I know I said Part Three was the last part of the Gender Games, and it was until I kept coming across more and more neat things to share about conception and gender. Some of these are supported by friends and family who can tell me how/where/when their children were conceived and I thought it would be fun to share so that you can think about it too.
DISCLAIMER: This version of Gender Games explores the Scientific Theories, such as the Shettles Method, diet, and environmental factors that are suggested to play roles in sex selection. I have no problem talking about sex, using sexual terminology, or getting specific in reference to baby-making. If this embarrasses you or makes you uncomfortable - don't read it.
Overall, these are GENERAL and do not specifically reference Chubby's conception.
1. It is suggested that the time of year that a baby is conceived can have an impact on their gender. Biologically there are more boys conceived than girls because y-sperm (male) are less resilient than the x-sperm (female). Nature knows this and will sway the odds in favor of bearing males that will survive difficult conditions - such as cold winters, viral seasons, etc. Therefore, more boys are conceived when they will be born in summer and girls born in winter. Interesting... I obviously conceived in winter both times (only a week apart on the calendar) - however Lincoln was conceived in Colorado Springs in the FREEZING cold and Chubby was conceived in Florida where it was still quite warm. Will it make a difference?
2. Boxers or Briefs is a funny question that women are known to ask men flirtatiously. Little did we know it could possibly have an effect on the quality of their sperm. Boxers allow the testicles the freedom to hang outside the body to keep them a few degrees cooler than body temperature- which is ideal for sperm. Men who wear tight fitting underwear or gear such as dive suits and spend long periods of time with their testicles too warm are more likely to bear girls as the fragile y-sperm cannot withstand the heat. Huh, what about boxer briefs?? It is even suggested that boxers are preferable for men when couples are struggling to conceive as briefs may also lower sperm count due the overheating and restriction.
3. The father's job ties back into scrotal temperature. Men who sit for long periods of time have sperm at higher temperatures and are more likely to bear girls. Men who are also exposed to radiation or extreme forces have an increased birthrate in girls. This anecdotally extends to men who work with computers too. Radiation? The sitting? The heat? No real evidence, but I have talked to many people and read as well that work places where men are primarily sitting at a computer all day father more girls than boys. This could be interesting because Joe and I were hospital floor nurses when Lincoln was conceived and when Chubby was conceived Joe had gone from his job sitting in a hot car all day to sitting at a computer all day doing case management. We shall see???
4. OK, this one isn't science AT ALL. This is an old wive's tale that I threw in because I was already talking about sex. The sexual aggressor is the opposite of the gender. Whatever. I guess I get where it comes from because I've heard men say "oh, I know when she's ovulating because she's the one who wants sex." Makes sense biologically to me and I've read similar things before.
5 & 9. Sexual position and penetration. Why does this make a difference? Well, it changes the anatomy in the tilt of the pelvis and the length of the vagina. Rear-entry positions help sperm deposit as close to the cervix and allow them to avoid the acidic vaginal fluids and have a shorter traveling distance to the egg. - ideal for protecting fragile y-sperm. Heartier female sperm can survive a trip through acidic fluids and the distance to the egg suggesting that shallow-penetration positions will more likely yield female offspring.
6. Female orgasm simultaneously or just prior to male ejaculation is high promoted to conceive a boy because it coats the cervix in an alkaline, clear, slippery fluid that male sperm can happily speed-swim through and the rhythmic muscular contractions of the orgasm help move the sperm up to and through the cervix. The girl methods of conception recommend avoiding female orgasm since sperm are slowed down and y-sperm are less likely to survive in a thicker, more acidic vaginal fluid.
7. The reproductive environment of the woman can impact the survivability of the sperm. Naturally the vagina maintains a pH of 3.8-4.5 or so - slightly acidic. (neutral pH is 7. Anything above 7 is considered alkaline) This environment helps keep the vagina from overgrowing bacteria. Vaginal infections are a result of imbalanced pH and and overgrowth of certain kinds of bacteria. These are very good reasons why vaginal douches are no longer recommended as part of gender selection techniques. A baking soda douche (an alkine with a pH around 9) was once recommended as part of the "boy technique".
8. The diet of the mother supposedly can create a change in the woman's overall acid/base balance in the body and alter the whole body's environment in favor of y or x sperm's survivability. Girl Diet and
Boy Diet links. These get crazy involving the vitamin and mineral levels and certain foods to eat or not eat. Effects from diet are not short term investments. It's recommended to alter your diet a few months before conceiving. I definitely didn't do any specific diet changes, but I did take a prenatal vitamin with 800mcg of Folic Acid plus DHA every day since Lincoln's conception (since I'm still nursing Lincoln and we were trying for Chubby). Not sure how vitamins that pack in as much of a daily percentage of everything they can impact reproductive environments.10. This is the biggest one. Timing. It is the most talked about, the most referred to, the most scientifically backed factor. I suggest reading more about it, like the book by Dr. Landrum Shettles, How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby.
It does a very good job getting into detail about why it is believed, at least by the Shettles Method, that timing influences gender so greatly. Basically, sperm last on average 2-3 days and up to 5-7 days in an ideal environment. It has been observed in labs that X-sperm (girl) are heartier, slower, and more resilient. Y-sperm are smaller, faster, and easier to kill off. They do not last as long. Therefore if an egg is released and lives for 24 hours then either the sperm better be waiting or the sperm better get there right away. If the sperm have been waiting and waiting and waiting (AKA sex more than 2 days before ovulation) most of the y-sperm will have died off the few remaining will more likely b X-sperm. If the egg is released first (or as close to the egg's release as possible) then those speed-racer y-sperm will get there as fast as their tails can propel them and they'll get to the egg before the slower x-sperm have a shot in heck. They will also be in greater numbers and have their full life-span to try their hardest to get through that egg's surrounding layer to be the winner.
I have spent a lot of time looking at the timing to try and see how this might impact Chubby's gender. I knew based on Lincoln's conception that he was a boy. Chubby's is very similar but throws in a few different loops overall. Lincoln was mostly likely conceived around 12 hours prior to ovulation via retrospective analysis of my completely inaccurate no-idea-what-i-was-really-doing sympto-thermal chart. Chubby day of conception was on the day of ovulation via real time analysis of my charting using a method most closely resembling the Billings Method.
THESE ARE CHUBBY'S AND LINCOLN'S CHARTS FOR REFERENCE WHEN CONSIDERING HOW TIMING MAY HAVE AFFECTED THE GENDER -- INCLUDING THE DETAILS THAT FACTOR INTO THE WEEK AROUND THEIR CONCEPTIONS. IF IT'S TOO MUCH INFO FOR YOU SKIP OVER THEM.
*Lincoln's day of conception would also be O-day. You can see that the 4 days before ovulation were the contributing days, 0-1 being the most recent day and the most recommended time frame for conceiving a boy supported closely by 0-2 via the "Boy Method" (which were NOT using. We actually thought were in the "safe zone" for not getting pregnant by assuming my day of ovulation was day 19 (which was ironically the day of ovulation for Chubby)). There was never a doubt in my mind that Lincoln was a boy.
DISCLAIMER #2: I AM BY NO MEANS AN EXPERT. If you have an interest in gender selection please seek out the advice of your doctor. I have read Dr. Shettles book as my own personal endeavor to explore natural methods of gender selection but I have not specifically employed either technique in the conception of my children. There are other methods out there. This exploration of gender selection science has been of my own compilation and is just for fun.
If you missed them, check out Gender Games Part 1, Part2, and Part 3
If you missed them, check out Gender Games Part 1, Part2, and Part 3
This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.
No comments:
Post a Comment