Boy or Girl? It could be either.

Long before I was pregnant with Baby O, JLO and I decided we'd want to find out the sex of the baby before he/she was born. Like good friends of ours, also pregnant, we figure there will be plenty of surprises along the way for us to enjoy. And I'm quite positive that not knowing the sex isn't going to make me push any harder when it comes to delivering the baby.

So for the past 19 weeks we (family, friends, strangers) have been speculating on Baby O's sex. My sister-in-law conducted a few of the ole wives tales tests. One said girl. Another girl and boy (yikes! Twins). Then of course there are predictions based on how I'm carrying the baby: "Oh, it's on the low side--it's a boy!". Then there is the heart rate: 140--right in the middle of the theory (boys low, girls high). I've been asked what I think it is--what am I feeling? Instantly, I felt girl. Lately boy.

Last week I was at P.F. Changs (which has a wonderful gluten-free menu, by the way) with some of my favorite former students. I couldn't eat the traditional end-of-the-meal fortune cookie, but the recipient of my cookie insisted it was still my fortune. So it said, "You are about to embark on a most delightful journey!". Well, yes of course I am--this works for me. Then I flipped it over and saw there was a Chinese word for me to learn. My fellow dinner mates received words like strawberry and fish; mine said Girl.

But my favorite prediction was from our four-year old niece, "Aunt Stacy it's a boy. Or it could be a girl. You know--it could be either."

And so the predictions, tests, and speculation stopped there. Yes, she's right--it could be either. And like all parents-to-be, we just hope and pray that he or she is a very healthy, happy and huggable little baby.