Image from Horrible Sanity Blog
When you were pregnant did you wish for a boy or a girl?
As you may or may not know, we have a four year old girl. So, this second time around, we kind of want to have a baby boy. Now, calm down…don’t get me wrong. We’d be happy with either! Truly. But, it would be fun to have a boy so we could have a mini-hubs much like we have a mini-ModernMami in the house.
Because we want to have fun in trying to conceive, we decided to try some of the methods out there for conceiving a boy. A Google search quickly brought up many sites with many different suggestions for what we should do to up the chances of having a boy. Many of the recommendations are just old wives’ tales, some are a bit more scientific in nature. Either way, we had fun reading about them and figuring out the best combination for us to try. At one time, we joked about making a detailed spreadsheet of the different methods and where each overlapped, so we could find the optimal time for making a boy. But…then that got way too complicated. So, let’s get into the gritty details and learn…
How to Conceive a Boy
Dr. Shettles
Dr. Landrum Shettles, author of How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby
Image from Your Complete Party
Dr. Shettles suggests that there should be no sperm near your egg when it’s released and you should quickly have intercourse to have a large amount of Y sperm near the egg. This confuses me a bit since another tip he offers is to time sexual intercourse about 12 hours before ovulation occurs. (So, do you have sex right before or right after ovulating?) Some other tips from Dr. Shettles I found on the About Pregnancy Channel:
- Men should avoid ejaculation for 4-5 days before ovulation.
- Use positions to place the sperm as close to the cervix as possible, including rear entry positions.
- Females should have an orgasm to help move the sperm towards the egg.
Food
Photo by Mike Johnson - TheBusyBrain.com
Apparently, what you eat can affect the sex of your baby. Who knew? What I’m unsure of is if the suggested diet is to be followed by the woman or man. Regardless, some suggested foods to eat if you’re trying to have a boy (again from the About Pregnancy Channel):
- Meat, particularly beef
- Salty snacks, like chips
- Caffeine
- Additionally, it’s recommended that the man give himself a caffeine shot right before having sex. Specifically, men should drink a big cup of coffee or soda (not caffeine-free of course) about 15-30 minutes before intercourse to give the boy sperm a push.
Other food related tips for increasing the chances of making a boy include:
- Don’t eat cold fruits. You should eat them at room temperature.
- Eat foods rich in alkaline, such as lemons, watermelons, tomatoes, and broccoli.
- Increase vegetable consumption.
- Eat foods high in potassium: bananas, apples, potatoes, and steak.
- Eat high-glucose foods.
- Increase your calorie intake (for the woman).
- Don’t skip breakfast and eat cereals.
Sexual Positions
As if trying to time when to have sex wasn’t enough, you also need to worry about how you’re having sex. It seems the position you use can affect whether or not you conceive a boy. Suggested positions for a boy:
- Standing up
- Doggy style
- Man on top
- Dominate positions
Confused? Me too. It seems the best position for having a boy is…all of them!
Other Tips for Having a Baby Boy
Photo by Jon Ovington
Outside of using the Dr. Shettles method, or following the “boy diet,” there are some general suggestions I came across. Some seem contradictory to each other or to those already mentioned, but they include:
- Men should wear boxers.
- The man should have an orgasm first.
- Only have sex on the even days of the month.
- The man should initiate sex.
- Have sex at night.
- You should have sex during the quarter moon phase. Avoid sex during the new or full moon phases.
- Use the Chinese Gender Chart to decide when to have sex and conceive.
- Refrain from having intercourse until 2 days prior to ovulation and then have intercourse daily until ovulation has occurred.
Whew! Is that enough information for you on what to do, when and how to have sex so that you can conceive a baby boy? It’s almost overkill, isn’t it? We’ve been laughing at some of these suggestions since we first came across them. We have tried some of them so far. But, truthfully, how in the world would we ever know if and which method worked? We won’t. So, in the meantime, we’re just having fun trying.
Did you try any specific methods for having either a boy or a girl? Let me hear the most crazy, ridiculous, and outrageous ideas you’ve heard or tried for conceiving either a boy or girl.
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I heard about standing up after sex. Boys can get to the egg first? I have 2 girls.
Should've read this before we had kids, lol. I can say that the position definitely didn't work for us. I'm eager to see which of these tips will work for you. Not that I would still try for a boy coz I'm already happy with my two little princcesses
Good-luck!
Yeah I just started having babies with no planning at all – LOL. Only boys came out so I guess I'll have to wait for grandbabies to get me a girl
)
My mom always told me of these studies and how they work. Very informative!
Hahahahaha!!! It sounds like fun to try to “practice”, but it sounds like a ton of work!!! I've got a little girl & we're sticking to one, or I'd probably want to try these out just to see!
Standing up, huh? That’s interesting. I heard about making sure to lay with legs upright to help them swim down? Something like that. LOL
That’s the thing, Cherrie. Even if I DO conceive a boy, I won’t really know which method/tip was the one that worked.
It does sound like a ton of work! The good thing is that we’re just having fun and take it all in stride.
We had a girl the 1st time without much effort/planning. This time, we’re just trying to have fun and see if we can make a boy happen. lol
I like chinese birth chart method to conceive baby boy.
im 32 yrs have 3 girls..have been trying 4 a boy..i was leaving it to chance so i saw that it aint happening 4 us..so im trying some of the tips i read here..its not easy but what can i do..i want the baby boy..
No harm in trying!
Good luck to you and your family.
Hi my name is Aisha,
I have 2 beautiful gilrs and would love to have a boy,
I was going to take your advice and do wot you have
Witen, but I’ve just found out I’m pregnant
If I tell you my last period date you,
Could you plz tell me wot gender baby I might have
(Last period date was 27 march
My periods lasted 5 days)
Thank you so much
Kinds regards
Aisha naeem
Hi Aisha, congratulations on your pregnancy! How exciting for you! Unfortunately, I cannot predict the gender of your baby, but I wish you much luck with your pregnancy.
My husband and I are just now deciding to start our family. We REALLY want a little boy because of the whole big brother role. So i have been hunting all over the internet for different techniques that help with having a boy. We are going to start timing it this month!! and hope to have a little boy in the future year. (although we would be happy with either =) ) But do you know any old wives tales for determining the sex after I become pregnant?
Thanks!
Congrats on deciding to start a family, Victoria! I wish you and your husband much luck in conceiving your baby. As for the old wives tales, these are all in pure fun and are not to be taken seriously, ok?
But, here are the ones I know of: a round belly shaped like a basketball means a boy, while a wider belly that’s more spread out means a girl; and if you tend to eat a lot of meat, you may be having a boy. Again, these are just for fun. Good luck!