Not that I choose gender but I, too, was curious when I was pregnant with our 2nd baby. This made me compare my experiences in both pregnancies. And because people around us kept on guessing and telling us myths about baby genders, I couldn’t help but to see it for myself. So I listed some of the most popular pregnancy myths I’ve heard and read and explained below my experiences about each of them. 🙂
Please remember that this post doesn’t necessarily mean that these are true. I am not an expert and this is all based from my personal experience as someone who has given birth to a boy and a girl.
Myth #1: Carrying
Myth says boy, if your belly is low and hangs in front and girl, if your belly is high and in the middle.
My experience: True for me. My belly, when I was pregnant with Sapphire (our 2nd baby, girl), was bigger, higher and round. And it was the other way around when I was pregnant with Skyler (our 1st baby, boy). It was hanging in front and was low especially during the 3rd trimester, making it really hard for me to walk normally (duck walk, as they say).Â
Myth #2: Sweet Tooth
Myth says boy, if you’re craving sweet food and girl, if you’re craving sour food.
My experience: Not true for me. I don’t usually hear this from the people around us but some people still believe it. In my experience, it was the other way around, I didn’t like sweet food when I was pregnant with my boy. As a matter of fact, I hated it. I didn’t like tasty food. I craved for something sour for a few months and then looked for bland food. I liked soup with little to no taste at all. Is it weird? LOL. I don’t think so, I heard more weird stories than this. When I was pregnant with our 2nd, I really craved for something sweet. I could still remember asking Nico to look for a Toblerone chocolate in the supermarket before going home from work – this is so not me because I don’t like chocolates when I’m normal and not pregnant. 😀
Myth #3: Skin Condition
Myth says boy, if you are flawless and glowing and girl, if you have skin blemishes.
My experience:Â True for me. I don’t usually get pimples on a normal day but when I was pregnant with my girl, I noticed some skin blemishes and pimples in random days. Luckily, they’re not present throughout my pregnancy but they’re still annoying when they are very visible. My skin also looked tired and dull which also pushed me to look for a skincare routine that is safe for pregnant women. However, during my pregnancy with my boy, I got a lot of compliments about my skin. My skin also looked brighter than before.
While this is true for some, others believe the opposite. They say if you look glowing and stunning, it’s girl and if otherwise, it’s boy. I don’t know what to believe, actually but according to what I have read, you may be sharing your beauty with your girl that’s why you may be left with only few female hormones.
Myth #4: Baby’s heart rate
Myth says boy, if heartbeat rate is under 140bpm and girl, if above 140bpm.
My experience: True for me. As far as I can remember Skyler’s heartbeat when he was still inside my belly was around 138bpm and Sapphire’s was 155bpm. My best friend also told me about this and she was so excited when I told her, during my 2nd pregnancy, that baby’s heartbeat was 155bpm. She’d been telling me since then that the baby is girl. And she is! 😀
Myth #5: Morning Sickness
Myth says boy, if you have a little to no morning sickness at all and girl, if, of course, you have.
My experience: True for me. I know this is very normal to pregnant women. This is actually one of the symptoms that tells you you’re pregnant even before you take a pregnancy test. But as for me, during my pregnancy with my boy, I didn’t have morning sickness at all. It was like I was a very normal human being. I do remember, though, that I puked one time while at work and one time at home during our sleep (so weird) and that’s it. I was not nauseous, no fatigue, just a metallic taste in my mouth that wouldn’t go away until 3rd trimester. When I was pregnant with my 2nd, the metallic taste was still there plus freaking sickness. I also felt like I was always weak and sleepy – typical pregnant woman. But this all went away during the last 2 months of 3rd trimester.
Myth #6: Swollen Legs
Myth says boy, if you have swollen legs and girl, if you have little to none at all.
My experience:Â True for me. On my 8th month of pregnancy with Skyler, not only my legs, but also my hands, feet and face were all swollen. It was very uncomfortable. I almost got 2 sizes up in my shoe size. My nose was looking like a big tomato and my fingers were huge. Despite these changes, I didn’t feel like I have to be conscious with how I looked. In fact, I was feeling so happy with all these changes. It’s like a new me with a plus – a baby boy. With Sapphire, I did get pimples and dryer skin but my legs were not very swollen. There were times that they did swell especially when I ate too much salty food but they went back to normal after a day or two.
Myth #7: Mood
Myth says boy, if you are happy most of the time and girl, if you are moody.
My experience: True for me. While I was pregnant with Skyler, I felt like I was a normal person; a normal person who happens to have a bigger belly. I had no mood swing. Even though I was not ecstatic, I was happy and feeling positive. This is very much different from my experience with Sapphire. I was crying, angry, lonely, energetic. It felt like I had all the emotions you can think of. It was a very different experience as I know myself as the type of person who doesn’t encourage negativity. But I couldn’t control it. There was a time I got so scared that I wouldn’t be able to go back to my old self, my positive self. But hey, I got over it. And this is another story. 😀
Myth #7: You Hair
Myth says boy, if you have dull and thinner hair and girl, if you have more beautiful hair.
My experience: True for me. Have you heard about the “pregnancy glow”? That’s exactly how I felt when I was pregnant with Skyler. Nice skin and beautiful hair. Well, at least for me. 😀 I also got more compliments for it and I thought I would be able to keep it that way even after the pregnancy. Funny me. My soft and shiny hair did go away 3mos after giving birth to my boy. At least, I was able to experience it. LOL. On the other hand, with my baby girl, it was other way around. My hair was, most of the days, oily, dull and felt like thinner. But good thing, my normal, just-okay hair returned back after giving birth.Â
Myth #8: Appetite
Myth says boy, if you have a big appetite and girl, if otherwise.
My experience: Not true for me. For me, it was the opposite. I loved eating when I was pregnant with my baby girl. I really had a big appetite and liked trying different food. Too bad the food that I could eat was limited. When I was pregnant with my boy, I didn’t like eating at all. It felt like everything tastes the same. This might also be the reason why I gained more weight when I was pregnant with my girl and why it was hard for me to get back to shape post pregnancy,
These are the only ones I remembered but sure if you asked me about a myth (or fact) about baby gender and how I felt with it, I would be able say something. 😀 It was a fun journey to guess your baby’s gender especially when people around you are also excited to know it. Some people would even say that they hope it’s a girl this time so our “family is complete”. Well, I say, boy or girl (or even if they prefer other in the future), as long as we put family first, we are complete.
References:
https://www.huggies.com/en-us/tips-advice/celebration-planning/gender-prediction/17-old-wives-tales-to-predict-babys-gender
https://www.webmd.com/baby/features/predicting-baby-gender#1
https://www.newidea.com.au/symptoms-of-baby-boy-20-signs-you-are-pregnant-with-a-boy
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