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9 Old Pregnancy Wives Tales to Predict Gender

Don’t wait till 20 weeks to find out the sex of your baby! Try these 9 Old Pregnancy Wives Tales to Predict Gender you can do at home!

Pregnancy Wives Tales to Predict Gender

Pregnancy Wives Tales to Predict Gender

You did it – you’re pregnant! Once the shock and disbelief abate, your mind will be excitedly racing with all that is in store over the next 9 months.

Or more accurately, 18 years. When you’re not trying at home gender prediction tests you’re looking high and low for signs of the gender and hoping these pregnancy old wives’ tales are accurate.

I could never be one of the new moms that finds out the gender of the baby on their due date.

For generations, every pregnant woman has wanted to sex of their babies growing inside them. Their pregnancy symptoms turned into wives’ tales.

These days there is a blood test that can be done to predict baby’s gender. But I’ve heard the test isn’t always covered by insurance. So unless there’s a medical need or you want to pay out of pocket, you may still have to wait.

However cliche it may sound, when you down to it most folks just want a healthy baby. But most expectant parents still have a question invading their thoughts as they go through those first 16-20 weeks of pregnancy.

What am I having – a boy or girl? Gender determination is one of the many highlights of pregnancy that helps you to further connect with your unborn child. It also allows pregnant women to prepare for their baby’s arrival.

There is no scientific evidence to support that any of these common old wives tales are an accurate baby gender predictor. But these are some good fun ways a new mother can pass the time until her first baby arrives.

Pregnancy Wives Tales Backstory

During my first pregnancy, with Brady, I couldn’t wait to find out the gender. I did all the online gender quizzes I could find, consulted the Chinese Gender Calendar, and otherwise (impatiently) bided my time.

With my almost one year old, Colby, I just couldn’t sit around and wait. My husband wasn’t on board for any expensive tests or extra ultrasounds so I took to the internet and started doing some at home gender tests.

As I’m preparing for Colby’s first birthday party (it’s been a year already?), I’ve been looking through all of my old mementos from pregnancy.

I not only wanted to share with you the At Home Gender Tests I tried, like the baking soda test, but also all of the wives tales about baby gender I did during that pregnancy along.

And what would knowing what the tests be without finding out the results of my tests?! Below you’ll see all of the results so you can help decide your own stance on the accuracy of at home gender determination methods.

No two pregnancies are ever the same. Just because your symptoms suggested girl the first time it might not be true the next time.

9 Pregnancy Wives Tales to Predict Gender

1.Chinese Calender on Baby Gender

The Chinese Gender Calendar is an insanely popular resource for expectant women to find out the sex of their unborn babies.

And while the Chinese Gender Chart is not exactly a wives tale, it is a gender predictor that has been around for generations and claims to have a 90% accuracy rate. It’s super easy to try and a fun way for pregnant mamas to try and guess the sex of the baby.

In the chart below, find your month of conception. Then, your age at the time of conception. Hint, that may not be the same age you are right now.

chinese gender chart

2.  How You Carry the Baby Pregnancy Wives Tale to Predict Gender

Old wives tales say the shape of your pregnant belly can help with baby gender prediction. If you are carrying most of your belly up high, the baby is a girl. If your belly is hanging low, you’re carrying a boy.

Baby gender prediction through position seems pretty far-fetched to me as we all have a different body type. But I did carry both of my girls high and out in front, so this pregnancy myth proved true for me.

3.  Pregnancy Cravings

Do you know the saying that girls are sugar and spice and everything nice? Supposedly your food cravings are another way to determine gender.

A pregnant mom’s cravings for sweet things are supposed to mean she’s having a girl. And if it’s salty foods you crave, you’ll be expecting a baby boy.

The different old wives tales I read were split on sour foods. But more of them seemed to lean toward being pregnant with a boy.

This particular wives tale was 50/50 for me. I craved loads of sweets (donuts, pie, cake, etc) with my oldest.

However, with my youngest, I craved salty and spicy foods. Philly cheesesteaks dripping with queso and jalapeños, cheese enchiladas, and spicy mac and cheese were some of my go to foods.

gender of your baby with wedding ring test

4.  Wedding Ring Gender Test

For the ring test, place your wedding ring on a piece of string above your bump. The way the ring swings is supposed to determine gender.

Should the ring go from side to side, this means girl. If the ring spins in a circular motion, you’re supposed to be expecting a boy. My ring went from side to side with both girls.

5.  Drano test

For this gender prediction test, you need to collect a sample of urine in a cup, then mix with Draino. The resulting color is purported to be a gender indicator. Green = girl, blue = boy.

This is the one wives tale about baby gender that I didn’t do, so I don’t have any experience with how accurate this method is. If you’re not into the Drano test of mixing it up or trying to figure out the color (sometimes it’s really hard to tell), you can also try Intelligender.

You can check out my Intelligender test results here.

6.  Headaches Pregnancy Wives Tales to Predict Gender

Wives tales suggest that if you have headaches during pregnancy, this is a gender predictor you’re expecting a boy. No brain pulsing is supposed to mean it’s a girl. This was wrong for me – I had daily headaches during pregnancy with both of my girls.

baby’s heart rate old wives' tales

7.  Baby’s heart rate and gender

If the baby’s heartrate at your appointment was above 140 beats per minute, the wives tale says you’re having a girl. And below 140 beats per minute, means you’re sure to have a little boy.

This one was mostly true for both of my little girls. Their fetal heart rates, especially in the second trimester, were generally above 140. (I’m prone to worry so I invested in a doppler to check on the heartbeat and put my mind at ease between appointments.)

8.  Morning sickness

Did you know that your first early pregnancy symptom may reveal your baby’s gender? If you threw up every morning and got nauseous during your first trimester, you’re pregnant with a baby girl.

Did you have an iron stomach? Then the old wives’ tales say you’re expecting a baby boy.

Again, the opposite was true for me. I had zero morning sickness with either of my pregnancies.

9.  First words from last pregnancy

This last pregnancy wives tales for gender prediction is kind of unusual. It’s only meant for those with more than one child. That’s because this particular wives tale uses the first words of the child from your last pregnancy that are said to determine the gender of your baby.

I don’t know if sibling intuition exists but saying mama first means there’s a little girl in your future, while dada means boy. Here’s another one that tested true for me, my oldest said mama first and I did have a girl next.

10. (Bonus Pregnancy Wives Tale to Predict Gender) Dark line on your belly

Do you have a newly formed dark line running down your belly? In medical terms, this is known as linea nigra.

Where the line begins reportedly determines the sex of your baby. If it runs all the way down your belly, it’s a boy. If the line is only under your belly button, it’s a girl.

little girl or little boy at home gender tests

Are at home gender prediction tests accurate?

What’s the accuracy of gender prediction tests? Of the nine wives tales, I tried or was able to use eight of the methods of determination.

Of those eight, five and a half of the pregnancy gender tests were accurate (half a point on the craving one). As far fetched as some might sound, these wives tales to determine baby’s sex seem pretty accurate to me.

Have you tried any of these pregnancy wives tales for gender prediction methods? What kind of results did you have? Did you try any of these Pregnancy Wives Tales to Predict Gender that worked?!

Not pregnant yet? Make sure you check out my trying to conceive kit and pin this post for later!

old wives’ tales for baby’s gender
baby girl or baby boy find out sex of your baby

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