This morning, I noted to Londo that I think the baby boy looks like he is sitting lower than the Pumpkin did. Which would make sense, because during this pregnancy the pants which were SOOOOO comfortable while I was pregnant with the Pumpkin are not. at. all. comfortable now. (I'm really looking forward to spring/summer with dresses and loose skirts!) Also, the Pumpkin constantly had feet, hands, whatever sticking up under my ribs, and this one only occasionally pokes me in the ribs. This may change, of course, as I get bigger. But it really does seem like he is sitting lower than the girl did (so are my boobs, but I'm not going to talk about that).
Londo nodded when I told him and said that it's like the old wives' tale that boys sit lower than girls. I thought about that for a minute, and all those old wives' tales that pertain to pregnancy. I just don't buy them. I believe I've heard it both ways, that boys sit lower/girls sit lower. You're more nauseous with girls/boys. And who knows what else.
I remember this from the wedding prep days, too. It was good luck if it rained/didn't rain. Bad luck if the groom saw the bride/bride in the dress/the dress at all. There were just so many, and really? I can't believe any of them!
Unless there is some sort of scientific reason behind them, like the way chicken soup really does help when you are sick, I just can't believe those old wives.
The Question of the Week:
Are there any old wives' tales that you believe or like to at least pass along?
I can't think of any that I really believe, but I have followed some of the ones that have simply become tradition. For example, I did not see Londo on my wedding day until I was walking down the aisle. I also kept my dress hidden from him. Not because of good luck/bad luck. Mainly for the look in his eyes when he saw me down the aisle (and the wink he gave me which made me literally bounce a few steps). I also did the something old, something new, something borrow (oh, baby! Did I have a FANTASTIC something borrowed!), something blue. Again it was for the tradition and for the fun of it.
How about you all? Do you follow any of those tales? Have you found any that seem to be true to you? Do pass them along!
14 comments:
There are only a few. One isn't even a wives tale, because it has some basis in fact.
* You'll be sicker if you're carrying multiples (based in fact).
* If you crave savory, it's a boy. Sweet, it's a girl.
The cravings one actually worked with me because I seriously was a meat/cheese/spicy craver with Sasha.
Nope, I'm a snopes addict. I'm that bastard on your email list that, when you forward some bullshit email, replies to all and tells you how there is no truth to the story that Coke is acidic enough to dissolve a steak.
At first, I did it to bully myself off of peoples forward list. Now, I do it because this has become a BIG pet peeve of mine. I hate hate hate when people pass on misinformation as fact. I think the real hatred stemmed from all the lies in the last election. If I hadn't supported Obama from the start, all the Secret Muslim/Bill Ayers/Not putting his hand over his heart crap would have made me mad enough at the other side to defect.
I'm Not Skippy - Another reason why I like you! I'm that person, too. People, if you don't check snopes.com first and find out if it's true (and if you don't think about who you are sending it to and if they will be interested in it AT ALL), do not send on that forward! If you do send it, I will check it and reply all to let everyone know what I find out. (I've pretty much stopped getting forwards now. hehe.)
I'm also a huge Mythbusters fan.
Me and DH actually picked out my wedding outfit together ( a jacket and pants) got dressed on the day together, and went to the registery office together, so we are destined to have a lot of bad luck!!
In Italy there are hundreds of old wive's tales related to pregnancy, but I don't know which are Italian and which are universal. I am not a traditionalist and like you above just find all this crap annoying. Here are sme of the one's I have heard:
Baby has lots of hair: bad heartburn during pregnancy ( Both kids had tons of hair. I had quite a bit of heartburn with Zoe, but none with NOah)
My mum and every other Italian woman over the age of 40, tell me that more babies are born when there is a full moon/new mooon/waning crescent/waxing crescent etc etc. Basically whenever the moon is in the sky. Hey, yeah, that one I do believe.
If the mum looks great during pregnancy she is having a girl, when she looks crap, she's having a boy.
If only your belly is round, it's a girl. If you've put on weight a bit on your arse, it's a boy. I was having a girl on both occassions apparently.
I *heart* me some snopes & mythbusters, too. But didn't mythbusters do a whole episode on stuff you can do with Coke and a lot of it is true?
More morning sickness with a girl. It's got to do with hormone levels, and I believe this one is based in science, like the multiples.
