Conference moira::parenting

    Oops- that should have been if it says 'Ma Ma' first, the next will
    be a GIRL.
    
    Sorry,
    
    Angie

    When I was pregnant everyone told me that if you had heartburn while
    you were pregnant your baby would have a lot of hair.......
    
    
    I had terrible heartburn - my daughter is 8 months old now and her
    hair is almost ready for a pony tail....
    
    That one was true for me!!!!
    
    Andrea

    RE.2
    
    Me too.  My daughter had LOTS of hair which reminds me of another
    tale....I was also told if the baby was born with lots of hair, they'd
    lose it.  My daughter never lost her hair, it just kept growing and
    growing.
    
    Marie

         <<< Note 234.0 by MIMS::GEIGER_A "If I had my druthers..." >>>
                       -< WIVES-TALES: FACT OR FICTION? >-

    >My mother says that if a baby says 'Da Da' first, the
    >next baby will be a boy, if it says 'Ma Ma' first, the next will
    >be a boy.  I *hope* this isn't true!  She had all girls, and said
    >we all said Ma Ma first.
    
    What if his first word in the next door neighbors name? :^)
    
    Maybe it's a good thing we're not having any more kids.
    
    Jodi-    
    

    Kat's first word was "mik" for milk.  I did not have a cow.  
    
    Steven's first word was Dada -- true, David is a boy. 
    
    David's first word was "Up" -- I don't care to test this one.
    
    --bonnie

    re .0
    
    Not A Chance!  Wrong twice over!
    
    

    James' first word was "cat."  Hollis is a girl. 
    
    I had wretched heartburn in both pregnancies.  Both kids were born
    with hair -- not a lot, but hair just the same.
    
    One I've heard recently is that you're sicker with girl babies than
    with boy babies.  I don't know; I just felt lousy for nine solid
    months before Hollis was born.  I don't remember feeling that rotten
    when I was pregnant with James, but then again, it was my first
    pregnancy and I had plenty of time to rest and relax.  That may have
    made the difference.  Anyone else heard that one about the relationship
    between feeling rotten and the sex of the child?

    I was sick for nine months with each of my two girls.  The other wives'
    tales did not hold true for me, though.
    
    -Tracy
    

    re:first words
    My cousin's daughter's first word was "Opa" (which means "grandpa"
    in german) - her little sister was born two years later.
    
    re: heartburn/hair
    True. Had wretched heartburn (you know its bad when your EARS are 
    burning!) and Charlotte had such a mop that even the nurses were all
    amazed. At 10 weeks she's thinned out a bit, loosing some, and getting
    blonder (as we all thought she would since she's very much like I
    was).
    My question about hair is: my mom was told that you should not cut
    a baby's hair before the first birthday, but she couldn't remember
    the reasoning behind it, although she did follow the policy for my
    brother and I. Comments on this one?
    
    re: colic:
    as I may have mentioned in another note, my mother's remedy for 
    colic (gas) was to give the baby some water with a light infusion
    of fennel tea - doctor said okay to do so although she'd not heard
    of it. Turns out its the first ingredient in gripe water!
    
    re: nausea
    I had the exact same amount of nausea during both pregnancies - 
    boy and girl.
    
    Monica
    

    I had really bad nausea for my first -- girl -- and breezed
    through the second -- boy.  So when I had really bad nausea last
    time I was almost ready to believe it was a girl.  Turned out to
    be a boy.  
    
    --bonnie 

    I was sick from the get go --- right up until the day I delivered -
    ALL DAY LONG!  and I had a girl....Everyone told me I would have
    a girl because of the sickness...
    
    Except the dr's and nurses - they all said it was just a guess but
    because the babies heartrate was low during my stress tests they
    said that meant I would have a boy??  Low for boys, higher for girls?
    
    I'm not sure about cutting hair...Hope the tail isn't a bad one -
    I've cut my daughters bangs twice since she was born eight months
    ago?!
    
    

    I was sick with my boy, through about 4 months, then only every once
    in a while.
    
    I had horrible heartburn - I bought Mylanta at Pace by the case! 
    Forget the teaspoon, I swigged the stuff!!  My son had a head full of 
    hair, it hasn't fallen out.
    
