Is There Any Truth to Old Wives Tales, Myths and Superstitions About Conceiving ?

Boy or girl? You really want to know, don't you? I couldn't wait for an ultrasound to determine the sex of my babies and turned to old wives' tales told to me by well meaning friends and family. A lot of people do, and let me tell you, everyone knows someone who knows someone who SWEARS these never fail. I'll let you decide. Keep in mind, I have THREE boys (and was desperate for a girl).

According to the first tale I was told, if you crave sweets, you are having a girl. If you crave sour things, it's a boy. Hmmm. I craved sweets. A lot. Well, I craved sour, too. Oh, heck..I craved food. I'll say, though, I probably craved more sweets than anything. That could explain the crazy blood sugar thing I had going on, but anyway...I still had boys.

Another one is if you are carrying all up front (as in, people can't tell from behind that you are pregnant) then it's a boy. If you are, well, fat all over, it's a girl. I think some people thought I was carrying the baby in my butt...my thighs...my hips...oh....and certainly my belly. (Could have been all of those sweets I was craving...) I still had boys.

The Chinese lunar calendar is supposed to determine the sex of your baby, too. You use your birth date, the conception date, and the chart will tell you the sex of your baby. Number one was accurate. Number two, we were a little in the dark about the conception date (*blush*), and number three said I was having a girl, darn it. Chinese lunar liars.

Even the doctor told me this one: If the baby's heartbeat is high, it's a girl. If it's low, it's a boy. Boys are lazy. I know this, because when I tell them to clean their rooms, it takes them all day, and inevitably, I find them lounging around, claiming to be just.too.tired. to do it. I also know this, because it's too hard to put their laundry away, put their dishes in the sink, or hit the hole when they use the bathroom. But I digress.... All of mine should have been girls by this one.

One of my friends claimed I could tell the sex by tying my wedding ring to a string, lying down and having someone hold it a few inches from my huge belly and watching it swing. Hip to hip meant a boy, up and down meant a girl. After prying it off of my fat, swollen fingers, mine went in circles. I wonder what that means?

There is a belief that if your husband puts on weight, you are having a girl, of not, it's a boy. I think he put on weight, but it was probably all of that baking I was doing to satisfy the sweets cravings. Anyway, this one failed, too.

Supposedly, if you get moody during your pregnancy, you are having a girl. Oh, honey...I'm always moody. I don't know if it got any WORSE...but I'm sure my husband will say yes.

I recently heard to have the mom pick up a key....if you pick it up by the thin end, it is supposed to be a girl...by the larger end, a boy. I was lucky to be able to bend over and get a key. I was lucky to bend over and tie my shoes.

None of these mean anything of course, and you certainly can't rely on them to tell you the sex of your baby, only the doctor can tell you that before birth, but sometimes they ARE fun. Just don't rush out and buy pink after you do them. That's a lot of returning. Trust me.