl.  If the first word was dada, you will have a boy.

Eric said Mama first.  He was such a Mama's boy when he was a baby.

Boy:  6     Girl:  9

The mask of pregnancy - I haven't found this one on any list, but a woman I used to tutor for swore by this test.  She said that if you get the mask of pregnancy, you are having a boy.  If not, it's a girl.

When I was about 16 weeks pregnant with Adriana, she told me it would be a girl because I didn't have the mask.  She said she has never been wrong with her predictions based on this.  With Eric, I definitely had it.  It looked like I was blushing constantly.  This time around, my cheeks aren't nearly as red as they were with Eric, but it is definitely there.  And it gets darker at times.  One night, Scott asked me why my cheeks were SO red.  I said, "I guess because I'm having a boy."

Boy:  7     Girl:  9

The actions of little boys - If a little boy is interested in your pregnancy, it's a girl.  If a little boy shows no interest, he is worried about competition and doesn't care about the pregnancy.

When I was pregnant with Adriana, Brandon's boys were so into the pregnancy.  They asked about the baby all the time.  They always wanted to know how big the baby was, how big I was, and wanted to feel the baby kick.  With Eric, it was almost funny how little they cared.  I could be around them for hours before they would even mention the baby.  Sometimes they forgot that I was pregnant at all.  When my mom said stuff about the baby, it wasn't uncommon to hear "what baby?" from the boys.  This one is pretty much the same.  For the most part, Eric also ignores this baby.  When I was having Eric, Adriana constantly made comments about the baby, and she still cares about this one.  Eric, though, barely mentions this baby.

Boy:  8     Girl:  9

So I think...it's pretty unclear.  Adriana was clearly a girl (with a score of 3 to 9).  Eric was clearly a boy (his score was 14 to 3).  This one is pretty equal.  If I could find one more test, it would probably indicate boy, making it a complete tie.  I've said from the beginning that if I were having twins, I would know for sure that it was a boy and a girl.  Every ultrasound has shown only one baby, though, so I think it's safe to say we are having one total surprise in a couple of months.