If you had a feeling about the gender of your baby while pregnant...

[scrappyhappymama]

Were you right?

 

By "have a feeling" I mean that you believed you knew what the gender was, not whether you had any gender preferences or feelings about gender at all.

 

I'm curious, because I have a very strong intuition about the gender of the baby I am currently carrying. I've never felt this way in previous pregnancies. And no, I don't believe this feeling is swayed by a preference for one gender over the other. I am actually rather ambivalent about that. We have all boys now, and another boy would suit us just fine and frankly be less disruptive to our household. I'd be delighted to have a girl and have the opportunity to raise a daughter, but there's a decent chance this is our last baby and I'd always hoped to have two girls if we had any, so she wouldn't be the only girl. So as far as preference, I'll be excited and thrilled either way, but I really am not preferring one over the other.

Edited January 6, 2012 by scrappyhappymama

[BakersDozen]

Always right with my boys, always wrong with my daughters (except for #1...I knew my first would be a girl for some odd reason). :)

[Amira]

The ultrasound said my first would be a girl, but I never felt totally comfortable with that. People kept telling me I would have a boy too, and I would dream about having a boy. We found out the ultrasound was wrong when he was born.

[Scarlett]

This made me smile remembering....when I was pregnant with my ds...my only child....I was 34 years old. I STRONGLY felt he was a girl. I dreamed vividly that he was a girl. I could see the blonde hair and blue eyes (I have dark hair and dark green eyes :glare:). I could see the baby girl swimming in water and peering at me.

 

Then I read an article..an obscure paper published by someone at Johns Hopkins....that said that more educated the mother to be is the more likely she is to be correct about her feeling about the sex of baby.

 

:glare: Clearly, Scarlett here....uneducated.

 

I even contacted the person at Johns Hopkins and she MAILED me a copy of the study. (email and electronic copies were fairly new then).

 

In my case, I guess it was proven true...I am not educated....and I was wrong. Mostly I think that is a bunch of bunk. I think I really wanted a girl and had a 50/50 shot of being correct in my thinking.

[MrsMommy]

With three of my five, I knew for sure, and I was right with all of them.

 

The big exception was my first pregnancy...I had absolutely no clue at all, so I would have been surprised no matter what I found out!

 

With this pregnancy, I kind of thought it was a girl, but I was afraid that was just wishful thinking on my part, so I didn't have the same certainty I did with the middle three pregnancies. It turns out I was right, though!

[classicHSmom]

I've been wrong each and every time! My joke is that if I want to guess correctly then I have to go against my instinct.

[bluemongoose]

I knew my first was a girl and my second was a boy. I even started sewing dresses for my DD in the first trimester (before the ultrasound) the first pregnancy. And with the second pregnancy I was buying boy clothes when I was only 8 weeks along because I knew he was a boy . DH thought I was crazy, but he went along with it. With my third I had no idea whatsoever! I didnt even try to guess. Everyone was shocked that I had no idea since I knew for certain with the first 2 and was correct. I am pregnant with my 4th right now. I had an inkling that it was another boy. I was not sure though, not like with the first 2. It is (according to the ultrasound) another boy.

 

So Scarlett, if it is based on intelligence, I must be getting dumber:lol:.

[JenniferB]

5 for 5. I knew them all, gender included, very well before they were born, even the one we lost to infection at 14 weeks.

[scrappyhappymama]

Scarlett- I was really intrigued by the study you mentioned. So I've been digging around online for a little while and found it! It's funny because they have no real explanation for the disparity.

 

It also would not be applicable to me, because I have had all my children after finishing my degree, but had no particular predictions with the earlier pregnancies, so obviously education did not help me in those instances.

 

Here it is, in case anyone else is interested as well:

http://www.jhsph.edu/bin/o/w/sexprediction.pdf

 

And by the same publication, a study that supports that pregnancy heartburn and newborn hair are related:

http://www.jhsph.edu/bin/g/w/heartburnhairfinal.pdf Ha!

[Scarlett]

Scarlett- I was really intrigued by the study you mentioned. So I've been digging around online for a little while and found it! It's funny because they have no real explanation for the disparity.

 

It also would not be applicable to me, because I have had all my children after finishing my degree, but had no particular predictions with the earlier pregnancies, so obviously education did not help me in those instances.

 

Here it is, in case anyone else is interested as well:

http://www.jhsph.edu/bin/o/w/sexprediction.pdf

 

And by the same publication, a study that supports that pregnancy heartburn and newborn hair are related:

http://www.jhsph.edu/bin/g/w/heartburnhairfinal.pdf Ha!

 

So funny. I have a hard copy of that study somewhere in ds's baby stuff.

