Wednesday, June 18, 2014

The Gender Prediction Project Two: Part Six

Oooooooh! I'm excited today! Today we will be exploring some new methods of gender prediction that I didn't do with either boy or include in the first Gender Prediction Project! It's fun to try new things. :) With some of them I will be able to go back and tell you what the prediction would have been had a done them during my first two pregnancies, and with some of them I'll have no idea. (Not very scientific of me, but I hope you can forgive.)

Also, now that we are branching off into uncharted territory, I really do need your suggestions of Old Wive's tales and methods of predicting the sex to try. A couple of these were suggested by readers, and I look forward to trying many more in the months to come! So send those suggestions to me! If it doesn't involve spiders or extreme heights I am probably game. ;)

Warning: Some of the methods of gender prediction we go over today involve bodily fluids. I won't include any pictures of said fluids (on their own), but if you are squeamish about fluids of any kind, you might want to skip over this post. (Though it would be a terrible loss, because it's a rather entertaining piece of blogging, if I do say so myself. Also, if you are preparing for a new baby in your home, the time to get over bodily fluids of all kinds is now. Your future is filled with fluids.)



Cabbage Test

I don't really like cabbage. Usually the smell gets to me even before the taste does. (I should actually say here that I do enjoy several dishes that include cabbage, but I don't like cabbage on its own.) My like or dislike for cabbage has nothing to do with this test though, except that I had to make a special trip out to buy some red cabbage since we didn't have any in the house at the time. (Before anyone accuses me of wasting food, all of the cabbage was used, and it was quite yummy.)

If you want to play along with this one you will need a red cabbage, boiling water, and an urge to use the bathroom. (First morning urine is advised, but not necessary according to my in depth research into the matter.) It's very much like a chemistry experiment, so pull out some goggles, a lab coat, and some beakers if you'd like!


First I chopped up some red cabbage. (It needs to be red cabbage. Don't bother with that silly, non-colorful green stuff!) I ended up using about three (3) cups of red cabbage for this particular test.


I boiled some water on the stove, then I poured the boiling water over the chopped up cabbage in one of my large, glass bowls. I let the cabbage seep in the water for fifteen (15) minutes.


After allowing the cabbage to sit I strained the cabbage out and put the leaves to the side. The cabbage water ended up being a really pretty color!


Here's where you need the bodily fluids. ;) You need to mix equal parts cabbage water and urine. The amount you choose to use of each doesn't really matter as far as I can tell, so long as you use equal parts of each liquid. (Ex. If you use 1/2 cup of urine you also need to use 1/2 cup of pretty cabbage water.)

Then you take out your scientific pen and pad of paper and make notes about the color reaction. If your cabbage water/urine solution turns red/pink it means that you will be having a little boy. Purple/blue indicates that you can expect a little girl.


I'm certain that this couldn't be mistaken in any way shape or form as anything other than what it is, but just in case the colors on your monitor are off, I can assure you that my cabbage water turned an unmistakable red/pink. (More red than pink, I think.) There wasn't even a hint of purple or blue, and I tried it twice just to make sure. (I had leftover cabbage water, so why not? Waste not, want not, right?) As with many other methods before it, this method of sex prediction is a strong point for team blue, predicting us another little boy in October!


Baking Powder/Soda Test

This one I didn't have to buy anything for. I always have baking soda and baking powder around the house somewhere. I have seen this old wive's tale be used with both baking soda/powder, and so I decided that I should do both to be safe. That way no one can say I wasn't taking this seriously. :)

Just like the cabbage test, if you are adverse to your own bodily fluids, this one isn't for you. You're going to need two containers and the desire/need to pee. (Let's face it, if you're pregnant, you probably have to pee.) You take one cup and put a little bit of baking powder/soda at the bottom. In the other cup/container you collect some of your urine. When you are ready, pour the urine into the baking soda/powder and watch for a reaction. If you get bubbles/fizzing, kind of like the head on a beer, you are pregnant with a little boy. If there is no reaction you are having a little girl.

