Boy or Girl? The Bump Question

In church not long ago, a baby girl would not stop staring at me. She didn't smile or frown, laugh or cry. Her mouth was slightly open. And she stared.

You know what this means? Her grandmother asked. You are going to have a boy. If a baby girl stares at a pregnant woman, the woman will give birth to a boy.

This is the first time I'd heard such a tale, but I guess the grandmother had proof based on a previous experience.

At work this week one of the teachers, a mother of two boys, looked my belly over and informed me that I would have a girl. I guess it's all in the shape and the way I am carrying Bump.

My sister and her cousin have been trying for a few weeks to talk me into asking my doctor or the ultrasound tech which side of my uterus implantation occurred so that they can know the gender.

Well, if I were going to ask my doctor anything about my baby's gender, I would just ask: What is my baby's gender?

Seriously, people. Luke and I don't want to know. Yet.

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They say pregnant women have incredible dreaming experiences like no other. I have always been a very active, vivid dreamer, so I can't really say if my dreams while pregnant have been any more unique or bizarre than normal, but I can say that I have had a few dreams about Bump that fit into this whole gender question. My theory is that Bump is playing with my mind and giving me all sorts of surprises as I anticipate the birth.

Dream one:

Bump is born- a baby boy. He grows to toddler size in a matter of minutes, starts walking and talking, and remarkably resembles one of my first-grade students. He's witty and charming, a smart aleck, and oh, by the way, he's black.

Dream two:

Bump is born- a baby girl. She's so tiny she fits in the palm of my hand. She's perfectly formed and beautiful. I freak out that I will break her she is so fragile, but no harm comes to her.

Dream three:

I'm supposed to have leg surgery and the doctors accidentally amputate both my arms. Strange, but I don't freak out by this. My mother calmly tells me that my arms will grow back, and they do! (Yeah, this dream doesn't have anything to do with babies, but I think it was because my left arm went to sleep from sticking up in the air as I tried to find a comfortable position for it on my pregnancy pillow. So, you see, the dream was affected by Bump.)

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Well, day-to-day when I think about Bump I can honestly tell you that Bump currently has no gender. Bump is Bump. Yes, we used to talk to Bump as if Bump were twins- a boy and a girl. But I think the ultrasound images have made us confident that there is only one Bump in there. Do I desire one sex for my baby over the other? No. I desire a healthy Bump.