Friday, 23 November 2007

Signs?

For those of you who have been following our journey will probably remember that most of the people who saw the Mrs’s tummy guessed that we are having a boy. Since majority of them are mostly parents or even grandparents already, it sort of prepared me mentally to get ready for a boy.

Nothing wrong with that except that we have not concluded on a name for him yet. A few more names have been thrown into the mix, names such as Josh; Jake; Hugh; Marc; Jude; Matt and even Joe. But if you leave it to the Mrs, she is still rather set on Kai. So if Baby is really a boy, the most inconvenient thing at hand is his name.

Anyway, interestingly the guesses recently are all leaning towards Baby being a girl. A rough ratio on the gender guessing then would have been about 90 – 10 being a boy. But today If we were to estimate it is probably about 60 – 40. Who knows, in a few weeks time it could even be 50 – 50 which means your guess is literally as good as mine and everyone has a 50% chance of being an expert in telling just by looking at the tummy.

In case you forgot, name wise we are all ready for a girl since we have already agreed on Kate.

So why the sudden change in peoples’ guesses? It seems the really traditional tell tale signs that these people are still relying on are becoming clearer.

Firstly, the Mrs’s already fair and good complexion did not take a turn for the worse. There was no unsightly pimple on her nose or anywhere else.

Secondly, neither her nose nor feet has grown any larger. They believe that this means there is no additional male hormones in her which will normally at least increase her shoe size one up by now. I was just commenting the other day that she was lucky in that she did not have to go out and buy bigger size shoes. We also heard that if she is carrying a boy then surely her nose will be gearing a little more towards Jackie Chan’s infamous nose. That is not the case so far.

I believe the most ‘convincing’ sign they are getting is from the tummy. Originally people are saying that it appears sharp and pointing towards the front hence it ought to be a boy. If it is a girl then the tummy growth would have been more evenly spread from the left to the right instead of concentrating on the front.

These days however the tummy although not growing from left to right is getting rounder and rounder. It actually looks like a ball to me and if it were to have stretch marks then it will really resemble a watermelon. Now I know why some people refer carrying a child to carrying a watermelon. I guess the first person who came up with the expression happened to be looking down at a lady with a very round tummy covered with stretch marks.


Since majority of you reading this blog are either experience mothers, aunts or godmothers, I have taken some never seen before pictures of the Mrs's tummy for your opinion (poll). For your benefit I have taken from the front as well as sides so hopefully you will be able to tell if it is sharp or round.


Oh, the prize for guessing correctly is only bragging rights!! And in case you are interested the measurement of the Mrs's tummy is now 95cm.

33 comments:

missmoon said...

hello!
judging from the pics, i'm guessing baby will be a girl.

when i was pregnant with my now 17 month old son, my nose didn't grow any bigger, neither did i have pimples. if anything, my complexion was at its best! and my tummy was small, only visible from front. couldnt tell i was preggie from the back.

cherylmummy said...

I also guess it's a baby girl.
My tummy at 25 weeks now also looks like this..with no pimples or acne on my face (only oilier).
The scans have shown I'm expecting a girl too.
Congratulations!

Nicole said...

Your mrs' tummy looks rather round to me but since I'm not an expert in guessing whether it's a girl or a boy even though I'm a mummy myself, I've better not comment. Haha..

In fact, my tummy looks alike like your mrs, just that mine seems slightly smaller. :)

Anonymous said...

I am pregnant with my boy now at 39 weeks. No pimples; my complexion, I must say, is at its best now. But oilier than before. My feet have grown 1 size bigger (dunno if it's the water retention or the hormone causing the bones to widen). My nose and face are a bit rounder due to water retention I suppose. My tummy is sharp with the belly button protruding out.

Coming back to your Mrs, it seems like her tummy is quite small. I was 7 months pregnant when my tummy was this size. My tummy ballooned when I went into my 3rd trimester.

Anyway, my guess is still a boy! Coz anything may still be possible. Not every pregnancy is the same. :)

Reaching my EDD 29 Nov is so near and yet so far. My boy has been playing "pranks" on me and my Mr with fake labour contractions these few nights! Every time we thought maybe it's the real thing and wanted to call the gynae, it just went away. Think you, like my Mr, will be very excited and anxious when you are nearing the finishing line. Keep it going and hope everything goes smoothly for u 2.

F A I T H said...

Hmmm... I'm guessing a boy too but I can't explain why. Hee... I had girls but my feet grew by 3 sizes in my last trimester due to water retention. My Mr almost wanted to get me a wheelchair! Anyway, I think diff MTBs display diff signs when preggie. So I'll just go with my gut feel - its a boy. ^.^

Nicole said...