I know it's NOT based on fact, but I absolutely avoided LIKE THE PLAGUE any type of description of my children's sleep habits when they were doing well. You say it out loud, it's suddenly not true any more.
And I don't know if it's a wives' tale or not, but I've developed something of an obsession with having the last thing I say to my kids at night being "I love you". I'll get up out of bed and go into the bedroom to whisper it into a sleeping child's ear if I'm not sure. It's like I think it's some sort of talisman against danger-in-the-night. (I know -- alert the men in white coats.)
Hmmm- I don't really have any that I believe.
But based on what other people have posted here, I'm either having a boy (I'm craving savory almost to the point of not wanting sweet) or a girl (more morning sickness than the first time, which was a girl). And the baby will have a lot of hair because oh boy do I have heartburn.
I didn't let Hubby see the wedding dress, either. And we had a wedding overseas, so that took some doing. I can't say why I did that. I just thought it should be a surprise.
Both me and my mom had really similar pregnancies with each child (1 boy, 1 girl each). Not sick. Carried the same way.
Paola, it's funny, I've heard opposites here--if you're glowing you're having a boy/if you're haggard you're having a girl (she's stealing your looks). If you're carrying only in front = boy; if you're round all over = girl.
Those wives need to coordinate their sayings.
And with my second (the boy) I had a terrible sweet tooth and drank a ton of juice.
Eh. Not real science. Fun to speculate, I guess, which is why people do it.
The whole "If it looks like you're carrying all your weight in the front, like a basketball, it's a boy" thing. Seems to be true a lot. At least for the 4 boy pregnancies I've noticed, including myself.
I know they're has got to be some ridculous ones my mom and grandmom spout out from the "hills of Virginia" but for the life of me, I can only think of one of them right now. Apparently, there's this old wives' tale about a baby looking in a mirror before they're one year old. I don't remember the "effect" of that one. Sorry.
The Coke stuff is so big snopes has a whole section devoted to it.
I love Mythbusters too. But I like anyone who makes thing explode regularly. A couple weeks ago they were filming a new episode and made such a loud explosion it shattered windows in a town. That one is true.
I follow the "you'll get sick if you don't (fill in the blank with whatever I think they need to do)" Usually, it's just putting on a coat when it's chilly out. I KNOW they won't catch a cold from the cold, but I cannot shake that old wive's tale that is embedded within me...
That's about it. I'm pretty practical...
I'm not much on wives tales either and it drives the in-laws a bit insane. Like going to bed with a wet head will make a kid sick, um no! As for pregnancy, I think most of them are nonsense. I'm sort of a cynic anyway. lol!
To Becoming Mommy: I craved sweets with my son and now want salty stuff (don't know what I'm having this time). I actually dreamed about lo mein noodles the other night. Not sure about that wive's tale.
I too find myself being superstitious about not talking about something we're having good luck with. Examples include: my mom not being crazy, my son eating vegetables, my brother not being crazy... you get the idea.
PS: Used snopes a lot with the crazy brother during the '08 election. REALLY came in handy. Especially on the email about how Obama wants to change the national anthem to "I Want To Teach The World To Sing"... you know that old Coca Cola commercial. Seriously folks! Come on!
That's one of those tales I can't ever get straight. I can't ever remember if the boys sit "low" or if the girls do. Anyway, my son was really low with his head crammed right up against my cervix for months. I remember how uncomfortable it was to lie on my side because his head was between my pelvis so it would hurt my hips. I think it's just because he was so big, though, more than his gender.
I totally throw salt over my shoulder if I accidentally spill it. :-) That counts, right?
I did that wedding stuff just out of tradition too, I don't believe in old wives tales. But do you want to hear an old wives remedy that actually works? If you get mastitis or clogged milk duct, put a green cabbage leaf on the affected breast. Something actually seeps out of it into your skin that unclogs the duct, some kind of milk thinner or something. When I learned this, a nurse was explaining it to a patient for me to interpret. She said no one had figured out why it works, but it does. The other funny thing to me is as she went to explain this, she said this sounds totally crazy, but it really works. After I explained the patient didn't think it was crazy at all. Latins are experts at crazy, crazy home remedies. I was intrigued and I tried it the next time I had the need and it totally works. Especially if you put a warm wet rag over the cabbage and the sooner you do it on noticing the beginning of symptoms, the better the results. Hope you don't need it, but when delivery is nigh, you might want to always keep green cabbage in the fridge.
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