Is it human or is it dancer?

[j4]

Tomorrow we'll hopefully find out whether the baby is an alien or a predator a boy or a girl. So far I have been told that:

* it'll be a girl because everybody I know has had girls recently
* it'll be a boy because everybody I know has had girls recently
* it'll be a girl because you get more morning sickness with girls
* it'll be a boy because of the position of the bump
* it'll be a girl because of the position of the bump
* it'll be a boy because 'boy' scores more in Scrabble

So that's two answers from people who don't understand probability, three answers which sound to me more like superstition than something which is backed up by any actual research (though I'm happy to be proved wrong), and invisiblechoir being silly. :-)

Two of my colleagues have a bet with each other about which it will be. I don't stand to gain any money from this bet myself, unfortunately. On the other hand, since earlier today one of them couldn't remember which way he'd bet (he'd decided at the time by tossing a coin) I don't think he's taking it that seriously. The other one asked me if I'd tried putting a toad on the bump to predict the baby's sex (I'm not sure quite what one is meant to do with the toad, or wait for the toad to do...?), so I guess he's not wholly serious either. I hope.

I confess I'm keen to know the answer, not least because referring to it as "it" feels awkward. Yes, I may get flamed for Gender Fail, but I'm afraid we're just not progressive enough to try to bring the child up without any awareness of the existence of sex or gender, and let's face it, there's a staggeringly high chance that it will be biologically male or female. Also, I'm going to have at least one more scan after tomorrow's, and I don't want to have to "look away from the screen now" for fear of spoiling the result -- I want to see what's going on! Basically, in most cases I will generally choose the path of More Information.

We also want to start thinking more seriously about names, and it'd be useful to narrow down the choices a bit. Other tactics for narrowing-down include: avoiding names with ambiguous spellings; avoiding extremely long names; avoiding alliteration; and summarily rejecting every single name that appears on this site. So that's a big 'no' to Breckin, Maxigan, Skyler Alexander, Cam'ron, and Kaytaquana. Suddenly, my silly suggestion of naming my child Badger doesn't seem all that ridiculous...

Comments

I have a surefire method

[cleanskies.livejournal.com]

Thread your wedding ring on a ribbon and then get the magic badger your husband to hold it over the bump. If it swings round and round its an alien, if it swings back and forth it's a predator

A shoelace would probably work, too

Re: I have a surefire method

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

No no no, you have to walk widdershins around a basket of frogs whilst whistling the theme tune to Bonanza. Otherwise the whole process is FUTILE.

Re: I have a surefire method

[j4.livejournal.com]

I don't even know the theme tune to Bonanza!

I have seen a big frog in the garden sometimes, but it's hiding. Assuming I find it again, is the basket essential or could I just put it in a tupperware?

Re: I have a surefire method

[j4.livejournal.com]

addedentry says it's actually a toad. This is never going to work.

Re: I have a surefire method

[scat0324.livejournal.com]

Would addedentry like to confirm what the difference is betwixt a frog and a toad?

Re: I have a surefire method

[j4.livejournal.com]

I only had a pastel-blue ribbon, which may have upset the delicate gender balance, but addedentry claimed it was swinging round in a triangle shape, which I think means the baby is a triceratops. I was giggling too much to tell. Also he was totally moving his hand even though he denies it.

If it's a triceratops, I'll call it Trinity.

the colour may have a mild effect, yes

[cleanskies.livejournal.com]

Well now, it wouldn't work if he didn't move his hands, would it?

If it's a Triceratops, can I be Antigodmother?

Re: I have a surefire method

[jinty]

A husband-and-wife couple at work have two children: Ethan (as in Ethan Hawke, though if it was after Ethan Rayne I might have just thought okay, cool), and Trinity (yes, as in The Matrix). Hmm.