One of the questions that I’m most commonly asked is whether my current pregnancy (baby boy) is different from my first pregnancy with Chloe. Honestly, they could not have been more different. I know medical professionals say old wives tales about carrying boys and girls is utter nonsense, however I’m a firm believer that there is no smoke without fire and some of these myths were 100% true to me. Also, it’s just a bit of fun! Let’s not take life too seriously.

When I was pregnant with Chloe, I never found out the sex of the baby until D-Day or B-Day as it were, however my initial gut instinct was that it was a girl. On this current pregnancy I was convinced from the start that we were having a boy, I felt so different and my gut instinct insisted that we would be shopping for baby blue in March. We did find out at 17 weeks and my suspicions were confirmed. So now, gut instinct aside, let’s look at the old wives tales and see which were applicable to me.

Old Wives Tales:

1. Morning Sickness: They say baby girls cause more nausea and ‘morning’ sickness than baby boys. I say ‘morning’ because as pregnant ladies will know, it can happen at any time of day. This was 100% true for me. With Chloe, I was so nauseous and sick in the first trimester, I couldn’t look at dinners, my fridge was constantly stocked with ginger ale, I had a stock pile of salty crackers beside the bed to help me get up in the morning and there were a number of work meetings that I would have to excuse myself from and leg it to the bathroom. This lasted up until week 13. With this current pregnancy, I have not been sick or or badly nauseous at all. My eating has not been affected in the slightest and there was only one occasion where I actually got sick (on week 13), however I think that was due to something I ate, certainly not morning sickness. 
2. Salty vs Sweet: They say your cravings really differ when carrying a girl or a boy. Again, I would have to agree with this to an extent. With Chloe, all I wanted was sugar. Particularly sweets like Starburst! Initially, savoury food absolutely turned my stomach and there were numerous dinners that I attended where I just stared at my plate not being able to manage a single bite and had to focus on not vomiting. With this pregnancy I actually have had no real cravings, I just ate as I normally would but I have had no food aversions either except for roast chicken and asparagus… Strange, I know!
3. Soft or dry hands: They say if your hands are dry during pregnancy, it’s a sign you’re carrying a boy and if your hands are soft, you’re carrying a girl. I didn’t notice my hands being any softer with Chloe, however my hands have been dryer this time. I feel this is due to the fact that I’m pregnant during the winter though, and naturally you’re hands are dryer, right? So I can’t really back this myth.
4. Girls steal their mothers beauty: They say your skin is more likely to break out when pregnant with a girl, this was definitely true for me. My skin broke out quite often and even towards the end I had to avoid wearing makeup where possible. This time around, no breakouts so far and it’s week 31. They say baby boys give you that beautiful pregnancy glow… sadly, nobody has told me this but I have been told that I look very well, so I’ll take that!
5. Does your bump hang low? Then they say you’re having a boy. Carrying high, expect to have a girl. Again, very true for me. My bump was so high with Chloe and this caused such bad rib pain and back pain due to her feet being nestled behind my ribs. My bump is so much lower this time, no bad rib pain or back pain at all. Maybe this is due to a lower centre of gravity, who knows?
6. Carrying all to the front? They say if the baby weight is all to the front then it’s a boy, where as if you’re carrying a girl the weight is spaced out around the middle. I believe this is true for me. On both pregnancies I didn’t gain a lot of weight anywhere, it’s mostly been just bump, although I feel like this pregnancy I am narrower with everything to the front.
7. Pendulum Test: They say if you hold a chain with a pendant over your palm/or bump (I’ve read about people doing both), the pendant will swing back and forth for a boy and in a circle for a girl. I think this is absolute BS, we tried this and depending on who was holding the chain, it would impact on how the pendant swung.
8. Baby’s Heartbeat: At doctors visits you will be told the baby’s heart rate. There’s an old wives tale that suggests that if it’s over 140 it’s a girl, and under it’s a boy. Chloe’s heart rate was always over 140 and when I went for one of my first GP checkups this time it was 130. I explained the old wives tale to the doctor and he straight out laughed at me, which is absolutely fair enough since there is no evidence to back any of this up. Maybe it was a coincidence but again for me, those old wives were right!
9. Breast size: They say if your right breast is bigger than you’re having a girl and if you’re left is bigger then you’re having a boy. I can’t say this applies to me, but I will say that with Chloe my boobs went huge really quickly, where as this time it was very gradual over months. My pregnancy bras that I bought right away with Chloe didn’t fit me until I was about 5 months pregnant..

Honestly, being pregnant this time around has been a doddle, and I’m extremely grateful for that because I absolutely don’t know how I would manage a toddler and feel as bad as I did during the first pregnancy. There really is no science to back any of this up, so take it with a pinch of salt…or sugar if you prefer!