trying for a boy (or girl)

eyelovemascara

Please don't flame me for this question, but I can't figure out all this mumbo jumbo on having a boy vs having a girl. I've been reading all about increasing chances of having a boy, but I just don't buy it. Do you guys think its true?

I get the whole theory that X sperm lives longer (girl) and Y sperm swims faster (boy) so that if you conceive a little before ovulation, its most likely a girl, and if you conceive more like on the exact day of ovulation, its a boy. Voila!

So all that stuff leaves me wondering...if its that simple to "choose" the sex of your baby, then how are fraternal B/G twins even possible?! Wouldn't they all be BB or GG because the 2 eggs are released at the same time?

jalaiaa

Someone told me that if you want a boy you put baking soda in your hoo ha before sex. Something about changing the pH of the environment....

Despite the fact that I am on my 3rd boy, I did not do this. Willing to try some things (within reason) to get a girl though if DH allows me another.  

amy1007

haha! Lmao at hooha!

If Shettles were true I'd have 3 boys

amanda31H

Hahahah - "voila!"

 I was telling DH about the male sperm vs. female sperm and the Shettles(??) method.  I never heard of it before being on the TTGP board.  My husband is a math genius -  and loves statistics.  He was saying that statistically speaking it might be true that if you have sex only on the day you O, and your egg is fertilized that you have a higher chance of getting a boy...but like any "experiment" it would probably take numerous, numerous times of this happening for you to actually see an increased chance of a boy.  Thus, since humans don't have hundreds of children, it doesn't really work for us.

Does that make sense? Hard to type out. 

Anyway, I'm kind of in the camp that I'd get pregnant when I got pregnant, and whether we got a boy or a girl, it's what we're supposed to get.  Plus, this time around I got pregnant on our 7th cycle.  I don't know how long it would have taken for us if we only did it on O day!

amanda31H

jalaiaa:

Someone told me that if you want a boy you put baking soda in your hoo ha before sex. Something about changing the pH of the environment....

Despite the fact that I am on my 3rd boy, I did not do this. Willing to try some things (within reason) to get a girl though if DH allows me another.  

My mind started racing and I just got the giggles pretty bad........

sweetsugarmama

as far as I know eggs don't have to release at the exact same time, it can happen up to 24 (maybe 48?) hours apart. Also the sperm doesn't have to arrive at the same time, so b/g can happen. My u/s tech and a dr thought mine might be b/g since they showed up at different points and the eggs were fertilized at different times. 

I've heard things like different positions help things get there directly so it can help in the boy vs girl, but I think most are old wives tales that have a 50% chance of working.  

Colorado Babies 12

So, I actually have done this method.  My first pregnancy was more of a surprise but for my daughter we planned.  Prob too much info but, the only day we had intercourse was a Thursday and my ovulation day was 4 days later on Sunday.  If the method worked, we would have a girl because by the time I ovulated, the boy sperm would be dead and only girls would be left. Sure enough, GIRL.  Maybe coincidence but it was the plan.  With my current pregnancy, we wanted a boy sooooo, I tracked my ovulation everyday and right on ovulation day we had intercourse. (just once)  Exactly 2 weeks later, I got a positive pregnancy test.  2 weeks after that, we found out we were having twins.  My assumption based on our method was that if both eggs released at the same time, it would be 2 boys but if I had ovulated on the intercourse day and then again a few days later, that it would be boy then girl.  I knew it wouldn't be 2 girls. I was right, 2 boys it is.  

It has also worked for a few of our friends too.  Maybe just by luck, but seems to work for us.  I followed the entire pregnancy planner on Web MD.   

 

Colorado Babies 12

Just to clarify, I didn't care either way what my babies were, it's just a fun method. 

natb22

Bless you for wanting to have another so soon! I can't imagine another one for us yet, although my hubby wants a boy really bad. If you figure out the secret of getting a mr man, let me know! LOL
GOOD LUCK!

MrsCali_Bride

With our oldest we had sex three days in a row up to and including O day. We got a boy. With the twins we had sex five days in a row up to and including O day. We got one of each. 

ougrad1

Hmmm....I had a medicated IUI with the babies and was monitored so, I know when I ovulated.  We did the IUI and only had sex that night and we had a boy and a girl....

 

GeauxTigers82

We tried it all! We tried everything possible to have a boy...and got twin girls!

I researched a lot about this, and because we knew about the month we wanted to get pregnant, we thought it would be fun to go all out and try the Shettles Method. I didn't really believe you can totally predict your baby's gender, but I thought it would be fun to try and it couldn't hurt.

Anyway, these are all the things we did (and were supposed to do):

1. Tracked ovulation for a year to be able to have intercourse at the right time for boy (of course, I was really just tracking to help conceive, but whatever...). Prime time is 12 hours after ovulation (if I remember right??). I tested twice a day to help know exactly when.

2. Position for boy (male behind)

3. Deep penetration for boy (TMI, I know)

4. Douche with Baking Soda (checked vaginal canal with pH strips to check acidity/alkalinity)

5.. Ate certain "boy producing" foods (salty foods, red meat, eggs, etc.)