Don't worry. I didn't take any pictures of this one. ;)

With both the baking powder and the baking soda I got a very obvious fizzing reaction. In fact, the baking powder fizzed to such an extent that it almost flowed over the side of the cup, and I had only put a small amount of powder and fluid inside. Barely enough to fill 1/10 of the cup. (I did almost take a picture of that, because I was impressed!) No matter which way you look at it, this was a very strong prediction for a little boy in October. 


Skull Theory

This one might sound like it actually has some basis in science, but I can't find any studies outside of new mommy chat boards. Though archaeologists can (sometimes) tell the sex of a skeleton based on skull shape, those specific changes wouldn't happen until sometime around puberty. They certainly wouldn't be visible in infancy, right, but do not tell the people on the mommy boards this! They believe! So we'll try it out. :)

Apparently, the shape of your baby's skull as seen in an ultrasound can tell you your baby's sex. Boys, so they say, tend to have a skull that is blockier and more angular, while the skull of a little girl is more rounded. The forehead should be more prominent on a boy too, in theory.

As a bonus, though I didn't do this with either boy at the time, I can still compare their results now by looking at their old ultrasound pictures, so I'll be able to tell you how accurate this theory is for all three of my littles...Though I will fully admit, even after scouring more Mommy Boards than I can count, I am not sure that I am an expert at the skull theory yet. I suppose I could be calling these incorrectly according to the "skull experts", but I'm going to give it a try. Someone else might have more luck.


Here is my oldest. The skull certainly looks more rounded to me. I don't see any of the blockieness or distinct slope in the forehead that I've seen in the online examples of boy's skulls, which would lead me to predict  little girl using the skull theory. Of course, my oldest is a little boy, which means this was incorrect with him. 


Above is my youngest Earth Side baby. To me there is a very obvious and distinct angular shape to the forehead. The jaw looks more angular, and the brow is more prominent. Using the skull theory I would predict a little boy for this pregnancy, and it was correct this time. That means that this theory has a 50% accuracy rate for us so far


Here is baby Bean's profile, (at both 14 weeks and 22.5 weeks) and to me it looks more rounded than Sebastian's skull looked. Perhaps not as much as Parker's, but there are certainly no obvious angles like you can see in Bash's ultrasound. I'm not sure the top was the best picture to be going off of, but the second picture looks rounded too, making me think I would predict a little girl this time. Of course, one could argue that the skull is prominent...As I said, I could be completely off, and I am very open to any insight any "skull theory experts" out there can offer. :) This is not my area of brilliance.


Flip A Coin

This one was actually suggested by an old family friend, and it is as simple as taking a coin out of your pocket and flipping it. As it was told to me, this is an Old Wive's tale with a Native American background. Simply toss a coin and see where it lands. If it lands on heads you are having a girl, and tails means it's a boy. Do it three times in a row, and best two out of three wins it I suppose. ;) Easy peasy!

Flip one: Heads. Flip two: Tails. Flip three: Tails. It looks like even our quarters are on team blue, and this Old Wive's tale predicts another little boy for us in the Fall.



Another week, another round of predictions, and this week's seem to be leaning more towards team blue with one prediction for a girl vs. three predictions for a boy. I'm not really shocked. So far our count is up to 22 predictions for a son against only 11 predictions for a daughter. The boys are winning by half, but there is still time to sway the scales towards the pink side. Besides, this is all just for fun anyways. I don't think the baby cares one way or another what the Old Wives think about his/her sex.

See you next week for some more predictions!


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*Disclaimer: This, and all posts for The Gender Prediction Project, is something I am doing for fun. I am not a doctor, and I make no claims that these methods of sex prediction work. This should in no way shape or form be taken seriously. Please do not go out and buy clothes, furniture, toys, paint, or wallpaper based on any of the prediction methods you see here. These blog posts should be taken with a grain of salt, and if you choose to participate in them along with me, realize that there is no way to know the sex of your baby 100% until they are in your arms and you are looking at the evidence with your own two eyes. Even ultrasounds can be wrong, so join in at your own risk! ;) Happy predicting!*


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