    I heard that if you cut the babies hair before 1 year, it's bad luck.
    We _had_ to cut his hair at 6 months, it was hanging in his eyes! 
    
    Another one I heard about boys and girls, with girls you crave sweets,
    with boys, you crave spice.  I craved spice, and really didn't have
    a taste for sweets.  Anybody else?
    
    Angie 
    

    
    With Spencer I was sick from 8 weeks to the end of the 5th month (and
    we are talking wretchedly sick here, I got so good at barfing that when
    driving I didn't even have to pull over to get it done).
    
    I had moderate heartburn and Spencer was born with a full head of black
    hair (Marc and I are both blonde and if Spencer did not look so much
    like his Dad, I would have been in trouble). All of that black hair
    fell out and was replaced with blonde hair (whew).
    
    We have yet to cut his hair 1. it's not really long enough 2. He has
    the cutest baby curls in the back, I can't bear to cut it.
    
    I craved:
    
    	Dill pickles (I kid you not)
    	New York Pastrami
    	Bing Cherries
    	Lobster (had 9 in one month)
    	Spices made me ill
    
    Lastly I carried high and center, in fact, I outgrew most of my
    maternity clothes because he was so large and so high, I guess most
    clothes are made for lower wider babies.
    
    
    			Wendy
    	
    

    
    These are funny!
    
    Heartburn: Bought tums, Mylanta, and Rolaids in QUANTITY, and Michael
      	       had a TON of hair!!!  The nurses even spiked it!
    
    Hairloss: Nope, everyone also told me to enjoy it the first 2 mos cause
    	      it would fall out, never did.
    
    Haircuts: I hope its not bad luck, Michael is 9 mos old and has had 
    	      3 haircuts already. Good ones too. (just had one last week
    	      and looks SO MUCH the "little boy" now!!)
    
    Nausea: Had quite a bit, mainly in the beginning and end. 
    
    Love hearing these!
    
    Chris
    

    I heard that the reason carrying a girl may cause more "morning" sickness
    is because of the hormone level.  Also makes sense, since twins (which
    makes the hormone level even higher) also seem to bring on more nausea
    (among other things!)

    I had NO sickness at all - everyone said I was to have a boy - carried
    low and in front.
    

    The only one Wendy had heartburn at all for was our first, Joshua, the
    baldest of all 4 of them! No heartburn at all with Carrie, and her hair
    was nearly braid-able when she was born. It didn't fall out at all.
    Daniel had quite a bit of hair, and his all came out (born with black
    hair), and the new hair came in very light brown. Jacob had a moderate
    amount of white-blonde hair, which never came out, but isn't growing
    awfully fast, either.
    
    Sickest for #3, a boy. Carried numbers 1-3 high (boy, girl, boy), and
    #4 *very* low (boy). Did carry the girl more "wrapped around" though,
    (she says).
    
    First words for all 4 were "da-da".
    
    The only thing Wendy remembers really *craving* in any pregnancy was
    tomato sauce/tomato products while carrying Josh. She lost the desire
    for sweets, though, for a bit with Jacob.
    
    Everyones' different!
    
    --dave--

    My wife is almost five months along and hasn't been sick at all. At the 
    doctor appointment last night the nurse told us that the heartbeat thing 
    isn't accurate because if the baby is thrashing around, the heartbeat 
    will be higher, if the baby is lying still, the heartbeat is lower.
    
    FWIW, 90% of the "guessers" have pegged a boy for us. We'll find out in
    four months and if I'm still employed here I'll let y'all know...
    
    Mike

    I was sick for just over 4 months and then only once in a while, with
    Daniel.
    
    I had no hearthburn at any stage during my pregnancy, even though I 
    used to have it before.   Daniel was born with a full head of hair,
    which only thinned slightly, he still has a fine head of hair.
    
    I could not bear sweet food, I absolutely loved spicey food.
    
    
    Bernie

    I had unbelievable heartburn with all three (right up until the minute
    they were born) and they all had hair, but not a whole lot, just fuzz.
    and actually my third one was really kind of bald.
    
