I did a search for this, but couldn't find anything. If I missed it, I'm sorry!
Anyway, FH and I have been talking about kids a lot lately (lots of people in our circle of family and friends are pregnant or TTC right now). FH really wants a son, but there are far more girls on my side (my immediate family is just my sister and I; my parents both have more sisters than brothers; I have a ton of cousins, the vast majority of whom are female. The disparity goes back several generations) and his side (similar situation, with females far outnumbering males for a few generations). He thinks this means our families have stronger female genes, and that we'll probably have daughters. I don't think that's necessarily the case.
I was wondering if any of you have any experience with this (one sex far more common than the other within families), or whether it's just something like an old wives' tale? I'm going to look around the web, too, out of curiousity, but if you know of any good sites for me to check out, I'd appreciate that as well!
One of the most commonly-followed theories on gender-prediction is The Shettles Method (Info found here).
The idea is that male sperm are faster and smaller than those carrying the X chromosome, which are slower yet heartier. BDing within a day or two of O will give you a good chance of a male child while BDing a few days out will give you a better chance of a female.
One thought to your genetic question is that perhaos your and/or your DH's famiies Y sperm are extremely fragile, giving the X sperm a much better chance of hitting the egg, regardless of when sex occurs. If you *really* want to try for a boy, and aren't in a hurry to get pg, try saving sex for the day before & day of O (you'll have to be an experienced charter to figure that out, and there are plenty of women in the TTC with Charting threads to help you out.
My DH has one brother. His father has one brother. Apparently his grandfather only had brothers...oh, and his uncle had two sons. So supposedly it is difficult to get a daughter out of a man from DH's family. I don't know though with only a few kids in each generation that it's really statistically accurate to make that assumption, or just a coincidence.
We're TTC soon and while I'll be thrilled with anything, I would love to have a daughter at some point. I too have read a little about the Shettles method and while I don't want to get too crazy, it actually seems easier to have a girl. X sperm are (if I have this right) slower but tougher, so we just need to have sex in the 5-7 days leading up to ovulation. Supposedly the Y sperm will die and the X will last until ovulation. (I feel like I'm giving a sex ed lecture.) With boys, as the previous poster said, you're supposed to avoid sex until right before ovulation so the Y sperm get there first and win the race.
So...that's what I know. We're not going to worry too much about the gender of our first kid, though. I know I'll be thrilled with any baby.
FH really wants a son, but there are far more girls on my side (my immediate family is just my sister and I; my parents both have more sisters than brothers; I have a ton of cousins, the vast majority of whom are female. The disparity goes back several generations) and his side (similar situation, with females far outnumbering males for a few generations). He thinks this means our families have stronger female genes, and that we'll probably have daughters. I don't think that's necessarily the case.
The tendencies of your family don't actually matter. The sperm carries the X and Y chromosomes. So the sex of the baby is entirely determined by the father.
That being said, I do think genetics play a part in determining the sex. I know one family that hasn't had a girl (on the father's side) in five generations.
So the sex of the baby is entirely determined by the father.
The female determines the gender of the baby as well. Certain eggs carry specific pH levels that allow only X sperms or Y sperms to penetrate the outer shell. This is the reason why the female has a special diet and/or takes supplements for the Shettles Method.
"It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate, it takes guts to be gentle and kind" ~ The Smiths
DS1 6.29.06 ~:~ DS2 10.7.10
My sister's husband is one of 5 boys (the 6th and last child was finally a gril though)...she thought for sure they'd have a bunch of boys as well...nope she is now the mother of 3 girls and counting! Not a boy in the bunch.
Correlation between genes and gender?
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