That first half of pregnancy – up until about 20 weeks when an ultrasound should clearly be able to let you know whether you’re having a boy or a girl – can be frustrating and tense. Predicting your baby’s gender is just part of that process. Whether you’re hoping for a boy or a girl, you really want to know.
There are a number of unscientific –yet sometimes accurate – ways you can use to predict baby’s gender before you have an ultrasound. While you wouldn’t want to make big decisions like what color to paint baby’s room or an entire wardrobe purchase before your ultrasound, you can use some of these methods to try to guess whether it’s a boy or a girl:
- The pencil test. This test involves a sewing needle and a pencil. You’re going to stick the sewing needle firmly into the top of your pencil’s eraser. Then, you’ll thread the needle with a piece of thread that’s about six inches in length. Suspend the pencil on the backside of your hand. Put your hand on the table, with the palm facing downward. You’ll let the pencil swing freely. If it swings in a parallel direction to your arm, this method of gender prediction suggests a boy. If it swings perpendicular, this method of gender prediction suggests you’re going to have a girl, instead.
- Check the heartbeat. The number of beats per minute of your baby’s heartbeat has been used in the past to determine your baby’s gender. While research has shown that this isn’t necessarily accurate, it can still be something to try. Ask the obstetrician about your baby’s heartbeats per minute. If your baby’s heart rate is over 140 beats per minute, you can predict your baby’s gender to be female. If your baby’s heart rate is under 140 beats per minute, you can predict a boy.
- Get a gender prediction test. While these tests aren’t as accurate as an ultrasound, they can be more accurate than guessing (and much more accurate than some of the other methods meant solely for fun). Some of these tests even promise to refund your purchase price if they were incorrect after your baby is born.