Writen by Tonilyn Hornung for The Mix

I want him to be a Taurus. Drinking my non-caffeinated beverage at lunch, I told my friend as much. My huge 8-month pregnant belly was making it hard for me to reach my plate, but between bites I managed to get out, "If he comes now he will be an Aries, and I'm just not sure my husband and I can handle that. They can be kind of…fiery." The adjective I used might have sounded more like crazy instead of fiery, because my friend said dryly, "I'm an Aries." I could feel my face flush, and the baby inside my stomach stopped his kicking waiting to see how I was going to get out of this one. "It's not that I don't like Aries people," I backpedaled, "it's just that I'm a Virgo and my husband is a Scorpio and a Taurus would be better for us." Listening to myself explain my optimum choice of astrological sign for my soon-to-born son made me think, "Am I crazy? Is our fate really written in the stars?"

Since I was a kid, I've always had a fascination with the signs of the Zodiac. I suppose if the description of my own sign didn't truly describe my personality, I might have given astrology as little attention as I did Twin Peaks. But I am a hardcore Virgo. Logical, practical and organised we Virgo's make excellent companions—except for having to be right all the time. That can be an annoying trait to our friends and partners. But it's not that we are right all the time, it's just that we are never wrong. There's a difference. So when I say that it would be best for our family to have a Taurus child, I'm pretty convinced I am correct.

When my husband and I first started talking about getting pregnant, we sat on the couch talking about what hair colour she should have—mine or my husband's— and whose nose he should have—mine. Along with discussing whether or not we wanted a boy or girl, we also talked about what signs would be best for our child. So, when we first started trying to get pregnant, we tried to aim according to the stars. My Virgo nature kicked in and I began planning and organising when the best time for me to get pregnant would be. How fun would it be to have a December baby? Or what about February child?

But it's a strange thing—trying to get pregnant. My whole life I'd been terrified of being pregnant before I was ready, and now that I wanted to have a baby, it wasn't as easy as I thought. That's when my realistic side won out over my desire for control, trying to plan when my baby was going to show up was like trying to resist croissants in Paris—almost impossible. After a couple of months trying, I (we) decided to stop trying. The most important thing was having a heathy baby.

As it turns out, I got my Taurus baby. In fact, he and my mother now share the same birthday, and no amount of my Virgo planning could have ever made for that amazing coincidence. My son was born happy and healthy. And guess what happened? When I held him for the first time I did not care in the least what his astrological sign happened to be. He was beautiful and perfect and it was love at first sight–that was indeed written in my stars.

From the editors of Harper's Bazaar US

From: Harper's BAZAAR US