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Daddy Diaries: The Guessing Game

ExpertsPost Category - ExpertsExpertsPost Category - PregnancyPregnancy

Gendergate has finally come to an end. The saga, downgraded from scandal in recent weeks, culminated at the 4D scan last week. As during the last scan, for health and safety reasons (my own) I kept my mouth shut when the midwife asked if we wanted her to determine the sex during the scan. To my surprise B told her in no uncertain terms that we will definitely be waiting until the baby is born to find out! Up until that point I was genuinely prepared to find out at any moment and had made peace with the fact that the decision lay with the ebb and flow of B’s pregnancy induced hormones. I was so happy to hear those words, and not just because the campaign to convince B we should wait was a success (yesss!!), but because I can’t stand uncertainty and it looks like a decision has been made that ‘we’ will be sticking to. Friends who have been itching to know whether to buy a pink or blue babygro will have to wait another three months, unless of course they bribe M with a Michelin star meal – she still has the envelope with the baby’s sex written inside! I should probably ask her to burn it before everyone ends up knowing before I do.

According to the interweb, 4D scans are moving 3D images of your baby, with time being the fourth dimension. Really?!?! Surely time passes when the 3D images are taken, AND when you are looking at them? I don’t buy it – just another bit of clever marketing in the multi-billion dollar maternity-industrial complex if you ask me. But you didn’t ask me, no-one did, and B has cautioned me against making anti-consumerism rants in this post, so I’d better rein it in and stop there. The truth is that the scan was yet another heart-tugging milestone in the pregnancy journey and I would recommend it to anyone who has access to a clinic with the technology.

Apparently the baby was just as sceptical as I was about because it refused to stay still long enough for the midwife to get a clear shot! She said it was the most active baby she has ever seen. This is the first proper compliment I had received about my child and I have to admit my head swelled, I felt like a very proud dad. On the rare occasion there was an opportunity for a good shot, the baby kept sticking its hand in front of its face like a celebrity shielding themselves from the paparazzi after a night of heavy drinking and twerking. An hour into the scan we had a couple of decent head-shots for the baby’s portfolio and the midwife decided to throw in the towel. Despite all the movement, we were struck by the look of absolute bliss on the baby’s face. Bobbing around in that warm amniotic fluid 24/7 is a beautiful contrast to life in Hong Kong. Enjoy it while it lasts, baby…

Now that Gendergate is over, the guessing game is in full swing. I still think it’s a girl (two dreams so far) but boy seems to be the odds-on favourite among friends and family, and even more so since releasing the recent images. It’s funny – as soon as people know you won’t be relying on technology to get the answer, all the traditional methods of determining the sex come out of the woodwork. Here are a few we have heard so far:

  • Pointy belly = boy, round belly = girl (China)
  • Round belly = boy, pointy belly = girl (Ireland, although this could easily be my mum getting confused)

B’s was pointy for the first few months but has become distinctly round in the last couple of weeks.

  • Dark line down the tummy = boy (China)

B definitely has one of these and a couple of Chinese friends are therefore convinced it is a boy.

  • Mother gets more beautiful during pregnancy = girl, because the baby amplifies her feminine powers (Thailand)
  • Mother gets uglier during pregnancy = girl, because the baby saps mother’s feminine powers (Vietnam)

As I have blogged before B has glowed throughout her maternity and is getting more beautiful every day, so I think the Thais must be right!

Some people resort to predicting the sex based on nothing more than what they expect you to have –  “I have always thought you guys would have a boy” or “Based on you and B’s personalities it must be a girl”.

I will sign off with an incredible image of our midwife-certified most active baby in town, courtesy of recent advances in pre-natal technology. Now you can join in the guessing game too!

baby

There’s more from the Daddy Diaries plus plenty of gorgeous gift inspiration on the BaoBae Blog!

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