6. TTC (and did) on a "boy" month, according to the Chinese Calendar

7. I feel like there were more, but I just can't remember

Anyway, it clearly did not work! Two more girls!

Of course it did not really matter. We already had a girl, so we thought it would be fun to try for the boy. My DH thinks the reason we got twins is because of all my baking soda!! LOL!

Maybe we'll try again next time, and if it's a boy, I can claim how much this method works!!!

 

GeauxTigers82

jalaiaa:

Someone told me that if you want a boy you put baking soda in your hoo ha before sex. Something about changing the pH of the environment....

Despite the fact that I am on my 3rd boy, I did not do this. Willing to try some things (within reason) to get a girl though if DH allows me another.  

Did it. Got twin girls.

See my posts below for all that I tried for that boy. You may want to do the same, since it obviously gives you girls! LOL!

google123

ougrad1:

Hmmm....I had a medicated IUI with the babies and was monitored so, I know when I ovulated.  We did the IUI and only had sex that night and we had a boy and a girl....

 

 

this.

 

it's an old-wives tale, otherwise it would be so easy to choose the sex of our baby by just doing it a few days before OR the day of O.  and just because you saw your babies a different times on u/s doesn't mean anything, one could have developed at a slightly slower rate.  Why is it with IVF, they remove all the eggs at the same time and fertilize them at the same time, yet some end up being 5,6,7,8,9 cells after 3days...etc. 

dr.kmok

We tried it all! We tried everything possible to have a boy...and got twin girls!

I researched a lot about this, and because we knew about the month we wanted to get pregnant, we thought it would be fun to go all out and try the Shettles Method. I didn't really believe you can totally predict your baby's gender, but I thought it would be fun to try and it couldn't hurt.

Anyway, these are all the things we did (and were supposed to do):

1. Tracked ovulation for a year to be able to have intercourse at the right time for boy (of course, I was really just tracking to help conceive, but whatever...). Prime time is 12 hours after ovulation (if I remember right??). I tested twice a day to help know exactly when.

2. Position for boy (male behind)

3. Deep penetration for boy (TMI, I know)

4. Douche with Baking Soda (checked vaginal canal with pH strips to check acidity/alkalinity)

5.. Ate certain "boy producing" foods (salty foods, red meat, eggs, etc.)

6. TTC (and did) on a "boy" month, according to the Chinese Calendar

7. I feel like there were more, but I just can't remember

Anyway, it clearly did not work! Two more girls!

Of course it did not really matter. We already had a girl, so we thought it would be fun to try for the boy. My DH thinks the reason we got twins is because of all my baking soda!! LOL!

Maybe we'll try again next time, and if it's a boy, I can claim how much this method works!!!

 

Us too (except these were our first)!  We also thought it would be fun to try to sway for a boy, did pretty much everything you did, and got TWO girls (fraternal).  Someone sure has a sense of humor

tarajayne

Wow, never heard of any of this!  I suspect it is all old wives tales though.

lrrb

My SIL has three girls and a boy (just had the boy a week ago).  They did the shuttles method for both of their last two children in hopes to get a boy.  It didn't work (clearly) on their first try as they got another girl but they FINALLY got that boy they were so dying for ( ::eyes roll:: I'm IF so I always get annoyed with trying to pick sexes, I'm just grateful for a baby period).  Anyways, in their case it worked 50% of the time they tried haha.  So in my opinion it works......just like every other time you have a baby you have a 50% chance of a boy and 50% chance of a girl.  Oh and they followed it TO-A-T both times....trust me, I heard details...ew haha.

tootlebug

idk i dont really believe it.  with both my son and this pregnancy i was going to an RE - being monitored while on clomid.  bc of the IF issues it's not like we really had a choice when to have sex..we had to do it every day throughout the "window" all the way through the day past ovulation.  so with both pregnancies we had sex the day before ovulation, the day of, and the day after.  first pregnancy was a boy.  second pregnancy twin girls and we did an IUI they day before ovulation....

LottaLattes

I think my eggs only allow boy sperms in, so I don't know.  You can see all my efforts to have *a* baby in my siggy,  and they produced boys.  Not sure what the losses were, of course.  We vaguely consider "trying" for a girl after the twins but I'm not sure if I am going to be too old by then!  I've always done the "every day or two leading up to O" method, which would theoretically put all types of sperm close to the egg upon release, and I have boys 3 & 4 brewing now

eyelovemascara

natb22:

Bless you for wanting to have another so soon! I can't imagine another one for us yet, although my hubby wants a boy really bad. If you figure out the secret of getting a mr man, let me know! LOL
GOOD LUCK!

 

Nat, we won't be having another for awhile--my IUD is good for 10 years--LOL!.  Its just DH constantly going on about how he wants a junior. Its going to be the death of me I swear! I tell him the more he wants a boy, the more girls we'll have

missfire

I go by Murphy's Law for all of it - the more you want a specific gender, the higher your chance of getting the other.