Predicting Bugbear's Bits

We're not telling the sex*, but people are guessing!  Stake your claims in the comments for all the interwebz to see!

So far, in the "I'm sure it's a boy" column, we have
My sister**
Mike's sister
Mike's cousin
$3 online psychic (yes, I spent $3 on an online psychic. At least it wasn't $35 on a pee test that claims the same accuracy as the online psychic)


In the "I'm sure it's a girl" column, we have
Jay
Mike's aunt
My chiropractor**

Lore*** says, with explanations whenever possible:

If the heart rate is 140 or above, it's a girl. 139 or under, it's a Boy. Bugbear's heart rate at our appointment today varied between 130-150 on the doppler, so this one is inconclusive. The midwife we met with on Friday said that the doppler she was using didn't have reliable number readouts, but that the heartrate sounded right around 150 to her, perfectly in the healthy range. We'll say tentatively that this says Girl. (Baby girls' heartbeats are frequently faster than baby boys', hence the belief that this difference is also present in utero.)


The Draino test, peeing into Draino crystals, is unreliable and produces toxic fumes, so we didn't do it. I might have held my breath for the fun of it, but we don't own Draino. We don't even own bleach. I thought about peeing on some vinegar and making up my own test, but that seemed like a lot of work, so I didn't.  No result here.

The Chinese gender chart says Boy. (no word on how, if at all, this accounts for the differences in lunar vs. solar calendars in terms of both age and conception month)

The Brazilian method says Girl.

The sum of my age at conception and the numbered month of conception is even, which means Boy.

When I put my wedding band on a piece of thread, lay on my back, and have Michael hold the ring on a string over my belly, the ring responds more to the ceiling fan than anything else. After much discussion, we decided that "definitely not a circle" means we should say it moves back and forth. This means Girl.

When I put my wedding band on a piece of thread, lay on my back, and have Michael hold the ring on a string over my belly, the ring responds more to the ceiling fan than anything else. After much discussion, we decided that "definitely not a circle" means we should say it moves back and forth. This means Boy.

That I am carrying out front, rather than gaining weight all around, says Boy.

I'm now carrying high, which means Girl.

I was carrying low, which means Boy.

Sleeping with my pillow to the north means that I'll be having a Boy. (This tidbit NOT brought to you by the insomnia cures book I read that swears sleeping with your feet pointing south means sounder and better sleep.)

My nose has not flattened during pregnancy, which means Girl.

My feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy, which means Girl.

I don't eat the heels of bread, which means Girl. (This is different than not eating the crusts of bread. Not eating crusts means that my hair won't be curly. My flat iron and I would like to have a long talk about how that bargain did not work.)

Dad-to-be has not been gaining weight along with me, which means Girl.

I did not have morning sickness early in pregnancy, which means Boy (because there's not as much estrogen in my system, I wasn't queasy).

I did not have morning sickness early in pregnancy, which means Girl (I had no new testosterone in my system, so I wasn't queasy).

People say that pregnancy has made me more attractive, which means Boy, because a girl would steal her mother's beauty. Do not even get me started on this one.

My boobs are noticeably larger, which means Girl.

I am craving fried food or seafood, but my options are only sweet or sour, so No Result.

I have been craving fruit more than I have been craving meat, which means Girl. Again, do not get me started. Why is meat masculine? Why can't I crave seafood, or cheese? Or butter?

My hands are extremely dry, which means Boy.

My hands are no drier than they usually are, which means Girl.

The result of this completely unscientific survey of various methods of ascertaining the sex of Bugbear runs like this:
Boy: 9
Girl: 11
No result: 3


*Q: Wait! Don't you mean "Bugbear's gender?!"
A: No! We mean Bugbear's sex! Sex is the biology of bits--penis, testicles, and no ovaries/uterus/vagina = boy. Ovaries, uterus, and vagina, but no penis/testicles = girl. Some of each = intersex. Gender is one of many ways that we create and live out our identities. I might choose to live in ways that get called 'feminine' even if my sex is male, and I might choose to prioritize my 'masculinity' even if my sex is female. I can also be a feminine woman or masculine man, or any of the millions of combinations between here and there. But we won't know what sort of gender Bugbear will prefer until s/he is out here and making his/her desires known! (Many people have written much better thoughts on this than I. Ask if you're interested.)

**These claims were prefaced by "I've never been wrong"

***Q: Wait! Why are you asking Data's Evil Twin from Star Trek about your child's sex?
A: We're not! Lore is another word for what many people call "Old Wives' Tales." We don't believe that knowledge traditionally belonging to women should be ridiculed or downplayed, though, so we use the term "lore" to refer to ideas that are handed down among groups, but that isn't written, codified, or authorized by contemporary science, business, or medicine.
Q: Are you seriously this nerdy all the time?
A: Absolutely.