As we've become accustomed to the ability to find out our baby's sex long before he or she is born, it's jolting to think that privilege (or right, depending how you feel about it) could be taken away. No more gender reveal cakes! But some doctors say the information should at least be delayed in order to prevent people from aborting babies who aren't the sex they want.

In Canada, a call has been made to delay the revelation of a fetus's gender until 30 weeks. Typically the information is given during an ultrasound in the 20th week, when abortion is a more readily available option.

When it comes to pregnant celebrities to watch, Jessica Simpson is the current "it" girl. We want to know all about what she's eating (cantaloupe), and how she's feeling (good, no morning sickness). Most of all, though, we want to know the baby's sex.

Pink or blue? Blue or pink? We need to know because ... well, just because we want to know. Recently, she may have accidentally slipped and given us a pretty big clue. Any guesses?

As a consummate planner, I would never be one of those parents who chooses to wait until a baby's birth to learn his or her sex. As romantic as the whole "It's a ..." moment in the delivery room sounds, I found out both of my children's sexes the instant I could ... and that was about 12 weeks too long to wait as far as I was concerned. In Europe, however, couples may not have such a choice for long as the Council of Europe committee is considering a resolution that would "withhold information about the sex of the foetus" from parents to be.

Upon reading about it initially, I was outraged. How could they take that privilege away from parents? Why should a doctor have say in such a personal matter? But the more I read into the reasoning behind the potential ban, the more I understand, and even support it to some extent.

If you could find out the gender of your baby while you were still in your first trimester, would you? Apparently, you can: A recent study found that a certain type of prenatal blood test is highly accurate at determining fetal sex as early as seven weeks into the pregnancy. That's weeks before other, riskier tests, like ultrasounds and amniocentesis, can make the distinction between boy or girl.

I think this is great news, despite concerns that the availability of this test will lead to an uptick in the practice of prenatal sex selection -- which, for the record, I DO NOT SUPPORT or approve of in any way, shape, or form.

The reason why I think this is a positive development is because finding out the gender of your baby early could be the key to good prenatal care ...

Militant moms, you know who you are. You offer endless unwanted advice about everything from amnio to c-sections, and you judge those of us who dare to have a different opinion from yours. Well, it's my turn to talk, so listen -- and listen closely: You are sucking the joy out of my pregnancy. Stop it, already. I'm begging you!

Since I went public with my expectant-mom status, I've been lectured on why c-sections are evil, how getting amnio is dangerous (one friend even asked me disapprovingly why I wanted to "prick" my baby), and why choosing not to breastfeed is like child abuse. So far, I haven't gotten the sermon about day care, but it's coming. I can feel it.

Okay, maybe it's just me, but has anyone else noticed that damn near everyone seems to be having baby boys this year? I swear, ask a few pregnant women if they know what they're having, and I bet most of them will tell you, "It's a boy!" Among my own friends and family, 8 out of 12 have either had or are expecting little lads in 2011.

Of course, rationally, logically, I know better -- it's 50/50, right? I mean, in 2010, it seemed like everyone I knew was having girls. But, last week, after attending an expectant parents-of-twins meeting with 15 other families, I could no longer dismiss this boy baby boom as mere coincidence. This year, the city of LA -- possibly the entire universe -- is going to be hit with a whole helluva lot of testosterone!

This was my first reaction to the results of a new poll revealing that if they could only choose one child, more Americans would prefer a boy over a girl: Where are my pearls? I need to get all dolled up to vacuum the house before Ward and "the Beav" get home!

Seriously, what is this, 1958? Are we in China? I know we're a long way from gender equality, but I was still shocked to hear that the majority of our country apparently values males over females.

Except ... wait. Look a little bit closer at those Gallup poll results and the big picture begins to come into focus.

Over the weekend, a friend of mine went public with the news that she's pregnant. She and her husband are confident that they are having a girl, based on the fact that she was so sick throughout her first trimester. Once upon a time, I might have bought that logic, but I have four other friends who are having babies this year, all of whom were sure their morning sickness indicated extra estrogen, but all of whom are having boys. And I know several women who were sure their easy pregnancies meant they had a son in the oven, and ended up with a little lady. True, most who had it easy ended up with boys, but not across the board.

So, I decided to explore some of the other gender-prediction theories, aside from morning sickness, to see if there was some truth to any of it.