Boy or girl? Fun tests to predict your baby's gender!
If you're dying to know your baby's sex but it's too early to tell, try one of these gender prediction tests, from the Ancient Chinese Gender Chart to Nub Theory
The NHS says that the only reliable way to find out your baby's sex is with an ultrasound, typically around the twentieth week of your pregnancy. That's a long time to wait if you're feeling impatient!
You might want to give some of these traditional gender prediction tests a go while you wait. Some say they're old wives' tales. Some swear they're spookily accurate. Which one will you try?
FREE NEWBORN NAPPIES
1. Chinese gender chart
![chinese gender chart](jpg/6739cfc9-584b-467f-9489-aa8d7ad9c9e0_chinese%2bgender%2bchartc480.jpg)
Many find this Chinese chart spookily accurate. It works by calculating age at conception with the number of the month you conceived in – an odd number means you expect a boy and an even one a girl.
Some Chinese gender calendars use your lunar age, instead of your regular age. Your lunar age is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, so it's: the current lunar year – (your lunar birth year +1).
Indian gender prediction charts generally work the same way as the Chinese chart.
2. The shape of your bump
![Pregnant woman making heart shape with hands over baby bump](jpg/92c39263-5d34-4b48-9d81-7c571c48813a_pregnancy%2bbaby%2bbump4946.jpg)
Is your bump low and out at the front? Some say this means you're carrying a boy. A high bump is said to mean you're carrying a girl.
![](gif/signup_pregnancy.gif)
What's your bump looking like?
3. Feeling queasy?
![Sick pregnant woman](jpg/16d50add-1422-4ae1-b655-70eff2c9967f_morning%2bsickness4946.jpg)
If you're suffering morning sickness in the first 12 weeks, some say this indicates you're carrying a girl. If the sickness strikes a little later, some say you're expecting a boy.
Some also believe boys make you sick in the morning, and girls in the evening.
4. Nub theory
![Pregnancy scan](jpg/c4945e5f-4096-4d18-8629-6329e084e2c7_pregnancy%2bscana524.jpg)
Take a look at your 12-week ultrasound scan. Look at the 'nub' between your baby's legs.
If it points upwards by more than 30 degrees, it's a boy, if it's not pointing up that high, it's a girl.
Read more about the nub theory
5. Wonky boobs
![Woman holding melons as breasts](jpg/17646f54-09f9-411a-894d-77140986d3a5_melon%2bbreasts4946.jpg)
If your right breast looks bigger than the left, it's a boy, and vice versa it's a girl!
Time to take a good long look in the mirror!
6. Consult the Mayans
![Mayan calendar in mexico](jpg/e2abf6bf-d144-4f3e-a679-add8eecae6d2_shutterstock_636806338d9b4.jpg)
Similar to the Chinese gender chart, the Mayan gender predictor technique comes down to calendars and basic math.
Just take a look at how old you were when you conceived and the year it happened. If both numbers are either odd or even, you're carrying a girl. If one is odd and the other is even, it's a baby boy.
7. Which way will the ring swing?
![Rings hanging on piece of string](jpg/0d280bd6-74d8-40b3-806d-cb8772250833_rings%2bon%2bstring4946.jpg)
Tie your ring to a piece of thread and hold it gently above your bump. If it swings from side to side, you're having a boy, and if it moves in a circle, it's a girl.
8. Heartbeat
![Plastic heart on cardiogram showing heartbeat](jpg/e1bbf62c-cf93-4e87-8fb8-659571243d54_heartbeat4946.jpg)
If your baby's heartbeat is under 140 beats per minute – it's a boy. Anything above that – it's a girl!
(Although heart rates have no relevance until labour and birth when a girl's generally beats faster than a boy's).
9. Got a wriggler?
![Dad puts hand on mum's pregnancy bump to feel baby kicking](jpg/3a8c0c40-4cdd-4773-827b-91318edd731e_parents%2bfeel%2bbaby%2bkicking4946.jpg)
They like to move it, move it ...
Some think an energetic baby in the womb indicates a boy and a chilled foetus means you're carrying a girl.
10. Catch a key
![Gold keys lying on table](jpg/a3243b60-4c93-4330-8ac3-8073e3824687_keys%2bon%2btable4946.jpg)
Pick up a single key. If you pick up the key by the top part (the round part) then you're carrying a boy, if you go for the narrow bottom part, then you're having a girl. If you pick up the key in the middle, you're having twins!