 

I was interested in it way back then because I had always been so in tune with my own body. I dreamed vividly, I 'felt' things so strongly....looking back though I just see it as a demonstration of how badly I wanted a girl. Typing those words seems weird now...a betrayal....because my son is everything to me.

[Kertie]

I was sure with all 3 early on and was right each time.

 

I don't remember what made me so sure the first was a boy, but--this comes into play later, and feel free to laugh;), but early on, before I'd even told people, I was at work (teaching) and smelled cinnamon. *cue laughter* NO ONE else could smell it. I went home and told dh I needed French toast:lol:.

 

With dd, I just remember being frantic (at 7 weeks pg!:lol:) about not having ANY girl names, because I just KNEW she was a girl.

 

With my youngest, early on, before I told people, I was at work...you know what's coming...yup, I smelled cinnamon. Different classroom than the first, and, again, no one else smelled it. I was sure he must be another boy, although the joke amongst the few people that knew about my weird cinnamon thing;) was wondering whether that meant "boy" or "red hair" based on the oldest. My youngest was born...another boy with red hair.

 

Interestingly, I've never once been right about guessing the gender of my friends' babies.

[bnrmom]

Absolutely knew without a doubt my first was a boy, and I was right. Thought my second was a girl, but not as strongly. Even had a girl dream, and I wasn't really hoping for a girl. But it was a boy!

[MamaSheep]

I was right about both of mine. I kept telling myself there was no way to know beforehand and I'd better go ahead and pick out both a boy name and a girl name for each, but with ds I never could think of a girl name I liked, and with dd I loved a girl name but could never be satisfied with a boy name. With this current pregnancy I have no "feeling" one way or the other at this point. I do have a small "feeling" that it's twins, but it's most likely paranoia related to the fact that my sister had twins a couple of years ago (they are a pair of little scamps, too, and really keep her hopping; she has a darling photo of one trying to flush the other down the toilet, just for example).

[Amber in AUS]

I had a VERY strong feeling with my first and I was completely wrong. Lucky i didn't buy anything that colour just incase LOL. I never had a feeling with the other 3.

[akmommy]

With my first I knew she was a girl by 6 months. I had dreamed it and everyone else was telling me she was a girl.

 

Younger Dd had me baffled.

 

I knew DS was a boy because I had no morning sickness with him. My mom had three boys with no morning sickness and then had horrible morning sickness with me.

[katiejane]

I really felt #3 would be a girl and she was.

 

Dh prayed before we had any children, when we were struggling to concieve. God showed him we would have a boy and then a girl. He was right. :D

[Melissa in Australia]

I thought I knew my 2nd ds was a girl, the pregnancy was so different to the first. I was so sure that I sewed lots of girl clothes.

[littlebug42]

I don't know if I had a feeling or if it was overshadowed by what I wanted. I wanted girls, honestly, and that is what I got. My dh however was convinced both times that I was having girls. He was convinced through both pregnancies that I was having girls.

[Impish]

Right all 5x :D

[Joyofsixreboot]

We never found out and I was wrong with my guess every single time. So much for my intuition.

[PrincessMommy]

Were you right?

 

By "have a feeling" I mean that you believed you knew what the gender was, not whether you had any gender preferences or feelings about gender at all.

 

I'm curious, because I have a very strong intuition about the gender of the baby I am currently carrying. I've never felt this way in previous pregnancies. And no, I don't believe this feeling is swayed by a preference for one gender over the other. I am actually rather ambivalent about that. We have all boys now, and another boy would suit us just fine and frankly be less disruptive to our household. I'd be delighted to have a girl and have the opportunity to raise a daughter, but there's a decent chance this is our last baby and I'd always hoped to have two girls if we had any, so she wouldn't be the only girl. So as far as preference, I'll be excited and thrilled either way, but I really am not preferring one over the other.

 

With my first 5 I had some small inkling but I don't even remember if I were right or wrong. It was very small and I didn't pay it much attention. With my last I had a very strong feeling he was a boy. I even only found only a boy's name. I was right. I did have a preference because I knew he was our last and I really didn't want to deal with girl drama anymore. :001_smile:

[Rivka]

I had a strong feeling during my second pregnancy that I was carrying a boy, and I was. My friend who was pregnant at the same time had the same strong feeling that she was carrying a boy, and she wasn't. So between the two of us, mother's intuition batted .500 - same as random chance.

 

When I was pregnant with my first, I was waiting at a bus stop when a man walking by pointed to my belly and said, definitely, "Girl." He was right. He told me he always knows. I was wearing a long coat buttoned up to my chin, so I don't know how he could even see how I was carrying. That was weird!

