Theories on conceiving a boy or girl

[Mrs Little]

I may be asking a question already discussed in previous threads....but i am curious.

My husband and i are discussing having baby no. 2 soon. We have recently had our first baby- a boy. I have always wanted a boy first ( the big brother protective thing). So before we started trying for our first i read about the theories on how to conceive a boy. We tried all those theories and IT WORKED.

We would really love a girl next. What are the theories around conceiving a girl? I am busting to have a girl next.

Mrs Little & Son.

[Mamaduke]

Hi,
I've got two boys and hope to have a girl next!
I'm just going out but I will pm you later, as I've got a HEAP of literature re/gender.
Talk to you soon.
Carly
Edited: I have this link to a website which is all about gender selection...
http://www.planbaby.com/index.htm

[JanetF]

I haven't looked at that link but I inadvertantly gender selected lat time LOL. Boy sperm are sprinters so if you have sex right on the time you ovulate, they will sprint up there and fertilise the egg. Girl sperm are marathon runners, slow and steady, so if you have sex a few days BEFORE you ovulate, the boys have run themselves and died and only the girl sperm are left to fertilise your egg. We had sex on the day I O'd with our first child and hey presto! a boy! I don't really believe the salt/sweet or Ph arguments but the sperm speed makes sense to me :)

[Mamaduke]

Girl sperm are marathon runners, slow and steady, so if you have sex a few days BEFORE you ovulate, the boys have run themselves and died and only the girl sperm are left to fertilise your egg.
For our last two I used the maybebaby thingy, so as soon as I could see the 'fern leaves' (which means you are ovulating) on the test away we'd go IYKWIM!! So I strongly believe that that is how come we have two boys.

[JanetF]

I have heard that there's a slightly higher than average boy rate depending on the method you use to predict ovulation and those kinds of kits which show when O is happening is one of the methods apparently.

[funfarrell]

I absolutely agree that if you have sex a few days before ovulation you will prob have a girl, it worked for me. Also i conceived in a cold climate which is also apparantely helpful. Good luck x

[Oscar's mum]

For our last two I used the maybebaby thingy, so as soon as I could see the 'fern leaves' (which means you are ovulating) on the test away we'd go IYKWIM!! So I strongly believe that that is how come we have two boys.


I used the Maybe Baby too! I wanted a boy and voila I had a boy! :D

[Mrs Little]

I am curious. What's the maybe baby thing??

I have heard about trying a few days before you ovulate for a girl...how do u know exactly when a few days before ovulation is?

Mrs Little & Son.

[Oscar's mum]

It's like a little microscope that determines a woman's fertile and infertile period. You put a small amount of saliva on the lens and wait a little while then when you look at it again it will either be like little pebble shapes on the lens or a fern leaf pattern. The fern leaf indicates that you are fertile at that time.

[Mrs Little]

I've never heard of such a thing! How funny.

Where do u purchase them from? Would it then be helpful for trying for a girl?

Mrs Little & Son.

[JanetF]

Knowing when you ovulate, provided you have normal fertility, increases your likelihood of conception from about 25% (haphazard bonking) to about 70% (planned bonking). You can learn to chart your cervical mucus at this site http://www.woomb.org I've conceived 2 babies that way and I have fertility issues. So once you've learnt to chart your cycle, you can see your early signs of the fertile time beginning and fit the bonking in then before you know O will occur.

[Oscar's mum]

Mrs Little

It might improve your chances you buy them from any pharmacy, but they are definately cheaper 2nd hand!

Perhaps if you charted like JanetF said also you may really improve your chances! :)

[JanetF]

And charting is free and can be used as contraception as well. Brilliant! :D

[Mamaduke]

In the information I have (sorry I can't post a link but I don't know how to attach files!) I have a chart that is set up to measure you basal body temp and cervical mucus chart so you can see for yourself when you're ovulating. It was from the 4 gender selection website and you have to pay for it, but I have the whole booklet in Adobe form if anyone would like a copy.

[cosmic]

Yep.. I conceived by charting too. I have never once got a positive result on an OPK (bought about 3 packets of them) and here I am 22 weeks pregnant. Whaddya know? :p I also was BDing every 2nd day up to a day after ovulation and I'm having a girl (last time they looked!), so maybe one of the girl sperms from previous efforts was stilling hanging around and did the job even though I BD'd on O day as well.
:rolleyes:

oh... and I just saw Carly's post. Another good website for charting is www.fertilityfriend.com. The basic membership is free.. the fancy extras cost about $16US for 3mths I think.

[Mamaduke]

Here's something I was sent through another forum...