I saw you putting up the photos of your mrs and I went to post up my tummy at 8th months too.

You go and see, do your mrs and mine kinda look alike?? :)

Anonymous said...

i think it's a girl!

Aces Family said...

Hi,

Interesting topic..well, to be honest, i would say some of the tell tale signs are no longer true..hee : )

Many people were guessing that my SIL was expecting a Baby Boy but she had a beautiful & lovely Baby girl.

so, important thing to me is always - Mrs is Happy and baby is healthy.

regards,
astee

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi All,

Thanks for your comments and feedback.

I know you have already left your vote in your above comments but I will appreciate it if you can vote on the actual poll at the top of my blog.

I actually had it up initially but there were some bugs and it had to be removed.

Looks like it is up again. So please go over there and vote.

That goes for you readers who follow this blog but do not like to leave comments.

Frankly it does not matter to us if Baby is a boy or a girl because I would really like to be a father to both genders.

Cheers

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi missmoon,

Any theory to support your guess? Don't worry I will not hold you to it. Just curious what are the things that we, the younger generations based on when we guess.

Seems like complexion is usually at its best during pregnancy ya?

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi cherylmummy,

Congratulations on your baby girl!

Decided on her name yet?

You take care ya? There is still a lot of growing for her to do.

Keeping reading.

Cheers

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi nicole,

Been to your blog and indeed your tummy and the Mrs's are very similar. With one exception and that is your belly button is protruding whereas the Mrs's is not.

My mother actually said that if the belly button is protruding then likelihood it will be a boy and vice versa.

So based on that theory, yours will be a boy and ours a girl. Ha Ha Ha

Your tummy does look a little smaller than the Mrs's so I am rather amazed that your baby is heavier than ours.

A Husband's Voice said...

Wow reishi,

I had no idea you are due so soon. 39 weeks huh?!!? You must be really excited.

We're into our 34th week and I am already very excited and anxious! Ha Ha Ha

Ah ha!! Belly button protruding!! My mum's theory is if it is protruding then it is a boy. Hmmmm..... I wonder if this means ours is a girl. Hmmmm.....

Ya, the Mrs is having a slightly smaller than average tummy and I think the reason is Baby is on the smaller side. Her tummy has grown by quite a bit in this last trimester and I believe there will still be some growing to go.

I can't imagine the fales alarms!! Being a first timer I honestly do not know how I will react.

Anyway you take great care and have a fast and easy birth!!

Do keeping reading and sharing during your confinement. I believe I can learn a lot from your experience.

Happy Birthing!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey I guess it's a girl juding from the pic.
Sometimes I think by looking at the tummy can be quite accurate.
I'm not sure but I'm carry a baby girl now and my tummy looks exactly the same as your watermelon pic.
And your Mrs has very nice tummy w/o scratch marks......Envy

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi monozygotic mum,

Frankly hats off to you and all the other mums out there who carried twins.

After this experience, both the Mrs and I wonder how do you all make it?!?!

I mean carry one is already quite a challenge in terms of moving about and especially going to sleep. We can't imagine if we are having twins!

See, wheelchair!!! I really can't imagine!

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi bebe,

Any support for your guess? Gut feeling or some scientific studies or traditional signs?

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi astee,

I think by now we all know that these tell tale signs are really not as accurate as our parents or grandparents believe them to be.

But the poll was all done in the name of fun.

So if you were to guess which would it be?

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Dareve,

Thanks for your vote. Another girl huh?! See, these days more people are guessing Baby is a girl!

Ya, the Mrs has been rather fortunate in that there is not a single stretch mark.

Maybe it is due to us having a smaller baby hence tummy not that stretched!

Nicole said...

Hi,

It could be due to my 'characteristics' during pregnancy. Cause during my first pregnancy, my tummy was even smaller!

Have you ever heard of 'keeping stomach'? According to many, it's that the pregnant lady keeps the stomach really well, that's why it's not revealing its pregnancy till very late stage.

As for the potruding bellybutton, it's not a norm for all??Err...I'm not sure on that..I've seen pregnant ladies with very potruding bellybuttons and I thought mine was rather 'normal'. Haha..

According to the gynae, as my tummy is small and my baby rather big, that's why I can feel the movements very vividly. I can feel the legs/hands/head on the right side and left side of my tummy all the time. I guess cause my baby doesn't have much space to move around in my tummy. Haha...

Does your mrs also feel the same thing??

Nicole said...

I think your mrs should. for keepsake. I didn't take much photos when I was carrying claire back then so I tried to take more this time round.

