Finding Out the Baby's Gender

According to a Babycenter poll, 64% of expecting moms want to find out - I am in the remaining 36% that do not. So, obviously I am in the minority (what did that 64% do before ultrasounds?). Anyway, here are some pros and cons for finding out the gender before giving birth (btw - Joel and my Dad have both expressed their interest in finding out whether it's a boy or girl as soon as possible.....although I know at least Chrissy is in my camp!):

Benefits of finding out:
• Many women say they feel a deeper bond with the baby once they know the sex and can picture a little boy or girl (maybe for some people....)
• You can prepare an older sibling for the arrival of a new little brother or sister (not applicable)
• You can narrow down your list of baby names (not needed)
• You can pick out a gender-specific nursery theme or baby clothes, if you want to (I don't see the need!)

Benefits of waiting:
• You, your partner, and your family will have a delightful surprise on the day you give birth (isn't this the way it was meant to be?....and what about the baby pool?)
• Your desire to know whether your baby is a boy or a girl might motivate you during the toughest parts of labor (I think this is a great point and something I never thought of!!)
• You'll be following in the tradition of your parents, your parents' parents, and so on (before u/s machines)
• There will be no mistakes — what you see is what you get! (imagine buying all pink baby clothes and then having a baby boy.....)

I agree with one of the fathers quoted, who said, "I think the old-fashioned way is the best. Finding out before birth is like opening your Christmas presents before Christmas!" And Joel will tell you that the only time I want to open Christmas presents is on Christmas morning (or after)!!

Anyway, what do you think? Do you agree with me, or Joel? Feel free to leave comments here, or take a guess at our baby pool (click the banner below) :-)

So, Is it a girl?

This morning I had a doctor's appt. Joel came with me and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat on the doppler, which was very cool!! It was a very quick appt - all she did was look at me, ask me how I was feeling and listen to the heart beat. (Next doctor's appt: August 13th) The baby's heart rate was 164 and Dr. Rouse remarked that this is supposedly in the "girl range". This is based on the wive's tale that a heart rate higher than 140 indicates a girl and a heart rate lower than 140 indicates a boy. (I googled pregnancy wive's tales) There is a small amount of science in this wive's tale as a girl's heart rate is somewhat higher than her male counterpart, however, they say that this does not happen until after birth.

The funny thing about all of this is that last night Joel and I were driving home in the car and I was having a lot of gastrointestinal discomfort and said that the baby had to be a girl if she was already causing me this much trouble (in a study of mom's hunches regarding what they were having, they were right 71% of the time!!). Hmmm, interesting. Now, I really don't care whether it's a boy or girl, but obviously having helped raise my three younger sisters probably leans me toward wanting a little girl :-) This story gets even more interesting because if I buy in to these wive's tales, there are 2 more that indicate that this baby may really be a girl. First, they say during pregnancy your skin is supposed to be glowing and clear, but over the last 2-3 weeks, I've had more pimples than in years....apparently acne is a sign of a girl baby. And the last wive's tale is that if you are carrying a girl, you crave sweets and if you crave sour stuff, you are having a boy....well I am definitely craving sweets, but this was the case before I was pregnant, so maybe this one doesn't hold much weight. :-) I guess it's time to call in Mythbusters......LOL!

If you want to take a guess the baby's gender, date/time of birth, or the weight/height of the baby, check out our pool at www.expectnet.com - our game is called levyfamily_plus1 (or click on the banner below).