Trying for a Specific Gender?

I must start this blog by stating that I would have been equally as excited if I found out I was having another girl. Miss Paige is one of the best things that ever happened to me, and having another little Peanut like her would have been AWESOME! However, I can say now that the results (aka: the ultrasound) are in that we were "trying" for a boy this time around. We had decided early on that we only wanted two children - so either way - boy or girl - this was going to be the last hoorah. So we figured we might as well shoot for a boy so we could have one of each. If we ended up with a girl, I never would have shared this info for fear she would read it one day : )

I embarked on the journey of "trying for a boy" after a friend of my husband's (who already had two girls) told him he was reading books and researching how to make their third baby a boy. I found this fascinating and figured it was something I should look into. So, during the spring I began my deep and highly scientific research into the subject (and by "deep and highly scientific", I really mean I Googled it). There are a TON of websites on the topic. Here are the "tips" I found useful and worked to implement during our "Schmying to Schmoncieve" process...

• The Chinese Gender Prediction Calendar:  For every mama I've consulted with on this topic, it seems to be pretty accurate. How? I have no clue. But it seems to work. The only two people I know who it was incorrect for was my Mom (when she was pregnant with me) and my sister (the chart said girl, and she is having a boy). Don't go by the one on TheBump.com either - it is off for some reason and always says the opposite of the other charts. Now, there is some strangeness involved re: actual age vs. Lunar age, and this chart seems to convert it for you: http://www.thelaboroflove.com/chart/pred.html  For example, I'm 27, but my Lunar age is 28. No idea what that means, but I'll go with it... So according to this calendar - http://www.thelaboroflove.com/chart/cal.html - we needed to conceive in July, August, September or October for it to be a boy (going by my actual age) and September or October (going by my Lunar age). I figured we'd shoot for the overlapping months just to make sure. Lucky for us we hit the jackpot in October! : )

•  The Shettles Method: Is this scientifically accurate? I have NO idea. But it kind of made sense to me, a person who hasn't studied science/biology since high school : ) Here's how the theory goes: Y sperm (male sperm) are faster, but more fragile. X sperm (female sperm) are slower but have greater longevity. SO, to conceive a boy, you must have intercourse as close to ovulation as possible so the egg pops out and the Y sperm are there to meet it. If you try BEFORE ovulation, the Y sperm will die off and only X sperm will be there to meet the egg when it pops out. Again... this sounds kind of hokey, but this Dr. Shettles person claims 90% accuracy. 

I ultimately think God chooses which little miracle to place inside your belly, but it's fun to think we could have some influence, right? So happy trying! : )