year of the dragonHappy Chinese New Year! Still looking for a way to throw yourself into the Year of the Dragon? You might want to start stocking up on baby shower gifts pronto. Superstitious couples hoping to bank on the notion that kids born in the Year of the Dragon are lucky are expected to give us another baby boom. Can you really blame them?

I'll admit I'm usually a skeptic about most of this hocus pocus-y, new age-y stuff. I take my horoscope with a grain of salt ... when I even bother to read it. But when it comes to bringing a baby into this world, all my book learning goes out the window.

Maybe it's because I had a pregnancy plagued by hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that causes you to throw up constantly. You'd cling to old wives' tales from older women who insisted that my constant nausea meant I was going to push out a kid with super strength too. Trust me, any time someone says your baby is going to be the bee's knees, you believe the voodoo they're selling.

Which is also why you will buy into the funny coincidences that make the zodiac "make sense." If it sounds good, why not?

Take my Chinese Zodiac sign. I was born under the Year of the Dog, the motto of which is supposed to be "I worry." And well, I do. About everything. Money. Driving in snow. Whether my kid is making enough friends on the playground. EVERYTHING. But this isn't me being neurotic, you have to understand, this is my destiny! Of course I believe!

And then there's my astrological sign. Did you know Cancers are supposed to be loyal, dependable homebodies? Check, check, check. Who wouldn't want to hang out with a person like me?

I know, I know, they're pretty general adjectives, but none of them are negative, so I'm going to go ahead and cling. I'm even an especial fan of that old poem about how the day you're born affects your personality. Yes, folks, I'm the child born on the Sabbath day. Who doesn't want to be bonny and blithe and good and gay?

Winning!

We all want to give our kids the absolute best start in life, right? So what's wrong with a little extra luck? According to ancient Chinese traditions, the dragon symbol was reserved for the emperor. That means not only luck but supposed strength.

I wouldn't advocate going so far as to plan a C-section just so you can have a baby under a certain zodiac sign or on a certain day of the week, but it will be the Year of the Dragon all the way up until February 2013. I'm pretty sure moms can safely get under the wire with this one. Now I just need to stock up on gifts.

Was your child born under a certain zodiac? Did you do that on purpose?

 

Image via jbhthescots/Flickr