Fertility Friend Article: To Get a (According to Shettles):

* Have intercourse 2-3 days before ovulation and avoid intercourse just before ovulation until 2 days after ovulation and when you have peak cervical fluid: The idea is that when you have sex a few days before ovulation, only the X-chromosome girl sperm; will be left in the female reproductive tract waiting to fertilize the egg when it is released.
* Have intercourse with shallow penetration: Shettles recommends; missionary position;or any position that will deposit the sperm slightly away from the cervix, giving advantage to the longer living, but slower X-chromosome-carrying sperm.
* Women avoid orgasm: Shettles suggests women avoid orgasm because it makes the vaginal environment more alkaline, and less acidic and is disadvantageous to the X-chromosome girl sperm.

If you are taking longer than expected to conceive, it is generally not recommended to attempt any kind of sex selection as it can increase the time it takes to conceive.

~~Going forPINK tips~~

~Shettles: 3-day cut-off before O, after AF BD everyday until cut-off, missionary position/shallow penetration, no big "O" for woman
~O+12 method: no ejaculation 7 days before O, then one BD 12 hours after O
~O+12 method: www.in-gender.com

~Take the recommended dosage on the bottle~

Calcium/magnesium: take cal/mag tablets everyday from AF to O
Cranberry Tablets: Helps dry up cm and more acidic environ. Take everyday from to
Vitex: Helps dry up cm and more acidic environ. Take tabs everyday from to
Acidic environment in woman's body: acidic environment favor girl sperms, kills off male sperms. *Creamy CM favor girl sperms

pH should be below 7.00 7.00 Is neutral. Above that is alkaline. For a girl....Best is probably 5 or 4 anything below that your probably going to kill the sperm off. (We're not doctors,,all we can give you is our opinions)


~~ODDS & ENDS~~

FAQ -- a more detailed summary of shettles theory for boys and girls...
http://pub75.ezboard.com/fbabydustcomfrm14...icID=2512.topic
...a note about douching, Shettles in the latest book has said that he no longer recommends douching as it can expose you to a a greater risk of infections.

What foods are acidic? alkaline? website here: (Just a note* Eat off the ALKALINE food chart. If you eat off the acidic, it will make your body more alkaline, and if you eat alkaline foods, it will make your body more acidic. (Your body tries to compensate to get the balance))
http://www.essense-of-life.com/info/foodchart.htm

Cervical Position:
Your cervix will be soft - like lips - and hard to reach. Some can't reach it at all. You are very fertile at this point.

Cervical Mucous:
Dry - It will feel moist inside, but will dry on your finger quickly. It will dry before doing the stretch test. You are not fertile at this point.

Sticky - It will feel sticky and thick on your finger, might break up or create a 'roll' when rubbed. It will not stretch, but will form pointy peaks. You are not fertile at this point.

Creamy - It will feel like lotion. It is the transitional stage between fertile and infertile, and so can range between thick and thin i.e. cream to milk. It will not stretch, but form a wavy pattern, very smooth and just giving a clue where it was broken. This means you are in the transition to either being fertile, or you are no longer fertile.

Watery - It will feel just like water. Your finger will slip in easily. When you rub your finger and thumb, it won't dry quickly, and will massage well. It will not stretch. You are fertile at this point.

Egg White - It will feel very slippery inside. It will massage very well and will not dry at all. It will stretch well, from just a little to several inches. Can be mistaken for semen. You are very fertile at this point.

Egg White Verses Semen:
It can be difficult to distinguish between the two. Here is how to tell the difference....
1. Egg White will ball up and sink in water and will remain stretchy when retrieved. Semen will float and dissolve.
2. Egg White will stretch repeatedly. Semen may stretch once or twice, but not for much longer.
3. Egg White is very shiny and clear or slightly opaque. Semen is less shiny and creamy.
4. Egg White will stretch to form several thin strands. Semen will stretch with just one strand.

Before your first official attempt it is suggested to track your cycles for at least 3 months, observing BBT and CM so that you are confident of your O day and cycle pattern.

How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby by Landrum Shettles, M.D. Ph.D. and David M. Rorvik (A good read with lots of helpful information on TTC a specific gender. It can be borrowed from your local library

[matty's mum]

Hi we used the maybe baby and wanted and received a boy a friend used it and was trying for a girl and she also got what she wanted.

I'm to lazy for all the charting you ladies do. so the maybe baby was the best for me.

[pegasus]

Hi - I bought the Shettles and Rorvik book - How to Choose the Sex of your Baby.

Basically it goes through the stuff Carly wrote with a couple of more odds and sods. My copy cost me $19.95 from Dymocks and I stuck to most of the things for a girl but didn't want to be bothered with the douches it suggests. The book also goes into a bit more depth of how to read your cycle (with Billings, ferns etc) especially good if you're not a 28day regular.:) The book also suggests initially stopping bd'ing 4days before O, not 2-3. Only suggests moving to 2-3 days if not successful after a couple of cycles.

