Does anybody wonder...

[LuvMyBoys]

... if certain people might be more likely to have boys and certain people might be more likely to have girls?

 

[gardenofedens]

For different reasons, yes. If a man has more female gendered sperm, there will be a higher chance for a baby girl, and vice versa. In addition, if a woman has a more acidic diet and her vagina is more acidic, less male sperm will survive the trip up the fallopian tubes since they need a more alkaline environment than female sperm so that would also increase the liklihood of having a baby girl versus a baby boy. Also, if a couple tries to time sex for a boy by having sex on "ovulation day" but only assume that it would occur on CD14 but actually happens on CD17, male sperm are less likely to live more than 24-48 hours so that would also increase the liklihood of having a boy.

I think you're probably referring to something other than scientific reasons but there they are anyway!

 

[OmiOmen]

I was going to say pretty much the same as gardenofedens. Although I had heard about gender and ovulation days I did not know it was because male sperm are less likely to live more than 24-48 hours.

Some research also suggests that vegetarians are more likely to have girls as it supposedly has something to do with testosterone levels (although both me and my husband are vegetarians and have a son) but I am not really that swayed by the research carried out on the subject.

I would say if a couple have 5 or so kids of the same gender I would be thinking the males sperm probably has a lot of that gender so if I was a betting women (which I'm not) then I would think it was more likely they would have the same again.

 

[gardenofedens]

yea, the studies i've read say that the "average" sperm sample consists of 60% males and 40% females (or something close to that) because female sperm are hardier than male sperm and will live longer in the vagina. There are also something like 105 male babies born for every 100 female but males are more likely to not survive the first year so it's supposedly nature's way of "evening the odds" to increase the number of male sperm and births over females. Who knows though!

 

[OmiOmen]

I have wondered about it when I have heard it because it seem like the easiest option for those trying to sway other than the lengths some people go to to keep an acidic/alkaline environment (which surprised me to find that people do that).

 

[BeeStrong]

Great information ladies! LuvMyBoys... I have also wondered the same thing. Particularly because of my husband's job. He flies jets, so I often wonder how those poor male sperm can survive the tight harness they wear and the stress of the flight. I have heard that there is a study out there showing that jet pilots do have more girls than boys. So, my point is that depending on lifestyle behaviors I think the man's sperm can be affected. Maybe, more female sperm survive all of that, so they have more girls.

 

[gardenofedens]

Trying to keep a more acidic or alkaline environment would be too much for me though I did have pineapple juice on CD19 and was bummed when my temps showed I ovulated on CD21 because I'm sure all the left from our fun on CD17 didn't survive the extra acid from the pineapple juice for four days until ovulation. We did happen to have more fun on CD21 just by chance but I don't know how long the pineapple juice would have affected things. Oh well. I'm actually hoping to not get a this cycle or next so that I don't have to worry about the possibility of morning sickness at our wedding or on the honeymoon...and because we already have about 20 people in our family whose birthdays are in January, February, and March so it'd be nice to avoid those months plus I really want to go to the tanning salon before we leave for Hawaii and I won't do that if there's a chance I'm pregnant! The is due 5/17 I think so hopefully I'll know for sure then! (Of course, I'd be positively ecstatic if I got pregnant this month though!)

 

[MrsBroodyPant]

my male friend is in the RAF and works on radar. They say that they usually only have girls as the radar affects the sperm.....and he has 2 girls so far x

 

[LuvMyBoys]

my male friend is in the RAF and works on radar. They say that they usually only have girls as the radar affects the sperm.....and he has 2 girls so far x

Neat! This is more along the lines of what I am wondering. There are many factors that could influence whether an X or Y will fertilize the egg, some of which could be related to both the external environment AND personality factors of the parents (which, of course, can influence a person's physiology).

 

[OmiOmen]

If you are interesting in trying for one sex in particular then that is called swaying and there are lot of site about it (ingender) although the majority of things suggested are old wives tales some have evidence behind them.

Oh, no drinking pineapple juice is not bad I was thinking more of those that do douching for alkaline/acidic environment. Yes, morning sickness on a wedding day is not good, I think I had it but had with my first MMC on my wedding day (not taken a test by then). Bloating is a worry too as it could get so bad the dress would not fit.

