I've sparked an hilarious genetics debate with OH, help me out haha

[HLx]

So this is a funny debate we've been joking about since finding out we were having a baby. So parents of two ethnic backgrounds help me out

I'm white, and an extreme shade of white, almost dead hahaha I was born with jet black hair and dark brown eyes, my hair eventually turned dark blonde.

My partner is Portuguese, but a very dark Portuguese, he also had jet black hair and dark brown eyes.

Our debate is and honest to God if anyone heard our conversations lately.... How does genetics work in terms of skin colour?

I think baby will be really dark like his dad, however OH thinks he will be white like me. I think darker skin sort of over rules white skin, where as OH thinks the opposite, almost as if white skin is the same as adding white paint to a dark shade of paint

I know there's no way to tell until baby is here but surely his genetics will be stronger than mine! So for parents of two opposite ethnic backgrounds, which way round did it go for you? Haha

 

[missielibra]

My DH is Colombian. He's got BLACK eyes, black hair, he's really dark. (Can't tell so much with my photo on profile cause of a filter), he's got the thick hair, the dark skin.

My son's hair in the sun is blond, it's thin, his eyes are green and he's a white as me!

I swear, I thought he was gonna be a mini-DH and... turns out he's a mini me! He's even got my curly hair! Go figure!

 

[HLx]

Oh my god that's so cute though! I was kind of hoping that this baby would be super tanned like his dad and not a walking zombie like myself, OH jokes I look like Michael Jackson hahaha who knows maybe time will tell! My nieces are super dark, and even though they have 2 Portuguese parents, my sister in law is quite fair compared to the rest of the family and she has almost yellowy green eyes, her girls have dark brown hair, dark eyes and dark skin, so I'm hoping that will be the turnout for me, I would t wish my whiteness on anyone hahaha

 

[missielibra]

I feel you, Im so pale its scary, so I was hoping for the same!
Although, I've been told the coloring can change as they get older!

 

[Teanna]

I've been curious about the same thing, I'm white and can look quite pale some days if I don't tan and have light brown curly hair and dark eyes, the father is from Northern India. He's a lot darker than me with straight black hair and dark eyes.

I've studied human genetics at university. Skin colour is a complex trait with multiple genes involved so it usually would be somewhere between both parents skin tones. I expect my daughter will have a nice olive-toned complexion but not be either of our colours. It's fun to imagine what the genetic lottery will turn out to be.

 

[Scout]

One of my friends is pale white and her hubby is Nepali. They have 2 kids, and both inherited their father's darker skin, hair, and eyes. The younger one looks like her mom (her features), but with dad's skin, eye and hair color.

 

[DobbyForever]

I second Teanna. I did a lot of reading on it as well and came across that. But my brother is pre-med/really into genetics, and says it is possible for the offspring to be darker than both parents. Idk.

My son is darker than his dad (Western European), but lighter than me (black/Asian)

 

[HLx]

That's crazy I absolutely love genetics but don't understand it! Same thing happened with my second baby with eye colour, both us parents and grandparents on both sides had dark eyes (my first two babies have the same dad and a different dad to this baby not to confuse anyone) and even though my daughter is my colour blonde with almost black eyes like me, my son is white blonde and has bright blue eyes! Obviously his asshole of a dad had something to say about this as we all have dark eyes, and its stemmed from both babies great grandfathers on the mothers side, one had blue eyes and one had green eyes, and apparently green eyes are powerful in the genetics world and is usually a cause for a baby down the line to have a completely different eye colour, it's rare coming from the great grandparent think it was something like 10% but obviously my son wanted to look like my bamps lol!

So it looks like I have a pretty strong genetics pool going back in my family for that to come through, but also my OH his family have strong genetics due to the darkness of the skin coming theiugh when theres been one parent even though still Portuguese, have been very light compared to the other.

So who knows, maybe our baby will be very tanned, with light brown hair abs bright green or blue eyes hahaha

 

[Jessie7003]

I'm so excited to meet my little girl and see her features. My OH is Indian and dark skin, black hair and very dark brown eyes whereas I am irish as white as can be, with fair/blonde hair and blue/grey eyes. 4 weeks to go until our girl should be here. Though I'm expecting quite olive skin, brown hair and brown eyes as that is how all my OH's little nieces and nephews are and they have one Irish parent and one Indian.

 

[HLx]

Awww I love it when babies have a little tan! My nieces are the same! Tanned with dark eyes and long brown curly hair! I cant even imagine what this baby will look like, but I do hope he looks like his dad. My OH is obviously a step parent to my older two, and they are both white skinned, blonde and one has blue eyes the other has brown, we get some stares when out and about as its blatantly obvious my OH isn't the dad to them, and people love to have a nose and be cheeky! Like come on it's the 21st century, shit happens in relationships lol my daughter though even though she's fair, in the summer she goes really really dark as her dad even though he's white, he has that darker shade of skin and tans easy, so theres been a few occasions where people have thought my daughter was my OHs child, my son on the other hand with his bright blonde hair and blue eyes, theres no chance hahaha

 

[HLx]

That's my two with my OH, as you can see my sons very fair but my daughter does tan in an instant!

 

[Fit_Mama2Be]

My friend is white and her hubby is half white and half Jamaican and both of their kids are darker than he is.

Another friend is half Asian (but looks full Asian) and her husband is white with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Their boy was born with pale blonde hair and blue eyes! He's 3 now and his hair and eyes have both turned dark.

 

[brittany12]

My dh and I have nearly the same skin tone but he has brown hair and eyes (nothing too dark at all and his eyes are kind of golden) I have blonde hair light green eyes.

My kids both have blonde hair and brown eyes! Still holding out hope this one will have my green eyes! Lol

 

[Teanna]

That's my two with my OH, as you can see my sons very fair but my daughter does tan in an instant!

View attachment 1068230

aw, your kids are so adorable.

 

[Teanna]

I second Teanna. I did a lot of reading on it as well and came across that. But my brother is pre-med/really into genetics, and says it is possible for the offspring to be darker than both parents. Idk.

My son is darker than his dad (Western European), but lighter than me (black/Asian)

Yes, it is definitely possible for the baby to be darker than both parents. It really depends on the combination of genes inherited and how they interact with each other. It's more common it will be the middle ground though.