Ahh ... could this be the key to it all?
11. Glossy locks
![Shiny blonde and brown hair](jpg/c14bc980-5eeb-4801-8daf-67da3412e685_shiny%2bblonde%2band%2bbrown%2bhair4946.jpg)
Are you blooming with glossy locks and rosy skin? It's a boy. Dull hair and an outbreak of zits – it's a girl.
Some claim this one's because a girl 'steals her mother's beauty' ...
12. Crazy cravings
![Woman holding doughnuts over eyes](jpg/da99e448-3354-4530-acf9-8672d8423160_woman%2bholding%2bdoughnuts4946.jpg)
Sugar and spice and all things nice ... what are you craving at the moment?
Some believe that it's cravings that hold the key to whether you're having a boy or a girl...
13. Craving everything sweet?
![Selection of sweet snacks](jpg/be81446f-7f9d-46c1-98e7-43ba25c28eed_sweet%2bsnacks4946.jpg)
If you've developed a penchant for sweet things then, according to the old wives' tale, it must be a girl!
14. Cheese cravings
![Cheese](jpg/c17ad2b1-dbc5-48b8-9bdd-80f86dcb642f_cheese4946.jpg)
Craving cheese or salty and savoury foods?
According to the old wives' tale – it must be a boy!
15. Smell of garlic
![15. Smell of garlic](jpg/0b80a2d6-203e-4823-a552-7954bbcf3b93_garlic4946.jpg)
If you eat a clove of garlic and the smell comes out through your pores, you're having a boy. If no smell is detected through your skin, the prediction is that it's a girl.
Who knew?!
16. Show your hands
![Palms of hands](jpg/e7c28387-6ffc-44b7-980b-f0587181cdac_hand%2bpalms4946.jpg)
When someone asks you to show your hands, if you present them palms down it's a boy and palms up means you're expecting a girl.
Some say if your hands are dry, you're having a boy, and if they're soft, you're having a girl.
17. Heel of the bread
![Bread and heel sliced](jpg/2e08a497-a3ba-473f-8d8d-68809862363a_heel%2bof%2bbread4946.jpg)
Will you eat the heel or crust of the bread? If you will, you're carrying a boy, if you refuse, it's a girl (or perhaps you're just not hungry!)
18. Hairy legs?
![Woman shaving legs in shower](jpg/4f981d9b-1fbe-440a-8cf0-22e225eefd41_woman%2bshaving%2bin%2bshower4946.jpg)
If the hair on your legs is growing faster than ever, it's a boy, and if it's the same, then you're carrying a girl.
19. Skull Theory
![Baby fetus in pregnancy scan](jpg/e2859553-be1b-465e-877e-765620ba87e7_pregnancy%2bscan4946.jpg)
According to this theory, you can guess your baby's sex by studying their skull shape on your scan picture.
Though there's no evidence to back this one up, its always fun having a guess! Read more about the skull theory.
20. Spotty skin?
![Woman popping spot](jpg/020f6c61-322a-4aa8-b6cd-d9cf87e9f26a_woman%2bpopping%2bspot4946.jpg)
Are you suffering from acne? Legend has it that blemishes and breakouts signify a little girl.
21. Try baking soda
![baking soda on wooden spoon](jpg/3ed41e28-db6d-4117-b43a-7fd435b6cbfd_baking%2bsoda%2bon%2bwooden%2bspoon3ceb.jpg)
Put some baking soda into a disposable cup, then pee in it. If the baking soda fizzes, it's going to be a boy!
22. Ask a little boy
![Little boy listens to pregnant belly with stethoscope](jpg/56f9f2dc-c31c-41ef-9ed5-d144f484511b_little%2bboy%2blistening%2bto%2bpregnant%2bbelly4946.jpg)
If this old-fashioned gender test is to be believed, a little boy will be very inquisitive in your growing pregnant belly if you're having a girl. If he doesn't seem to care, then you're having a boy.
23. Check the moon
![Little girl sits on glowing new moon](jpg/e3a3f962-5a14-4695-bcff-a351be55c35c_little%2bgirl%2bsits%2bon%2bmoon4946.jpg)
Some people believe if you conceive after midnight, it'll be a girl, while making love during the new moon means you'll have a boy.
