“Oh look, Mariska Hargity had a baby boy,” I exclaimed. I hadn’t intended to say it out loud, but my husband who was sitting nearby heard me and replied: “Who?” After I explained that she was the actress who plays NYPD detective Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” he responded, “Why do you care?” It’s a good question. Unfortunately, I don’t really have a good answer. I don’t really know. For some reason I am drawn to headlines that proclaim, “Hollywood Actress Welcomes New Bundle of Joy.” Perhaps, it’s because I remember the incredible jubilation I felt after giving birth to our daughter. Who knows?
What I do know is that as I read about all the new arrivals filling the arms of celebrity moms and dads, I am also struck by the gender pattern that seems to occur when celebrities give birth in quick succession. For example, in the month of May (post TomKat and Brooke Shields having baby girls on the same day) a slew of Hollywood stars had babies. The wives of basketball all-stars, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant both gave birth to girls on the same day. Then, less than a week later actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar (of “Commander in Chief” and “Saved by the Bell” fame) and his wife also added a baby girl to their family; the same day Adam Sandler’s wife gave birth to a girl. Mind you this all took place in the course of six days.
Then suddenly the tide turned. On May 17th, former “South Park” star, Issac Hayes and his wife welcomed son number four. Less than a week later Penn and Teller magician, Penn Jillette and his wife also added a baby boy to their growing clan. Four days later rocks stars Gwen Stefani and husband Gavin Rossdale became parents to son Kingston James McGregor Rossdale. Then, less than 24 hours later the testosterone train came to a grinding halt when news broke that Angelina Jolie had given birth to a baby girl, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. Daddy Brad Pitt called her his “beautiful angel.”
But, this gender streak doesn’t just occur in Hollywood. In 2003 when I got pregnant with my baby I joined four other colleagues who were also expecting. In early 2004, within 10 weeks of each other, we all gave birth to baby girls. Now, four moms in my daughter’s playgroup are pregnant and we recently found out that all of them will be having boys. There is just something about streaks like these (be it with celebrities or “commoners”) that fascinates me. Am I the only one?