Friday, June 6, 2008

The Old Wives' Tale of the Heartbeat.

My first two pregnancies were completely different from one another. From the symptoms I had, I would have sworn I was having the opposite sex.

With Ella, I craved Salty. With Allison, I craved sweet.
With Ella, I had stringy hair. With Allison, it glowed.
With Ella, my nails suffered. With Allison, I could have been a hand model.
With Ella, I was barely sick. With Allison, puking was on the daily schedule.
And it went on and on, always being the opposite.

The only thing that was the same throughout both was a high heartbeat. Both heart rates clocked in at 160bpm at 12 weeks.

The Old Wives' Tale of the heartbeat says over 140bpm = girl and under 140bpm = boy. It's worked for me so far, so I'll probably look to this again.

BUT ...

It's too early now. Right now, the heart has just formed within the last week and started pumping. Before 7 weeks, the HR should be over 100. After 7 weeks, the HR should be over 120. After 9-10 weeks, the HR should be over 130 (but the normal range is 120-160).

Which means my baby's HR of 129bpm doesn't mean diddly. Except, of course, that the baby is healthy. I totally plan on using this measurement as an indicator of "is it a boy or a girl?" but I can't just yet. It's just too early. Even if the baby is a girl, her new heart simply isn't capable of beating that fast.

Maybe it'll remain low when I hear it on doppler at my 12 week appointment and I'll come back to "it's a boy". I just can't yet!

And just to add - I am completely aware that this Old Wives' Tale is completely false. I looked up the data which proved 50% of boys had heartrates of under 140 and the other had rates above 140. Same with girls. But hey, it's fun to guess, right?

16 comments:

Crunchy Green Mom - Suzanne said...

Do whatever you need to do! This baby is happy and healthy and finally growing within Mommy, boy or girl... it's a blessing!

I'm so happy for you!

Sarah said...

Definitely an old wives' tale. I would drive myself nuts, especially something with 50/50 statistics! I need more factual data than that.

Anyway, on the cloth thing. I'm on day 3 now and it's going well! No leaks. I change him on the same schedule as I did with disposables. I did my first load of laundry today and they're out on the line drying right now. I also ordered a dozen more of the Bum Genius 3.0 diapers today (green, this time...).

Every one of my cloth diapering friends recommended Bum Genius as sort-of the Mercedes Benz of cloth diapers. If you buy the one size, it goes from 7-35 lbs (although from what I've read a small newborn might have to grow into them a little). Happy Heiney's also makes good diapers, in cute prints. However; the printed diapers are only available in different sizes, so you're talking spending only slightly less than you would with a one size dipe, and then it doesn't grow with your baby.

The nice thing about the pocket diapers is the moisture really does get wicked away from the baby. I've read that the prefolds have to be changed more often.

I was showing the diapers to a co-worker (who also may be interested in switching; her son is a month older than Andrew). Most people think that the moisture can actually "leak through" the diaper, but the cover is actually waterproof. I mean, if someone left it on for an insane amount of time, it would eventually leak. Andrew has had 2 nights so far in his BGs, and no leaks! I put in the doubler at night and it's extra protection.

These are so much fun! I am a big organizer and I love that I can wash them, hang them out to dry (or in winter, they'll go in the dryer), stuff them with the inserts right out of the laundry (to save time), and fold them up. They look so neat stacked in Andrew's room.

I need to get a couple of wet bags for when I'm on the go. Right now I'm just using plastic bags.

If you should decide you want to CD, I really am new at this...so I'm definitely no expert. I just did a little bit of reading to see what other people had to say and I asked around to see what other people had to say and took it from there. www.nickisdiapers.com is where I order from. Free shipping and the diapers come fast! $203 for a dozen of the BG one size.

:) We also use cloth grocery bags, so we feel EXTRA cool at the grocery store.

nancy said...

Sarah - you are awesome. Thank you SO much for taking that time to tell me all about it.

