What the Old Wives' Tales Say About Whether You'll Have a Boy or a Girl

Old wives' tales are little more than super-circulated rumors. Never proven to be true, they're sayings and adages that generations of women have passed down to one another regarding family health ("Eating carrots improves your vision"), safe parenting ("Wait an hour after eating before swimming"), and -- most popularly -- pregnancy. Whether you're trying to guess your own baby's gender or looking for shower games for a friend, read on for the top ways women have guessed: boy or girl?

Pay attention to which way you lay down in bed tonight. If you prefer sleeping on your left side, you'll have a boy. Right side? Your pregnant with a girl.

Little girls aren't always sweet. Extreme nausea means you are having a daughter.

If your hands are dry during pregnancy, you are having a boy; soft -- expect a girl.

Your favorite pregnancy foods may tell you what sex the baby is. If you're craving citrus while pregnant, you're having a girl.

If altering hormones makes your skin break out, expect a girl.

If you feel as though you're gliding through they day, you'll have a girl. Stumbling? It's a boy.

If your face gets fuller, it means you're having a girl.

Craving salt during pregnancy? Potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn means a boy is on the way. Need a little something sweet? Ice cream, chocolate, and candy means you're having a girl.

If you're experiencing pregnant mood-swings, expect a baby girl to arrive soon.

If you're carrying the baby low on your stomach, expect a boy. If it's high, you're having a girl.

If you're carrying baby in front, it's a boy. Is the baby weight spaced all around your middle? It's a girl.

Dangle a chain with a charm over your palm. If it swings back and forth: boy. In a circle: girl.

"Show me your hands." If you would hold your hands palms up it's a girl. Down? You're having a boy.

Get baby advice from a nephew or friend's little boy. If a toddler boy shows interest in your belly, you'll have a girl. If he ignores you, it's a boy.

Guess the baby's sex by eating garlic. If the smell seeps out of your pores it's a boy. If there's no scent it's a little girl.

If you pick up a key by the round end, you're having a boy. If it's by the long end? A girl.

If your age and year of conception are both even or odd, it's girl. One even, one odd means a boy.

If the baby's heart beats more than 150 times per minute, you're pregnant with a girl. Less than 150, it's a boy.

A child tends to be of the same sex as the parent who is less stressed at the time of conception.

If you dream about having a girl while pregnant, you will wind up having a boy and vice versa.

If your right breast is larger than the left while pregnant, you are having a girl. If the left is larger, it's a baby boy.

Copyright © 2009 Meredith Corporation.