How to have a baby girl............or not!

IS there really anything you can do to help choose the sex of your baby?

I was one of 3 and always wanted 3 children. My first two children were boys and when Rob and I decided we wanted another baby we both were fully prepared to have three boys. Deep down we would have liked a girl first or second time around too but a healthy baby was our main priority. On a visit to the doctors I mentioned that we would like another child and asked the doctor if she knew any tips for having a girl. The doctor laughingly mentioned that she had heard a rumour that the nursery rhyme 'What are little girls made of' had had positive results. That is, 'sugar and spice and all things nice'.

Well I hadn't gone anywhere near 'frogs and snails and puppy dogs tails' when I had my two boys and certainly hadn't eaten them. However, I thought nothing ventured nothing gained and decided to give it a go. Unscientifically, I decided there could be truth in the rumour as a number of my friends who had girls had sugar in their tea and coffee and so did their partners. Neither Rob or I had sugar in our drinks and maybe this was why we had boys! Even though we ate biscuits and chocolate maybe there is more sugar in a sugar lump.

It seemed logical at the time but I do have to admit I do feel a bit barmy now as I'm sharing this in my blog. For a few months before I tried to get pregnant both Rob and I ate a sugar lump every morning and evening. Neither of us wanted not to eat it in case there was some truth in the nursery rhyme. We were both prepared to get very fat, have grotty teeth and a boy baby! Once I was pregnant we stopped eating sugar lumps.

We decided not to ask for the sex of the baby and wait until the birth. Well we did have a girl. When she was born we were both obviously delighted but my main concern was whether she was breathing, did she have ten fingers and toes etc. At the time my desire for a healthy child certainly was stronger than my desire for a girl.

Emily is now 16. Luckily Rob, Emily and I all have good teeth so I think we escaped any sugar damage. Did we have a girl because we ate sugar? It's something we'll never know but I feel it was worth the experiment.

Has anyone tried anything like this to choose the sex of their baby that has or hasn't worked?

Photo by Flickr Yatenkaiouh

Comments

[Linda]

Hey Karen, lovely to see this post featured on the Times Alphamummy blog today!

[21st Century Mummy]

I've heard it depends when you have sex. If it's near to ovulation as possible then it's more likely to be a boy. Male sperm swim fast but don't last as long, whereas female sperm last longer but are not as strong. It's called the Shettles method.

[J Winton]

My friend has a theory that after a baby you have to wait at least a year before getting pregnant so that the body clears itself of all the hormones from the last baby, otherwise you will have the same sex child. Unscientifically it seems to be more true than not.

[Karen]

Thank you all for your comments. When I worked at Great Ormond Street Hospital the Consultants I knew always advised people to wait at least 6 months after coming off the pill before trying to get pregnant to allow the hormones to settle down. I know that's nothing to do with the sex of a baby but there may be truth in the hormones theory.

[Debbie Caygill]

We had 1 of each, can't say I did anything different although I have heard it depends on the time you conceive same as 21st Century mummy has said. However, I do know a lot of friends who have had 2 of the same...when I was younger all my friends had siblings of a different sex. I hardly remember anyone who had a same sex sibling, but it seems to be the other way round now. Most of my friends have 2 girls or 2 boys....we are the odd one's out! Maybe it's just nature, who knows! If you do find out though....bottle it, it will be worth a fortune!

[jenny sagi]

We had been together for quite a while and not conceived, our Dr suggested bicarb douches to counteract any acid, we went on to have two giris and then 11 years later were 'surprised' by a little boy!

[Tina Feehan]

After having 3 gorgeous boys and having always wanted 4 children, we decided to do some research into choosing the sex of our 4th child. I found a report on the internet and bought the book by Landrum B Shettles which was called quite simply, "How to choose the sex of your baby". It involved temperature and vaginal discharge monitoring (sounds yuk i know). It was all down to timing. The closer to ovulation you perform the deed, the more likely you are to have a boy. Therefore intercourse a few days before ovulation should result in a girl. The principle being that the male producing sperm swim faster therefore depending on the environment surrounding them ie alkaline or acidic and the state of their health, get to the egg first. Male producing sperm do however die off quicker so if intercourse occurs a few days before ovulation, it's more likely that a female producing sperm may be still swimming around ready to penetrate the egg. After months of tracking temperature and consistency of discharge, i was able to track exactly when i would be a few days from ovulation.i decided to start the process by having intercourse 5 days before my ovulation due date so I douched with lemon juice before and after intercourse. the book advised that i should not have an orgasm as this creates a more alkaline environment which favours the male producing sperm. Also it was advised that ejaculation should occur closer to the vaginal opening where it is more naturally acidic in some women therefore killing off some male producing sperm way before their journey begins. I naturally didn't tell my husband the ins and outs of what lay ahead (pardon the pun)as i didn't want him to think we were just going to bed to make a baby. The book worked a treat first time round and we had a beautiful baby girl. i did not realise that men could produce super sperm which could live inside the female for a few days. Our daughter has brought a completely different dimention to our family and i love being able to do girly things with her. I adored having just boys and didn't miss a girl as i didn't know what i was missing if you know what i mean. We only decided to try the recommendations of the book as we were absolutely certain that should another boy come along, we would have been just as delighted. This is not something that should be entered into lightly as disappointment can lead to failure to bond with the baby. Our daughter is extremely girly and loves pink. Our friends renamed our home "Pinksville" after she was born. we have been blest with 4 gorgeous and healthy children and we have a lot to be thankful for. Though our daughter can irritate her brothers occassionaly, they adore her as she does them. God help any future partner she may bring home one day. I can just see the line up now, the dad, the big brother the other big brother and the other big brother. Oh dear.

[Cathie Flynn]

I think it's fascinating but I just wonder about boy/girl twins - what's going on there if it's a timing/food thing??????

[Karen Sherr]

Thanks for all your comments.
Jenny that's a lovely story.
Tina the book sounds really detailed.I'm so glad it worked out well for you.I can't help worrying that if people do follow the books suggestions and put in so much effort they may end up really disappointed if they have a different sexed child to the one they were hoping for.
Interesting point Cathie.There is obviously a lot more to this than I realised when I ate sugar lumps!
Karen