24. Look at your partner's belly!
![Partner's big belly stretching shirt buttons](jpg/fad1fa34-59c2-447e-a498-daf4b92b7b0f_belly%2bstretching%2bbuttons4946.jpg)
So you're definitely putting on weight, but has your partner been packing on the pounds, too? If so, you may be expecting a girl.
25. Consult your cutlery
![Knife and fork and white plate](jpg/120a80f9-e14b-4ad0-a494-e1395e01a0a6_knife%2band%2bfork4946.jpg)
Have someone tape a spoon under one chair and a fork under another without you seeing which is which.
If you sit on the chair with the spoon, you're having a girl. The fork? It's a boy.
26. The napkin test
![Napkins lying on table](jpg/deb9079c-dfd1-46dd-badd-9e0546272172_napkins%2bon%2btable4946.jpg)
Another old gender test claims that if a pregnant lady picks up her napkin by the edges, a boy is on the way.
Have you ever heard?!
27. Can you influence the sex before you conceive?
![Man sits on roof](jpg/2758ca1f-899d-41c6-abf2-f5736de7fc68_man%2bsits%2bon%2broof4946.jpg)
Apparently so ... it's thought that if your partner sits on the roof near the chimney for several hours before intercourse, you'll have a boy.
28. Pining for a girl?
![Old fashioned buggy on road](jpg/3498e4a6-bc5a-4ca5-b292-4dd28618345e_buggy4946.jpg)
An old strange American myth claims you can shake off your baby's 'extra equipment' by taking your buggy over rough roads.
Good grief!
29. Is your partner feeling queasy?
![Hand lifts toilet lid](jpg/b889dcfa-f704-494d-8397-b4ae01d46147_toilet%2blid4946.jpg)
Are both of you nauseous? Some cultures believe if the dad is feeling queasy, too, you're expecting a boy.
30. The hairline test
![Back of kid's head with hair in bunches](jpg/70835e56-a23f-4490-92b8-308fcf2a3b49_kid%2bin%2bbunches4946.jpg)
If you're already a mum, could your youngest child hold the key to predicting their sibling's gender?
With the hairline test, look at the back of your youngest child's head, lifting up their hair so you can clearly see their hairline.
If the hairline is flat, your baby will have the same gender as their closest sibling. If it comes to a point, your baby will be the opposite sex.
31. Linea nigra length
![Pregnant belly with linea nigra line](jpg/1bd80b6b-e3cd-4107-8395-cb1a8992917e_linea%2bnigra4946.jpg)
You might notice a new dark line, which extends vertically over your bump. This is called the linea nigra, and some say that its length could determine your baby's gender.
If your linea nigra starts from bellow your belly button, then you might be having a girl. If it starts below your rib cage, then it could be a boy.
32. Check your blood pressure
![Woman gets blood pressure checked by doctor](jpg/444d8030-8b6a-4732-9acc-c1689312dd76_blood%2bpressure%2bcheck4946.jpg)
How high was your blood pressure before you became pregnant? One study suggests that where your blood pressure levels are six months before you conceive could affect your baby's sex.
The theory goes that women with high blood pressure are more likely to bring a baby boy to term, while mums with low blood pressure are more likely to have a girl (though the study suggests that any effect is likely very small).
33. Sleeping positions
![Pregnant woman lies back on pillows in bed](jpg/264e38aa-bd98-4149-a360-58341fadf76e_pregnant%2bwoman%2blying%2bin%2bbed4946.jpg)
Have a look at which way your pillow on your bed faces.
If you sleep with your pillow facing north, then legend has it that you'll have a boy. If your pillow faces south, then you'll have a girl.
34. See if your pupils dilate
![Close up of a woman's eye with dilated pupils](jpg/a88a0a38-0aaf-4c14-b418-be2630392286_dilated%2bpupils4946.jpg)
They say your eyes are the window to the soul ... and they might have something to say about your baby's sex too!
Look at yourself in the mirror for one minute. If your pupils dilate, then you could be having a boy. If not, it means you're having a baby girl.
35. Wait for your scan
![Ultrasound](jpg/afd25c78-9d06-4e93-ae00-04c552d01f12_wait-for-scan474b.jpg)
Unfortunately, there's no such thing as a 100% accurate baby gender predictor.
The best way to find out the sex of your baby? Wait for your scan!
You can usually find out the sex of your baby around the 18-20 week mark at your anomaly or 20-week scan.
Looking for more fun ways to guess your baby's sex? Check out our articles below, or get tips from other parents in the forum:
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