OMG. I just can't believe I'm actually thinking about this stuff. IF was such an overload on my head, it's hard to get to the next step.

Sarah said...

Glad to share my excitement! My in-laws looked at me like I was crazy today, but that's okay! I love being different and doing things that aren't mainstream. We are the only people in our neighborhood with 5 different varieties of fruit trees growing in our yard!

www.diaperpin.com is a place where you can read reviews on dipes.

Also, I am SO glad to see you looking towards more positive things! Your past couple of years have been way too stressful. Hopefully you never have to pee on another stick in your life! :)

jenn said...

Nancy- I didn't really expect you to do the meme- I know you've been even busier than me lately (which is tough to do!)

And I love you right back!! It really is too bad I'm not in Seattle- the other side of the country is too far! (by the way- I WISH we had Seattle's weather today- Philly is like the armpit of the country in summer- hot, sticky, & sweaty- jus plain old gross!)

But seriously- if I'm ever out on the left coast, or you're on the right- we ARE getting together!
I'm so happy for you & happy that we stumbled upon each other even if it's because of IF. & I can't wait to meet George! -I know the heartbeat & all those other wives tales are only 50% right, but s/he'll always be George to me! ;o)

nancy said...

Jenn, I know you are in Philly! I was joking about the whole seattle thing because remember that is where I used to think you lived?

Shinejil said...

So glad you've heard a h/b. I personally get a huge kick of old wives tales, though most of the ones I've heard re: gender have related to conception position or something truly odd such as the moon cycle. A friend from the wild east volunteered to lend me a lunar calendar that would absolutely 100% guarantee a boy or a girl.

Now I'm just looking for the one that will guarantee a baby at all. :)

Chastity said...

I don't put any stock in old wives' tales, but it is funny how things work out sometimes. That Chinese Birth Calendar was correct for every teacher that had a baby in our building when I was teaching...total coincidence I'm sure.

It's funny how different sources say different things on the subject. I just read is that normal heart rates can be between 110 and 180. At 7 weeks, my current babies were in the 170s and 180s, and they've settled down into the 150s/160s. So, maybe there can be more to those early weeks than they think.

Chastity said...

Sorry, I mis-typed, those heartrates I spoke of were at 8 weeks, not 7.

Anonymous said...

Wives Tale or No Wives Tale, I'm saying it's a boy. I have a very strong feeling and they have been right more times than wrong. Can't wait to see if my feeling is correct this time.

~~Brandi (DsWifey)

Monica Fayth said...

My mom thought I was going to be a boy for a long time b/c of my hb being slower.

I'm trying to think of the other gender tests I've heard. I know there's the if you're carrying high and it looks like a basketball, it's a boy, but if you're carrying low and it's more spread out, it's a girl. Then there's something about a Draino pee test, like if you pee in draino and it's a certain color, it's a particular gender, but I can't remember all of that one. I know there are about a hundred more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Lee said...

"Which means my baby's HR of 129bpm doesn't mean diddly. Except, of course, that the baby is healthy."

That sound is like music to a mom-to-be's ears, no?

Jenera said...

with my son, his HB was consistently between 155 and 160 always. With this pregnancy it's been sitting about 165. I'm hoping for a girlie but i'm almost positive I'm going to have another boy.

While they ARE old wives' tales, it's fun to have something to obsess over, right?

Anonymous said...

Yay! Thats awesome! Can't wait for your prediction!

Anonymous said...

Too funny Nancy. I love the OWT games. My boys were such a mix up about 50/50 on everything and like you TOTALLY opposite pregnancies...from food to sickness to exhaustion. The guessing is very fun. Both my boys had HR's of 160 at my 12 weeks appointments. Go figure!

I will still be following your blog when I have time. It's great to see you more optimistic and relaxed.

Kim said...

Even is there isn't much evidence to back it, it is still fun. All three of my boys had heart rates in the mid 140's. NCLM