What I Look at and What You Look Like

In almost every culture, there are many superstitions surrounding pregnancy. For instance, the Aztec believed a pregnant woman who saw an eclipse would have a baby with a harelip. In Chinese culture, a pregnant woman who handles or keeps sharp objects such as knives and scissors in the bedroom may give birth to a baby with a cleft palate. However, it is an American superstition that if a mother drops a knife, it's a boy; if she drops scissors, it's a girl.

Generally speaking, I take these superstitions lightly. I think they're fun to learn about, but I don't follow them. Well... except this one. I'm not sure if it's followed only in Chinese culture, but some say that if a pregnant woman looks at a cute baby throughout her pregnancy, her baby will be as cute as that baby in the picture.

My mom has told me about it since I was a kid, but I've always thought she was just telling me that I was cute. However, as soon as a colleague learned that I'm pregnant, he urged me to search for cute baby pictures. He not only used his own two kids as proof; he even attempted to back it up with research findings.

It definitely triggered my curiosity.

With the previous experience of being laughed at by your dad for trying to hear your heart beat, This time I strategically blended this topic into one of the conversations. Well, he thought it amusing, and the fact that I didn't meet any oppositions encouraged me to start looking for cute baby pictures.

It didn't take long until I encountered two problems. One, should I be looking for a picture of a baby boy or a baby girl? This was relatively easy to solve: I figured I'd find a picture of each. The second problem was that the majority of the cute baby pictures I found featured adorable little blonds with piercing blue eyes. Well... these are two genetic traits that you will not have (unless my maternal Dutch great grandmother had blue eyes and her genes have been passed down 4 generations).

Back to the search for a picture of a baby that will look like you (or you will look like). Here are the two that I finally decided to keep:


Frankly, I don't need help from cute baby pictures to believe that you're going to be the cutest baby anyone has ever laid eyes on. I KNOW you're going to be cute... and smart... and funny... and kind... and.... (see the first post on this blog and don't forget to read your dad's comment too).