    I had slight nausea for the first 12 weeks with all three and I have 1
    girl and 2 boys.
    
    I have to say, I felt exactly the same with all pregnancies and I
    pretty much carried the same, which leads me to believe that mostly
    everything you hear are old wives tale.  It's always fun to try and
    guess though.

    I was never sick a day for both pregnancies (twins the first one and a
    boy which was carried very low the second). 
    
    I guess I was very lucky.
    
    Judy

    These are fun to read.
    
    I am due in another six weeks so this will be interesting to see how
    many are true. 
    
    Heartburn:    None
    Cravings:     None (don't give me any red meat though, I can no longer
    	 	  stomach it)
    Morning Sickness:    For the first five months all day long
    Heartbeat:    Fast, many people say it will be a girl
    
    Lisa Cozzens

    Wow,  I didn't follow many of the wives tales.
    
    #1, No heartburn -- lots of hair
    	No Hair Loss
    	No morning sickness -- girl
    	Her first words DA DA -- 2nd was girl
        Carried all over (mostly in the butt) 
    	Her heart beat was high
    	I cut her hair at 18 Mos.
    
    #2, No heartburn -- even more hair
    	No morning sickness -- another girl
    	No Hair Loss
    	Her first words DA Da (I don't want anymore girls)
    	Carried in front
    	her heart beat was moderate.
    	I have cut her bangs twice already.  She is 9mos old.
    
    I did have the pencil test done by a friend of ours when we got married
    and he predicted. Girl, Girl, Boy.  (I don't think we will get to the
    Boy part).
    
    Angie

    I had no nausea in either pregnancy, and I had 2 boys.
    
    No heartburn, both were born with black hair which fell out and was
    replaced by 1) blond hair and 2) brown hair.
    
    Jesse's first word was DaDa - Max is, of course, a boy.  Max's first
    word was MaMa, but we're not going for the girl.
    
    I carried both WAY out front.  
    
    I craved sweets with both boys.
    
    So about half came true - just what you'd expect!

    I asked my Dr if I was having a boy yesterday because the heartbeat was
    low (128). She didn't answer my question but did tell me another story.
    She used to work with a labor/delivery nurse who said if there was hair
    around the naval it would be a boy. If there wasn't any hair around the
    naval it would be a girl. This nurse said that she was 90 - 95% right.
    
    Interesting....
    
    

    
    re: hair around the naval
    
    That is definitely true for me.  With my first, a girl, I had no hair
    at all.  With my second, a boy, I had hair all around my naval.  I
    thought it to be the strangest and most embarrassing thing!!!  Also,
    with my daughter I carried "all around".  With my son I basically had
    this basketball in front of me.  My husband used to tease me and say
    that from behind you couldn't tell I was pregnant.  Somehow I never
    quite believed that!
    
    Re: Illness
    
    I was sick the first few months with the daughter but I was sick every
    day of every month (all the way up to my delivery day) with my son.
    
    Re:  First words
    
    My daughter's first words were PA PA which is for her grandfathers and
    we had a boy.  My son's first words were DA DA but he says it to me and
    doesn't say it to my husband.  But we are not waiting around to find
    out if there will be another.
    
    This file is cute!!
    
    Lisa
    

    I have hair around my navel all the time.  
    
    I was told it means I'm a werewolf.  Snarl, growl. :)
    
    --bonnie 

RE: hair around navel

Sorry folks, but this makes no sense to me.  Does this mean that
once you have a hairy navel (i.e. a boy) either all subsequent children
will be boys, or your hair falls out between pregnancies?

My hair spread with previous pregnancies, no doubt due to all the
hormones.  Am not sure of the sex of those fetuses, due to miscarriages.
However, the amnio shows that my current pregnancy is a girl.
Does that mean I fit in the 5 to 10 % group?

Then again, who said folklore has to be logical?

    For both pregnancies (boy and girl) I had the line from navel to
    pubic area (but less obvious for the girl) and my belly was covered
    in short blonde "peach fuzz" hair. Probably more so (or at least I
    noticed it more) with the girl. And yes, it does seem to disappear 
    after delivery. And the navel never did pop out for either (deliveries
    at 34 weeks and 39 weeks).
    
