Old Wives Wednesday: The Gambler's Version

Those of you who know me well must be stunned I'm not finding out gender this time around.

I mean, I am a FINDER OUTTER OF THINGS.

I am a planner, doer, procurer, FINDER OUTTER OF THINGS.

So hey.  I thought I'd throw you off.  Mix it up a little.  Don't find things out this time around.  And we've made it 31 weeks of non-finding out (made even more impressive by the fact that at 36 I'm "advanced maternal age", so I got all kinds of fun tests at my 12 week appointment that indicated gender.

And I am not a finder outter of things!

But I have firmly and impressively entered that "she's clearly pregnant and not chubby" stage in a STRONG way, and now you all?  You all have opinions on this baby's gender..

Hell, I have opinions on this baby's gender.

So, it is officially time to test the interwebs, and get it all out there like I did in the last two pregnancies with an "Old Wives Wednesday" and test all those gender indicators (and some more that I found this time around).

Forget science, this is internet research ya'll.

So here:

1)  Not OW Tale, but Mom's Gut:  I'll start by prejudicing you.  I spent 28 weeks not wavering from the thought that this baby is a BOY.  Clearly, no wavering, boy feelings.  I "felt" the correct genders both of my other pregnancies.  So there's that.

But here's the rub:  girl inklings are creeping in with a vengeance.  And I'm sure when I tabulate the old wives tales at the end of this one, I'm going to be even more confused. 

So let's count that one as Boy 1-Girl 0

2)  From my Robbie pregnancy, we tried these:  "So today, thanks to our friends over at iVillage, we'll take a look at some of the old wives tales predicting a baby boy. I've bolded and italicized those that are "true". Next week, we'll do girls, and the week after that, we'll do the "ring" test"...

• You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy. (Knock on wood, no booting really.  Well, there was that one time with the purple Gatorade.  So we'll count this as a pretty no nausea pregnancy.  Boy 2- Girl 0

• Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute. (We're usually between 155 and 165, consistently from the first appointment.)  Boy 2- Girl 1

• You are carrying low.  I'm decidedly not carrying low.  At least I don't think I am.  See picture below.  You mock picture below, you will be sorry.  Boy 2- Girl 2

• You are craving salty or sour foods. You are craving protein -- meats and cheeses.  I am lumping these two together because I'm craving MEATY MEATY SALTY MEAT.  Namely, bulgogi subs.  Hence Baby Edwards being now nicknamed "Baby Bulgogi".  No meaningful sweet tooth to speak of.  Boy 3-Girl 2.
• Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy.  Nope Nope Nope.  I'm a sweaty hot-box. This clearly has nothing to do with the fact that it is the middle of May and 90 degrees outside.  Boy 3- Girl 3.
• Your hands are very dry.  Nope.  No more than usual.  Boy 3-Girl 4.
• Pregnancy has you looking better than ever. I will see this is the one that has swung me back in the girl direction over the last 3 weeks.  I LOOK LIKE CRAP.  I have weird peel-y gross pimply skin patches on my face.  I have zits galore.  The OW tale is that girls steal your beauty.  IF this is a girl, she's doing it with a vengeance.  Boy 3- Girl 5.
• You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an even number. (36 plus 11!)  Nope.  Odd number.  Boy 3- Girl 6

So now let's get on to the wacky ones.

3)   The Ring Test: The only gender predicting Old Wives Tale I had actually heard about before getting pregnant.   The process: take a pin, needle or wedding ring and attach it to a strand of hair or string. Hold over mom's baby. Pendulum movement = boy; circular motion = girl.  The materials:  dental floss.  Safety pin.  I may have done this one wrong with said materials, but it was strongly circular.  Boy 3- Girl 7

4)  The Garlic Test: The gist of the tale: They say that if you eat a clove of garlic, and the smell comes out through your pores then you are having a boy. If no garlic is detected then you are having a girl.   So, I think eating a clove of garlic is revolting.  But I did eat a salmon lavash yesterday that reeked of garlic.  And then I reeked of garlic for 6-7 hours.  I think I consumed 11 Altoids to mitigate said garlic.  Unsuccessfully.  So score one for boy.  Boy 4-Girl 7

5)  Mood Changes:  Clearly this is a gender stereotyping red flag, but more emotional = more likely to be girl.  I think I've maybe had one cry this pregnancy.  And it has been a stressful time.  So I'm not going to poll Shawn on this one, and just will declare myself officially NOT MOODY. 
Boy 5-Girl 7.

6)  How are you carrying?  If you're carrying baby in front, its a boy. Is the baby weight spaced all around your over? It's a girl. - My bedonk was healthy as it was, and hasn't grown.  I feel like I'm mostly belly.  But maybe that's just my perception? I'll score this one boy.  Boy 6- Girl 7.

Finally, my favorite, the one that isn't an Old Wives Tale at all:  What does Usman the hot dog cart guy think.  I mean he's a total stranger.  The provider of my caffeine free sodas that he buys just for me.

And Usman?  He thinks VERY STRONGLY it's a girl.

So that's Boy 6- Girl 8.

Well, damn.  There goes my STRONG boy feelings. 

What do you think?   Other than it looks like there's a 42 pound baby in there and paisley isn't flattering.

What old wives' tales am I missing?