[dm379]

For my dd the morning after conception I woke up and told dh "I'm pregnant, it's a girl and her name is Abigail." I was right. We're positive it was conception day because it was the only weekend I saw dh for months both before and after. That evening my mother told me she dreamed I was pregnant with a girl.

 

For my ds my MIL called me telling me she dreamed I had a little boy. I tested later that day and sure enough, surprise pregnancy. I knew right away it was a boy.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I knew my first was a boy, Everyone thought I was silly because I was so sure. Even bought clothes and kept them hidden. Sure enough it was a boy.

 

God told me, back in 1992, I would have 3 boys and a girl. When I got pg after my 3 boys I knew it was a girl...and it was.

[Chava_Raizel]

Yes, I've always known whether it was a boy or girl and I'm always right. I even knew when I was pregnant with twins that they were both boys.

 

I've also been known to be able to tell what other people are having. I have to see them in person in order to do it, but I just have a weird sense about it. I have no idea how I know, but I do and I'm nearly always right.

[DawnM]

Yes, in fact, BEFORE I even got pregnant the first time, I once told DH something like, "Well, when you and the boys do xxxxxx....." or something like that.

 

He looked at me and said, "We aren't having any girls?"

 

Nope! And we didn't!

 

Dawn

[Mommy_of_4]

I was right with all 3. I just had a feeling about 8 weeks or so.

[Murmer]

Ds's birthmother really thought she was having a girl, but he's a boy.

[Lawana]

Even before dh and I were married, we made a list of our children's names. Girl, boy, girl, girl.

 

Sure enough, we had a girl, then a boy. But then we stopped. I was a few months shy of 40, and dh a few months shy of 47. We both felt too old to have more. To this day, however, dh will tell anyone who listens that if we were to have gotten pregnant again, it would have been twin girls.

[stripe]

I was right every time, and I read some article that claimed women who have a feeling are usually right.

 

My relatives are into these things were you wave something on a thread. I refused to do those.

[BamaTanya]

I've been wrong each and every time! My joke is that if I want to guess correctly then I have to go against my instinct.

 

Wow! I'm 0 for 5, too!!! :lol: My kiddos get a big kick out of how wrong I was each time!

 

I did have one interesting dream, however. When expecting number 2 (after already having a girl and feeling like I was having another), I dreamed I was in delivery and had one boy (and told dh we'd go with his favorite name) . . . and then another (and was so happy I'd get to use my favorite!) . . . and then another. TRIPLET boys. :D In my dream, I said, "What will we name this little guy?"

 

#2 was a boy. 2 years later we had another. And 2 years later we had another. Yes, we used our respective favorite names. :D

[BamaTanya]

No. I thought I had a feeling both times, and both times I was wrong!

 

My grandmother, however, had a knack for predicting gender. Whenever she'd find out that one of the family was pregnant, immediately she'd say, "Oh, it's a boy!" or, "Oh, it's a girl!" I can't remember her ever getting it wrong. It was weird.

 

I went to church with a lady like that. She was a tiny (less than 5 feet) old African American lady who had been Nanny to several generations of a wealthy family in town. She would just look at a pregnant woman and tell what the baby was. In a quiet way. I remember when she hugged me and said, "I can't wait to see that granddaughter."

 

She was always right!

 

I miss that sweet lady. She was an angel.

[JudoMom]

Always right with my boys, always wrong with my daughters (except for #1...I knew my first would be a girl for some odd reason). :)

 

I knew my first would be a girl, too. Oops!

[Dustybug]

I had a feeling all three times and was right every time. :)

[Parrothead]

I knew what dd was before the ultrasound. I have this weird ability to know the sex of a baby. I'm right 99% of the time. I may argue it differently if I want it to be something different - like if a mom has several of one and wants the other I may want it for her too. But deep down I know my wanting it doesn't change it.

[ladydusk]

I never "knew" or felt like I knew ... but I only had a girl name I liked with my girls and a boy name with my boy.

[MathGirl]

Out of my 3 pregnancies, the only time I felt I knew what the gender of the baby was, I was wrong. I was totally shocked at the ultrasound.

[happyhomemaker]

I had no idea with my first, but I was positive about the genders of the next two. When the ultrasound tech told me, I probably didn't seem excited enough to them just because it was like someone telling me something I already knew.

 

I heard somewhere that 80% of women who have a strong feeling are correct, but I don't known if that's true or not.