    Monica

    At 12 weeks left I don't know what to say I am having.  I am carring
    both ways in front and around.  I am not huge or anything only gain
    28lb so far.  But with AJ I carried in the front and very high up. 
    This time I am very low and all around.
    
    I have a lot of heartburn and did with my first child.  Well I gusse
    that I will find so soon enough what I will be having.
    
    angela
    

    
    Here's a couple:
    
    If the baby has hiccups....he/she's cold
    
    More babys are born around full moons
    
    and the others....
    
    Heartburn - NONE - whole head full of hair
    
    Oily skin = Girl - had a boy
    
    No cravings
    
    Kristen

    
    I heard that if the tummy is formed like a football, then it is a boy - 
                                        like a basketball, then it is a girl.
    
    I have cravings for tomatoes and peaches (and cherries if I can't get
                                              peaches)
    
    I'm waiting...
    
    /bd

    I notice a lot of women seem to have cravings for acidic fruits - 
    during my first pregnancy I could eat up to 4 apples a day! (boy)
    with my second it wasn't that bad, but in both pregnancies I 
    was very fond of tomato products (sauce, juice, etc).
    
    By the way, saw a segment on the Home show the other day saying that
    nausea in the first three months can be caused by ingesting things your
    system is sensitive to since some foods contain natural toxins.
    Basically the system is alerting you that whatever you ate is not 
    good for the fetus. Among those foods listed that do contain some of 
    these natural toxins are: coffee, chocolate, tomatoes, broccoli (a
    vegetable I could not stand during both pregnancies), and others
    I cannot recall.
    
    Monica
    
    

    I had cravings for red meat (which I normally do not eat very much of).
    The doctor said that I probably needed more salt (which I don't like).
    
    I think she was right cuz one night I had the strangest craving for
    McDonalds french fries and V8 juice!  Never did convince Dad to go get
    me some!!

    I craved oranges with David.  My in-laws sent me two big boxes
    from Florida.  Ordinarily I don't like oranges or orange juice,
    and I have trouble eating them anyway because they give me acid
    indigestion.  But I was eating two or three a day.  
    
    It wasn't just vitamin C craving because other vitamin C fruits
    wouldn't do it.  
    
    About halfway through the pregnancy, I stopped eating oranges and
    haven't enjoyed them since. 
    
    --bonnie

    I craved peanuts, celery, fresh fruit, peanut butter and grape jelly,
    and jalapinos.
    
    Had hart burn to start a bb-q.  Son had tons of hair.
    
    I couldn't even go into the kitchen for the first 3 months, my husband
    did all the cooking(and most of the eating).  I gained 35lbs during the
    whole 9months.  My husband would get cravings in the middle of the
    night and I would go to the corner store.  I didn't mind, I could never
    sleep well when I was pregnant.
    
    virginiaZ

    >My husband would get cravings in the middle of the
    >night and I would go to the corner store.
    
    That cracked me up! What a classic! :-)
    
    Mike

    re: .37
    
    It's even got a name: couvade [syndrome?]
    
    Domestic partners of pregnant women sometimes develop symptoms of
    pregnancy, usually symptoms the mother doesn't have herself. 
    (I've read that it happens about 20 percent of the time.) 
    
    The spouse of a friend of mine used to faint when my pregnant
    friend got out of a chair.  She didn't even feel lightheaded.
    
    --bonnie

    I've heard a few to bring on labour: castor oil, a good hot curry,
    driving along a bumpy road, nipple massage & sex. None of these have
    worked so far with Helen & she's 2 days overdue.
    
    Andy

Plan a luxury weekend getaway somewhat near the hospital.  It worked for us!

michael

p.s.  In our case it was our anniversary, and our daughter was born the day 
before.

    Nipple massage does bring on contractions.

    
    Re: Castor oil....
    
    	We tried it when Spencer was 7 days overdue (he went the full two
    weeks overdue). The story is just too funny.
    
    	Suffice it to say that Castor oil not only brings on contractions,
    but it is also a very strong laxative (I didn't know this) and when you
    take a shot of it, it also brings something else on in FULL FORCE!!!
    