I've seen mothers taking photos of their tummies wearing bikini and posing it on motherhood forum to show off. Haha..So it's really a good idea for keepsake, to remember how you (your mrs) looks like when she's pregnant. :)

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi nicole,

No, I have no idea on what is 'keeping stomach'.
I don't think the Mrs did anything special to keep or hide her stomach.

I do not think that all pregnant ladies will have the belly button protruding.

As for Baby's movement, the Mrs is feeling it quite a lot. Sometimes I will stare at her tummy and I can see Baby's movement. Like a wave on her tummy or a very hard tug and one side of her tummy.

It really is quite amazing even experiencing it from the outside.

Nicole said...

Oh no, hahaha, I don't meant that your mrs or even myself did anything to keep or hide our stomachs! It's just that some ladies have this 'ability' to keep their stomachs. Actually, I'm not really sure myself either. heeee...I heard it from people who commented that when they realised that my tummy is very small when they know of the development of my pregnancy.

Ya, it's amazing. Especially when you're a first time daddy. For my hubby, I think it's nothing new to him so he's not overly interested to see. Haha

A Husband's Voice said...

Ha Ha Ha! Silly me! But hey, its my first time right?

Funny thing about Baby is whenever the Mrs asks me to take a look at her tummy, he / she will stop moving.

Then when I turn my attention back to the TV, the movement will start.

Its like playing hide and seek with me.

missmoon said...

hey, my belly button was protruding back then too. so maybe your mom is right?

i dunno, cos your mrs' tummy is quite rounded, i guess... hah.

another 4-6 wks to go! time really flies. getting excited for you already.

Anonymous said...

hmm... Mrs tummy looks pretty round judging from the photos and its compact too. i'm not good at guessing the gender based on the shape of tummy. i'm placing my bets on boy.

my skin complexion was at its best when i was preggie with my boy. and i've friends who have got very bad complexion when they were preggie with gals.

Unknown said...

i think it's a gal too. but beware tat stretch marks dun come until 3rd trimester. personal experience. the marks n the round tummy does make me feel like i'm carrying a watermelon. :(

A Husband's Voice said...

hi missmoon,

so yours is another case of my mum being right. Hmmm.....

Ya time really flies and I am getting anxious and excited.

The Mrs is so cool that we have not gotten everything yet.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi missy,

you are the minority these days when it comes to placing bets on Baby being a boy. Ha Ha Ha

Ya, we can throw the theory that carry boy will make the nose bigger and complexion worse out the window. Seems like so many mummies had the best complexion when carrying a boy.

A Husband's Voice said...

hi jj,

We are actually into our last trimester liao. We are not entering our 34th week so i think the Mrs's tummy should be pretty safe from stretch marks (knock on wood).

cherylmummy said...

Hi,

We've thought of the Chinese name but not the English name for the baby yet. First one is Cheryl (who's 3 yo now), second one may or may not have the name starting with C. Still searching though..

Come to think of it, my current one is showing all signs that I thought would be a boy. My tummy is pointed, unlike the first one which is rounded all over, I had a dark line down my tummy, no protruding belly button and little morning sickness.

Now I have no dark line down my tummy, a protruding belly button and horrible morning sickness, even feeling it till now.

Anyway, I also say it doesn't matter whether it's a boy or girl. Mine has been kicking very often so I hopy she will be a healthy bouncy baby who will receive lots of love from all.

I'm sure your baby will be very well-loved as well, seeing so much effort the daddy and mummy have been putting in. Take care and all the best!

The Miracle for Us - Baby Rylee said...

hi there

i am also a mom-to-be due in Jan 08. Wld like to refer to your posting abut your wifey's guess on how she's carrying a baby gal cos her feet size has nto increased (based on the assumption that a boy would make her feet grow). I'm expecting a baby gal and well, my feet size HAS increased...gotta go buy new shoes! Haha. So there goes another of your myth! :P

My guess is she's having a girl. :) Just a 50-50 guess for the fun of it.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi cherylmummy,

Sorry not not responding earlier. It seems the email facility to inform me of new comments is not working again.

Actually my other favourite name for a girl is Claire. So maybe you can consider that. My friend's daughters are Crystal and Claudia.

I think from your case, we can basically throw a couple of the myths out the window.

Take care of baby Claire. *wink* Ha Ha

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi there, Miracle for us, (any name?)

Welcome to A Husband's Voice and thanks for leaving your comment.

I think from my blog and some of the comments coming in, we can assume that most of these theories are really nothing but myths.

So another January baby huh?! You take great care and do keep reading ya?

Cheers