 

[gardenofedens]

Oh, I've never douched before....the only reason I know I had pineapple juice on CD19 is because I had it in one of my water bottles for a 50 mile bicycle ride I did on May 1st. Otherwise I definitely don't track my eating habits so carefully, lol!

Either way, I'm still pretty certain I'm not pregnant this cycle since our BDing was off based on when FF assumes I ovulated. Plus today I took my temp at 4:30 when I happened to wake up and got 97.9. I went immediately back to sleep and woke up at my normal 5:15 and got 98.2. If I put 98.2 into FF, it changes my ovulation day from CD21 to CD25. If I put in the 97.9, it leaves my ovulation on CD21. If I ovulated on CD21, we had that day so there's still a small chance but if it's really CD25, I'm really out this month! Plus I've had completely dry CM since CD17 or 18 anyway.

My Ovulation Chart

 

[OmiOmen]

So do you put the temps into that chart and it tells you when you should be ovulating or does it still take extra working out? I am interested in the idea, but it does seem really complex.

 

[gardenofedens]

With fertilityfriend, all you input is your temps (you can add your CM observations, cervical position, OPK results, etc. if you want to though) and they determine when you most likely experienced ovulation. They do all the guesswork for you.

Initially I liked www.countdowntopregnancy.com better because I found it to be a little more user-friendly but two months in a row, it hasn't determined ovulation until well after FertilityFriend was able to.

 

[OmiOmen]

Thank you. I am really interested in the idea and might give it a go (although I have no idea where DS's thermometer it so shall have to buy a new one). DH is going from NTNP one day and saying whatever happens is ok to WTT/nothing at all the next and saying he is worried about how DS would cope with a sibling. So if I do go back to WTT or get no clear answer any time soon I might chart to avoid pregnancy until he make his mind fully up.

 

[gardenofedens]

For the first two weeks I temped, I used a standard thermometer but I'd heard the BBT thermometers are more accurate so I broke down and bought one. There was a slight difference in temperature but the pattern of the curves showed regardless of which thermometer I used.

 

[OmiOmen]

I shall have to get one soon, although who knows when the start of my next cycle will be and how hard it will be to read when it does because of BF'ing. But I may be stopping soon so that may make it easier. I have read up on on fertilityfrined a bit and I think it is worth a shot just to better understand what is going on.

 

[gardenofedens]

Yea, try out their Charting Lessons...you can do them for free if you sign up for their trial. They're pretty informative and helpful.

 

[polaris]

I shall have to get one soon, although who knows when the start of my next cycle will be and how hard it will be to read when it does because of BF'ing. But I may be stopping soon so that may make it easier. I have read up on on fertilityfrined a bit and I think it is worth a shot just to better understand what is going on.

I definitely find charting a lot harder now than before I had Thomas. Before I had him I would just set the alarm for 7.30 every morning and take my temperature then. Whereas now my sleep pattern is rubbish and I usually wake up loads during the night and quite often wake up at 5ish and can't get back to sleep. I am never sure if it is better to take my temperature when I wake up first or at the normal time and there is generally a big difference between the two. I don't know whether breastfeeding is affecting charting but definitely my rubbish sleep pattern is making it much harder to get accurate temperatures. (Thomas sleeps great now but I still haven't recovered from all those disturbed nights and very early mornings).

 

[OmiOmen]

I was wondering that too, my son is only just starting to sleep better which is largely because we co-sleep but he is going to sleep in his bed some nights and getting in ours half way though so it is becoming more disrupted again. I am thinking about stopping BF'ing soon (and by that I mean am getting sick of the hassle from people saying he is too old now he is over 1) but part of me may wait and see if there are signs of self-weaning any time soon. On top of that I have always had really irregular periods but I am interested to see what my chart would look like.

 

[gardenofedens]

Polaris - How often do you breastfeed now that your LO is already 18 months old? Everyone in my family stopped breastfeeding between 6-9 months (or when they'd suffered too many bit nipples) except for one aunt who everyone deemed "Crazy" because she breasfed til her son was about 3 years old.

Does your LO actually still nurse from you? A bottle with pumped milk? I can't see myself breasfeeding beyond 9 months personally but I'm really curious about it because it seems very common on here...