    	My husband (Marc), deciding to be as supportive as he could, took
    the Castor oil drink along with me. By the middle of the night, we were
    both fighting for IMMEDIATE turns at the bathroom.
    
    	I ended up taking many showers that night (some were because I was
    laughing so hard I peeded in my pants)
    
    		and now you know ;-)
    
    
    			Wendy

>        My husband (Marc), deciding to be as supportive as he could, took
>    the Castor oil drink along with me. By the middle of the night, we were
>    both fighting for IMMEDIATE turns at the bathroom.

If that doesn't get the "above and beyond the call of duty" award, I don't 
know what does.

Clay

    I just printed out the entries to this file for a friend with a
    baby due in October.  This note may be a long time inactive, but
    what a laugh.
    
    I do have one question.  If a baby's teeth take a long time to
    come, does that mean they'll have stronger enamel?  Two women
    have told me that, but they are both pretty old and I don't know
    if this is a "tale" or not.
    
    						cj *->

    
    re: late teeth...
    
    I've heard that one too.
    
    I don't know if it is true but Lauren didn't get her first tooth
    until 11 months.  I don't know when I got my first tooth but I have
    no cavities... they say that children who get teeth late tend to
    have parents who also got them late.  So, it stands to reason that
    I got me teeth late as well and I have no cavities!  
    
    My husband has a mouthful of cavities.  No idea when he teethed
    either!
    
    Karen

    My son didn't have any teeth until he was 9 months old. His pedi told
    me "That's OK, they will be stronger."

    My daughter just got her first tooth at 11 months.  For the past
    several months, everyone from doctors and nurses to dentists have been
    telling me the same thing.  The later they come in the stronger the
    teeth.  We shall see.  My first one came in at 9+ months and I have no
    cavities, so maybe it is true, but I tend to be a skeptic about these
    things.
    
    Kristen 

    To me, strength of teeth is one thing, but us now as adults
    should really attribute cavity count to care of teeth.  I mean,
    you can get teeth at 14 mths, but eat a lot of sweets, and not
    have good dental hygiene, and you're going to get cavities no
    matter how strong your teeth started out.
    
    My mom was on top of us constantly to brush our teeth, but 
    see me laugh and you'll see metal.  Man, I loved the chocolate!
    That and my teeth were jammed in from impacted wisdoms and before
    I learned good flossing, I had many cavities in between teeth.
    Love my mom, but she never really taught/stressed flossing.  I
    certainly will with my kids.
    
    					cj *->
    
    

    Here's one:
    
    (height on 2nd birthday) x2 = (Height as adult)
    
    Any anecdotal evidence on this :-) ?
    
    Leslie

    I had never heard of multiplying the height on the second birthday by
    two until just last week.  My brother-in-law was saying that we'll have
    to make sure to measure Katie's height on her second birthday for this
    reason.  I must have looked at him like he had two heads, but he swears
    that in my husband's family three out of the four turned out exactly
    double in height (to the centimeter).  My brother-in-law was within two
    centimeters.  
    
    I wonder if my mother-in-law believed it at the time as the measurement
    for my sister-in-law would have her standing just over six feet tall as
    an adult.  And she does!
    
    Kristen
    

The theory I've heard is that the '2yr height x 2' is for boys.  For girls, take
their height at 18 months and double it for their adult height.

We'll be able to tell if this holds true in about 15 years....

Dave

    Our former pediatrician mentioned this on more than one occasion.
    Steven will be about 6'3'' if this holds true!
    
    	Linda	

    Doesn't always hold true - according to formula my husband was supposed
    to be 6 ft tall but he topped out 5'5".
    
    Karen
     

    And Lolita shouldn't have been taller than 5'2".  I still keep telling
    her that now that she is eye-level with me.  (5'7")  However our family
    tends to be late height gainers.  
    
    meg

(I'm still catching up...)

re: late teeth

I read about a pediatrician who would always tell parents that
late teething was a sign of high intelligence.  This particular
pediatrician would tell other parents that early teething was
a sign of high intelligence :-)