Why I think Annie isn't getting a little sister

Only two more days until I find out if the little bean in my belly is a boy or a girl. As a child, I always envisioned having four kids-- two boys and two girls. But throughout this pregnancy, whenever people have asked me what I wanted, I've staunchly maintained that either would be fine. Wanna know why? Because even though I've always thought I'd want two boys and two girls, I really, really think that this baby is going to be a boy.

The scientific reasons

1. My hair is getting curly again. It wigged out when I was pg with Isaac and only reverted to being totally straight again once I weaned him. I had about six months in the middle there when I had normal, pin-straight hair, but those days are over. I won't be able to have decent hair if I wash and wear for at least another 15 months.

2. I was pretty nauseated in the first trimester. I'm one of the lucky ones who doesn't actually puke. When I was pregnant with Annie, there was only one time when I felt like I might lose it if I didn't eat immediately. This time around, I felt like that at least once a day, and that's a lot more similar to how I've felt when I was pregnant with the boys.

3. I'm still not showing. I've gained three pounds and feel pretty bloated a lot of the time, but I don't think anyone who doesn't know me would look at me and think "pregnant lady." I'm not even sure that most people who do know me would realize I was pregnant. I was definitely in full-on maternity, including the tops, when I had my big ultrasound with Annie, which I think I had when I was 19 weeks. Unless I go through a major growth spurt, I don't think I'll be there 3 weeks from now. When I was pregnant with Bryce, I started wearing maternity around 20 weeks, mainly because he was my first and I was so excited to announce to the world that I was having a baby. With Isaac, I know I was several weeks past my ultrasound and still wearing at least some regular clothes.

The other reasons

1. Boys run in Eddie's family-- big time. He has like 100 cousins and I think like 65 of them are boys. There are three boys and one girl in his family. So I feel like having a third boy is sort of my destiny.

2. Annie has her heart set on a girl. I've been thinking about taking her to my ultrasound, but I'm a little bit worried that she'll end up screaming and rolling around on the ground if they tell us it's a boy. She does NOT want another brother. She says she's picked on enough by the two she has. And since she has such a definite opinion about things, she'll probably end up getting the opposite of what she wants.

3. I just think it's a boy. I'm 3 for 3 so far in guessing what the gender of my baby will be, so that's a pretty decent average.

So, what do you think we're having?

--originally published 7/19/06