15 fun baby gender predictor tests to try

Sure, your doctor can tell you the sex of your baby, but where's the fun in that? Even parents who choose not to find out like guessing whether they're expecting a boy or a girl. That's where these baby gender predictors come in. After all, even highly unscientific methods have a 50/50 chance of being right.

If you constantly reach for meat, cheese, or other salty foods, then you'll be having a boy, according to this old wives' tale. Yearning for sugar and spice and every sweet thing in the store? The baby must be a girl.

Lots of heartburn means you're having a girl, though – or a baby with lots of hair, depending on the tale.

According to the Mayans, gender prediction 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.

It's healthy and normal for a pregnant woman to gain weight, but has your partner been packing on the pounds? You may be expecting a girl. Are both of you nauseous? Some cultures believe if the dad is experiencing morning sickness too, you're expecting a boy.

For this old-school gender test, you need a wedding ring: String it on a necklace and hold it over your belly. If the ring moves in circles, the baby in your belly is a girl. If it swings back and forth, it's a boy.

According to one Chinese gender test, your fetus is a boy if his right hand pushes on the left side of your belly after the seventh month. Opposite side means you're carrying a girl. In some parts of the southern United States, people believe if you ovulate from the left ovary it's a girl, while an egg from the right ovary makes a boy.

You only need two pieces of information to determine your baby's sex using this Chinese gender predictor: your age and the month your baby was conceived. Let us calculate it for you!

Put some baking soda into a disposable cup, then pee in it. If the baking soda fizzes, it's a boy. You can also put salt on your breast before you go to sleep. If it's moist in the morning, you're having a baby girl. Reality check: Any acidic liquid will fizz when mixed with baking soda, and chances are the salt will fall off into your sheets by morning. It’s still fun.

If this old-fashioned gender test is to be believed, a little boy will show interest in your pregnant belly if you're having a girl. If he doesn't seem interested, you're having a boy.

Does it feel like your face is getting rounder by the hour? According to this traditional Latin American belief, you should get ready for a daughter. If your breasts are especially large and heavy and your butt is getting big and round, you'll have a son.

Supposedly where you carry your baby matters, too. A boy baby will sit low in your abdomen, while a girl will sit higher up (near your rib cage). A girl might also cause your belly to protrude far out in front (rather than spread side to side).

For this one, you'll need access to a garden and a tolerance for bodily fluid. Go out and plant two corn seeds. Water them with your pee. If the ears of corn that grow are black, it looks like a boy is on the way. Yellow corn is a sign that you'll have a girl. Either way, don't eat the corn.

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.

Another old gender test claims that if an expectant mom picks up her napkin by the edges, a boy is on the way.

Trying for a baby? In some parts of the United States, people believe if you conceive after midnight it will be a girl, while making love during the new moon means you'll have a boy.

Did your partner seem a little distracted while you were doing the deed? This theory says if he was busy looking over his right shoulder at the full moon during baby-making time, he will father a boy.

Can you influence your baby's sex before you conceive? Some elaborate methods say yes. For a boy, have your partner sit on the roof near the chimney for several hours before intercourse. Pining for a girl (and own a buggy)? An old American myth claims you can shake off your baby's "extra equipment" by taking your buggy over rough roads.

If these sound too bizarre and impractical, there are also scientific sex selection methods you can investigate!

More to explore:

Try our Chinese gender predictor

What the statistics say: Are you having a boy or a girl?

Video: Our medical advisor talks about finding out your baby's sex 

Video: See your baby's gender in the womb