[dirty ethel rackham]

We never found out the sex ahead of time - dh was adamantly opposed to that. With my first, I had a feeling we were having a boy and, that he was. With my second, I had a strong feeling it was a girl. So much so, that when I was stocking up before the birth, as I approached the checkout counter, I noticed I had a cart full of pink stuff. I had to go put it all back and get neutral colored stuff. We ended up having a boy. With my third, dh related a dream to me (something he NEVER does) that he was a dad to 3 boys. So, I was all prepared to have a boy - partially to prepare myself to not be disappointed as this was to be our last baby and I wanted to focus on what a blessing this baby would be. When she was born and they said "It's a girl", it was the ice-cream on the cake. I didn't know how badly I wanted a girl until I had one. You know the saying ... "A son is a son until he takes a wife. A daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life."

[desertmum]

I always knew I was having a boy. There was a blanket policy in our area and parents were not told the sex of the baby so I had nothing to confirm this. I wasn't tempted to look at pink stuff and I didn't have any girl's names picked up.

 

BTW, I have a high-school degree but nothing else, but I read a lot.

 

The funny thing is that I read the research about mum's heartburn and baby's hair and there must be something true because I had no heartburn and my baby was nearly bald.

[abacus2]

I had a strong feeling only with my second and was right. Mil was sure she would be a boy and I was sure she was wrong. My mom was wrong every time, 0 for 4.

[Audrey]

I was wrong about my own, but I have an amazing track record when it comes to predicting other people's babies. I'm almost never wrong. I don't have any tricks or anything, just a 'feeling' about it.

[Scarlett]

I was wrong about my own, but I have an amazing track record when it comes to predicting other people's babies. I'm almost never wrong. I don't have any tricks or anything, just a 'feeling' about it.

 

Are ya educated?

[Myeightkiddies]

I was right some of the time, and I was wrong some of the time. 50/50 chance, of course, so it was hit/miss.

[meggie]

I was absolutely convinced Pigby was a girl. Had dreams about a girl and everything. My mom and grandma even bought some pink things. Didn't find out until the 28th week appointment that he was a boy. I spent the entire day in a haze going, "I don't know what to do with this" because I'm a girly girl and while I have two brothers, I don't know how to relate to boy things.

 

With Digby, I kept saying it was a boy because I was secretly hoping for a girl and didn't want to admit it.

 

With baby girl, I kept saying it was a boy (we didn't have an ultrasound with her, we found out when she was born) because I knew it was my last and by that point had figured it didn't matter either way. I didn't have any health scares or concerns during that pregnancy, but I was just more nervous and I REALLY just wanted that baby to be born healthy.

[MinivanMom]

I've always had a strong feeling about my baby's gender . . . and I've always been wrong. Four pregnancies and I've been wrong every.single.time. I'm getting a sonogram for #5 next week, so we will see if I'm wrong again.

 

Honestly, I am a type-A planner. I think my "feelings" about gender have always been more about which gender I wanted in order to build some sort of perfect family. I've been forced to learn to be more flexible and I am very happy with the genders I have.

[Cinder]

The only one I had a feeling about is my middle child. The oldest and youngest--I had no idea. But with my second child, I felt sure it was a boy. I didn't even consider girls' names. Dh wanted to discuss names; I cut him off. I said this baby is a boy and this is his name. I was right. I don't know why I was so sure, but I was.

 

ETA: Interestingly, ds2 was the only one where I didn't have an ultrasound. With the other 2 I had an u/s (even though I was 36 weeks w/ds1) and found out.

Edited January 6, 2012 by Cinder

[JeneralMom]

I have to admit, I never had a feeling about any of the four. However, DH is 4 for 4. When we went in for sono for #2 we were told we were having a girl. DH was absolutely not convinced and kept telling the sonographer that it was a boy. She leaned in and whispered to me that some men were "just like that" and he would "learn to love this little girl". Well, I had a partial placenta previa so I had to go back later in the pregnancy to see if it had moved and a different sonographer kept checking the chart, then the monitor, then the chart, and finally said "well, your daughter seems to have grown a penis and testicles." DH was vindicated. He also knew #3 was a girl and he had a strong feeling #4 was a girl too eventhough we waited until birth to find out with her (well, she had her cord between her legs the time we tried to check).

[gingersmom]

With my first (a girl) everyone told me it was a boy. Only my father and myself believed it to be a girl.

 

With my son I knew from the moment I found out I was pregnant it was a boy. I was so sure that I began knitting a blue baby blanket. When the doctor was telling me to push (and I was screaming in pain) so I could find out the sex of my child I told him I didn't need to push I already knew it was a boy.

[MeaganS]

My first I wanted to be a girl, so that might have influenced me, but I was right!

 

My second, I wanted to be another girl, but was sure was going to be a boy. It was a girl!

 

My third, I really wanted to be another girl, but I had no idea really, and the latest ultrasound says it is although it was difficult to tell and I'm not holding my breath.