Can how and when you get it on affect the sex of your baby?

by Nadine Silverthorne (Subscribe to Nadine Silverthorne's posts) Dec 23rd 2006 7:00PM

I remember announcing to my husband that I was unexpectedly expecting our first child. His response was far from what I had envisioned in the hours between the stick turning blue and his arrival. "My boys can swim!" Say what?

Well according to 1060s era reproductive pioneer Landrum B Shettles, my husband was right. We had a son 9 months later, meaning hubby's Y-chromosome sperm swam fast enough to beat the typically longer-lasting X-chromosome to the egg. (Yes even in the earliest stages of life, the females usually outlive the males.)

Anyway, I am completely happy with the way things turned out, but I'm ready to try again. And though I'd be happy either way, I kind of want this one to be a girl. Partially so that I'll have a shopping buddy and partially so I can sew it all up once and for all. (Doesn't that sound charming?)

So I've been researching techniques on gender selection. I'm skeptical and mildly opposed to the scientific methods being employed. And many of the old wives tales seem a tad silly. Well I had no idea that Shettles -- coincidentally the first American to successfully perform an in vitro fertilization -- had a whole book of theories on this very subject.

The Shettles Method uses the theory that male sperm are faster and weaker to determine ideal times to conceive your gender of choice. To try for a girl, for example, you should have sex a few days before your prime ovulation date. Though the males will die off, female sperm have the clever ability to stay alive in unsavory uterine conditions. To conceive a male, Shettles recommends having sex on your actual ovulation date. (usually two weeks after the first day of your last period.) The full details of the method are available on Fertility Friend's website.

Anyone used the Shettles Method before with success? How far have you gone to conceive a baby of a specific gender?

Source

Comments (12)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Elaine 12-24-2006 @ 12:57AM

Both our kids were conceived on the day I was supposedly ovulating, exactly two weeks past the first day of last period. So, by that therory, I should have two boys.

Alas, I am the mother of two very charming, very pretty, very girly little girls. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Kim 12-23-2006 @ 7:42PM

Shettles worked for us. I'm expecting a girl in April. It also worked for both people who borrowed my copy of his book. The timing is trickier if you want a girl. Good luck!

MamaChristy 12-23-2006 @ 9:18PM

I haven't used this, but "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler covers this idea as well. I told a couple of my girlfriends that gender selection was covered in this book and one had the little girl she wanted last month and the other is scheduled for a c-section in a few days with her desired little girl. I will be looking in to the book you mentioned when it comes time for us to think about another baby. We will just have to decide which one we would like to try for! :)

Kyle 12-23-2006 @ 9:55PM

I think you might have gotten the X and Y mixed up. I'm pretty sure Y is boys, X is girls.

cori w 12-23-2006 @ 10:52PM

we tried to use shettles for a girl, and then i randomly ovulated 3 days early! (my 3 cycles previous to that were exactly 14 days, this time it was 11 days!) our little girl was born in june. :) we got lucky.

Nadine 12-23-2006 @ 11:11PM

Thanks for catching that Kyle. Figures that I STILL can't keep that straight in my head. I've corrected it now.

Kim 12-24-2006 @ 6:51AM

Shettles can work only if the male partner produces both X and Y sperm. Not all men do.

trish 12-24-2006 @ 4:15PM

We weren't trying for one or the other, but my little Joseph should have been a Grace according to Dr. Shettles.

cathy 12-24-2006 @ 12:39PM

I have three boys (very happy) but boy #3 was a shettles "girl" wanna-be hopeful. I sort of wish I hadn't tried for a girl and wasted my time with this method because I was a tiny tad dissappointed when he came out a HE. Of course, that was short lived, but it is often in the back of my mind that I did try the method.

Jane Doe 12-24-2006 @ 2:29PM

I got pregnant exactly 14 days after my period and had a set of boy/girl twins. So if timing is a factor shouldn't I have had either a set of 2 boys or 2 girls?

Heather 12-25-2006 @ 12:03AM

I used this method to try for a boy and got one. I know a few people who tried this and it worked. But also remember the temprature of the man also makes a difference.

Lyonside 1-02-2007 @ 12:05AM

Heh. I'm one of those women who every other month or so, I FEEL an ovary "pop." The first month we tried to conceive (2 months off birth control, 1 month break), I felt the pop. Now, given the egg has to move a little before fertilization, but I still figure fertilization happened quickly...

Supposedly I'm having a girl (according to the 21 week ultrasound) - which would put me counter to the quick-boy-longer-girl scenario...

Of course, it could just be that my spouse has more Xs than Ys generally, regardless of when conception happened...