I will tell you in about 6 1/2months if we were successful. We won't find out the sex at our 20week scan as although we wanted to try for a girl this time, we still want a surprise and definitely won't be disappointed if it's another DS:D

PS I also have a Maybe baby and the only thing that suggests is the very start of the appearance of the ferns.

[W & T's sleepy mummy]

It probably doesnt really help, but I read an old wives tale that the first parental name the baby said would be the sex of the next baby, ie if dada is first the baby would be a boy. I know this is such a rort, but I have two boys and badly want a girl, and my second bubs first word was 'mama'. Cross your fingers!!!:D

[BlessedWithBlue]

http://www.in-gender.com/ is definately a great site with lots of information!

I have 2 little boys and will ttc our 3rd and final babe in the new year.
I plan on trying the supplements and see how they go, but we'll be thrilled with either gender :D

lol my ods first word was Dada and second ds first word was mama :D

[coastalmum]

My husband and i want to start trying for a boy. in previous posts and things i have heard if you do the deed on ovulation day that is the best chance of having a boy, now what i would like to know is, do you only do it on that ovulation day or can you do it the day before and day after aswell?

I know there is a few ladies on this site who have tried for a boy and did the ovulation day thing and had boys, now can you do the ovulation thing every month or is it only on certain months like these lunar charts( you can only do it in certain months if you want a boy/girl).

I have a chinese lunar chart and it tells me i have to wait untill april and then july to oct to have a chance for a boy, this chart has worked for all of my sister-in-law's friends.

I am pulled in two directions with this, do i do the ovulation thingy or go by the lunar chart.

Could someone please give their thoughts on this.:confused:

[pegasus]

I wouldn't trust the lunar charts as I think it was wrong for me with DS and others have posted that they've been wrong for them. Basically they have a 50/50 chance so I spose it might also depend on how superstitious you are.

In the Shettles book, it says not to bd after 12hours later than ovulation and if you use an alkaline douche you enhance your chances.

The info contained in this book seems more scientific and backed up by more research than a 50/50 chance, so IMO I'd go with the ovulation thingy.;) (It's what I did, but I still have to find out how we went (mind you, I didn't go strictly by the book, as I didn't do any douching, so if we're wrong, I don't think I can blame the method.) However, I did figure that we did bd on o day with DS:D

[sugar n spice]

I am glad someone posted this thread as i was thinking of doing the same, i want to try for a girl in about 4mnth time. I think i will try doing the dead before o like most of you suggested
thanks

[babycrazy]

Hi
We really really want another boy. ie girl,girl, BOY, girl, twin girls!!!!
Its not that we dont love our girls but I'd really like Josh to have a brother! If you work it out let me know!:)

[coastalmum]

Hi Pegasus,

Thankyou for your feed back.
I was thinking of going the ovulation way. do you know if you can only do it only on that day or can you do it a day before and day after. And can you do this ovulation thing every month or only on certain months.

If you have anymore feed back it would be great.
Thanks
Coastalmum:)

[pegasus]

Hi Coastal mum,

The ovulation thing relies on nothing astral or anything, so any month you ovulate, you could conceive a boy or a girl depending on when you bd.

The other thing the book I have talks about is alkaline (for boy) -v- acidic (for girl) environments. I'm not sure how much diet can help this along, but if drinking pineapple juice can change a man's output, then it definitely can't hurt. As I've said, I didn't strictly follow the book as I didn't use the douches they suggested. The suggestions for girls is to bd from the end of AF until 4,3 or 2 days before o, then abstinence. They suggest a couple of cycles to stop at 4days, then if not conceiving, try 3days then if still not conceiving try 2days. So the formula for a boy is to abstain from AF until 2days before, with greatest chance 1day before until 12 hours after. There's also a fair bit written on consistency of CM and this is a good guide as to exact time.

As I've also said, I'll have to wait until July to let you know how successful we were. Or maybe we'll find out next US in a couple of weeks.;)

[JimJamsMum]

I have heard about trying a few days before you ovulate for a girl...how do u know exactly when a few days before ovulation is?

If you take note of your cervical mucus you will notice that as ovulation approaches it starts to change and get thicker and stretchy (often described as egg white). That's what keeps the sperm alive while they run about looking for an egg :laughing:

[Sunshine Now]

Just want some help on your experience with Maybe baby.

Were the small type ferns Ovulation or will they be obviously Bigger ferns??? New to it and see ferns but not massive ones??? Argh, so crazy yet exciting???:flowerz: