chances of having all the same gender?

[1dilemma]

Let me start by saying that I absolutely 100% don't care what gender my dcs are.
But I know there are several people with lots of boys on here and a couple coming along behind with all girls (waves you know who you are) and I read that if you have 2 boys you have something like an 80% chance of having a third boy. What exactly is the figure? Is it the same for girls? If you have 3 ds or 3 dd what are the chances? if you have 4....

Thanks

[candypandy]

stats: if you have 2 same sex 80pc chance 3rd will be different
if you have 3 same sex 80pc chance 4th will be same
i THINK
someone told me and it stuck in my random fact addicted brain

[skerriesmum]

There's something about males though, if you've already had 2 boys the chance is 55-60% you'll have another boy. I forget why. No idea about girls.

[jaype]

I'm one of four - two boys followed by two girls. I saw data the other day in the New Scientist (I think) that suggested older men tended to have more girls... seemed to be the case in my family

[Tiggiwinkle]

When I was having my 5th baby, (after 4 boys) my consultant told me I was "extremely unlikely" to have a girl. She said as a couple, DH and I were predisposed to have boys-with another partner the odds would have been back to normal apparently.
Number 5 was a boy, by the way!

[RuDiegetheRedNosedReinDiege]

After 2 girls I was told by my consultant that the odds of having a boy were 50/50 - he cast doubt on the predisposition thing, though I have heard from other (scientific) sources that some women have a ceratin acid/alkaline balance that will 'predispose' the survival of boy over girl sperms (and vice versa). Ie, that while the sperm initially dtermines the sex, the women's body will 'sift out' the male (or female) sperms that are best suited to the balance of the uterus (in terms of acid/alkaline). Hence as TIGGIWINKLE says, it may be that some couples will be predisposed to have babies of a certain. Oh and baby 3 was a girl too . Will be ttc this Spring, so we'll see if dc 4 will be a girl too!

[SazzaK]

Not true according to in-gender.com - has a great section with stats and all. Apparently if you keep having boys you are only slightly more likely to keep having them - with girls it's the other way round. But given there are 51% males born and 49% girls, makes sense for it to be slightly skewed. If some men have super-fertile sperm the Ys will live longer and be faster (resulting in a boy). If you believe that stuff.

[SazzaK]

PS that's based on large numbers of statistics I read, I am not trying to contradict what any individuals have been told by doctor about specific situations.

[1dilemma]

umm thanks guys I ws hoping for a straightforward answer

[syskywalker]

statistics dont matter to your question but the time of conception.

if you have sex a few days before ovulation you have a good chance of having a girl and if you have sex on the day or just after ovulation its more likely going to be a boy.

as male sperm swim faster but dont live as long as female sperm.

so in the first case the girl sperm would be the survivors and waiting for the egg and for a boy they just get there first when the egg is waiting for them.

[hazygirl]

i have 1 brother there are four of us girls ,i had 2 dd and 1 son dd has 3 girls had a son but he passed away so not many males in our famiyx

[syskywalker]

so if you try to conceive a specific gender you have a good chance with charting and ovulation test, obviously need to do it a few month before you know when but you will need ovulation tests as they will tell you when it happens or a persona. there are actually books on this.

[Bauble99]

Thing is though, I know 2 couples who have timed conception like a military campaign and they have still ended up with all of the same gender.

I wasn't organised enough to do this and I've had five boys. I firmly believe that if I had ten children they would all be boys.

[1dilemma]

Just to make it clear I'm not trying to choose the gender of my dcs (healthy is all I care about) but I too had heard the stuff about male and female sperm and the bit about 80% if 2ds and wondered if it was higher if 3 then thought of all those people in the papers who have 11 sons and wondered if actually they had zero chance of having a dd but noone had told them !!
Hi Bauble99 you were one of the infamous ones with the boys I referred to. Not out dancing then....

[syskywalker]

its not exact science as you can be out the one month for one reason or another, but if you do the charting and use ovulation test and i mean not every other day but you need to use them i think at least the week before and after expected ovulation as just charting you might as well not bother as the temp changes after its already happened.

[Bubble99]

'Out?'

What is this 'out' of which you speak?

[syskywalker]

and it depends on your families as well, if your mum had more boys or girls or a nice mixed bunch you are more likely to follow. if both sides of the family had more of the one gender, well its more likely you will too.

my nan had boy, girl, boy, girl, boy and my mother had girl, girl, boy, boy, girl, boy.

i got a girl and a little boy.

[syskywalker]

i mean, even if your cycle is very regular that one month it might be all over the place and you could ovulate very early or very late, for no apparent reason or if you had some stress, etc.

[syskywalker]

if you go in ivillage.co.uk and go on the message boards section and its trying to conceive or something like that, the ladies there have made a science of it, how to conceive all the little tricks etc. i could not believe some ppl knew all this stuff.

[Bubble99]

syskywalker. Yes, there are books. The couples I know had them memorised.

Though if the theory that a womans 'chemistry' is naturally hostile to sperm of a certain gender at any time, is correct - then timing doesn't count for much?

[pinkbubble]

I have 3 DDs and very a very proud Mummy, although saying that I would be a very pround Mummy what ever the case was!

[yurt1]

I think I'm unfriendly to sperm. If I have sex when I am ovulating I will get pregnant. Always with boys (Y sperm swim faster). If I have sex just missing ovulation I won't get pregnant (presumably slower X sperm have no chance as they're all killed off before reaching the egg). DH has had the snip btw so all theoretical now.

took ages to conceive ds1 as I had my cycle wrong!

[yurt1]

Oh I have 3 boys btw.

[PeachyHasAFiggyPudInTheOven]

I'm expecting my 4th boy and both my sisters have only boys, so I do have some faith in the predisposition notion....

Each individual pregnancy is more likely (on average) to be a boy as more boys are born due to long term survival rates... might be easier to look at it that way?

[PeachyHasAFiggyPudInTheOven]

(and the same ggoes for me as with yurt- we tried the before ovulation bit for ages no dice, once on date of ovulation (my birthday and drunk lol) and bang on another boy! pmsl)