Is this the wrong approach when TTC?

[Whichonetochoose]

My baby girl is 22 mo now and we've been TTC 2 for 3 months. We were trying to conceive a boy, so decided to try the theory that it's more likely to conceive a boy when having sex on the day of ovulation. That has not worked so far.

We wanted to have a small gap between kids (around 2.5 years), so I begin to worry that this strategy is very dangerous, because the window of opportunity during ovulation is so small, I may keep missing it and it will take a lot longer to get pregnant.

We conceived our daughter from the first time (literally!) trying, so thought it will be supper easy to get pregnant the second time round.

What's your opinion/experience about this TTC a boy theory, and what's your view on just having sex on ovulation day when TTC? Any advise on what is the best way to approach it?

I have no evidence either way that the gender ttc theories work, but it seems deeply unscientific at best and downright daft at worst to approach ttc in this fashion if what you want is up get pregnant quickly.

I guess you need to weigh it up- what's more important, that you conceive a potential boy (and I still say there's no way to guarantee that outside of a lab) or "just" get pregnant with a healthy baby as quickly as possible?

What somedizzy said

Sounds a bit unreliable and unscientific to me too. Even if it was true, it would only make you slightly more likely to have a boy.

If you tried this method and it took you ages to conceive, would it matter? What if you get another girl. Would you be very disappointed? You need to think about how badly you want a second child. Maybe you should just carry on TTC as normal and you get what you get,if they're healthy and you conceive quickly then you are lucky.

It's very important for me to get pregnant as soon as possible. We were hoping for 2-2.5 years difference. Seems like we have already wasted 3 months only having sex when ovulating... Because I got pregnant so fast with DD, it made me think that it will happen very fast next time.

I would much prefer to have a boy just so I have both sexes. Having said that I would not get disappointed if I have a girl, as love my DD so much, girls are great. Just wanted to do everything I can to have one of each :)

I honestly don't believe in any of those gender selection myths! If it is important to you to get pregnant quickly then just go for it. You still have 50% chance of having a boy!

What if you take ages to get pregnant and then have a girl anyway? What if that girl then finds out she disappointed you by being a girl?

I wouldn't bother and just aim to conceive a child.

I can't offer any advice on the timing sex part but stats show your more likely to have a girl if you're an older woman, there is scientific reason behind it, boys are more frequently born to young mums apparently. I don't think the timing thing can be that realiable as wealthy couple are spending a lot of money these days on gender selection. Good luck!

Thanks for advice ladies! I thought that it was a bit daft to limit your efforts to just one day when wanting it to happen quickly. Think will try having sex every other day and especially a few days before,during and after ovulation.

I have been using CB digital OPKs, not sure if I used them correctly. Is your most fertile period when the solid smiley face appears? How long after that does the ovulation last?

It is, you can have anything from 1 to several days of flashing smilies before you get a solid smiley which shows you've reached peak fertility and ovulation will be int he next 12-36 hours.

Thanks inshock, will try to have sex everyday from when the smiley starts flashing to 2 days after the solid face first shows.

I did not have any flashing smileys for the last 2 months, just solid ones, is this any indication of my fertility (if no flashing smileys)?

Was wondering also, is having sex everyday going to make my husbands sperm any less "productive"? :)

BumpAndGrind, thanks for your advise, just wanted to make it clear, I would not be disappointed having a girl, see my previous post...

Apparently diet can play a much bigger part in conceiving a boy as well as taking supplements. A decent calorie intake, good amount of carbs etc favours boys.

I wouldn't cut your chances by only dtd on ovulation day.

Could be a case of you started testing a little late for your cycle. I use the same opk and with a 27 day cycle I need to start testing on day 9 or 10 for a base reading from which the increasing hormone levels will be measured, so on day 9/10 I get a blank face and then a gradual rise before getting a solid on (usually) day 13 or 14. I've started testing on day 11 or 12 a couple of times and gone straight from blank to solid smiley.

As for frequency I've been advised by GP and fertility specialist to dtd every other day to allow for sperm to build up again and be at optimum. Although....some people on here have dtd everyday and it's worked for them :)

During our fertility treatment (medication) we were advised to DTD everyday for 4 days - I understand that it is only when there are known male factors that less frequency is advised.

I appreciate that you would like 'one of each' but I hated only having a brother growing up and was very jealous of my friends/cousins with sisters. Of course there is no guarantee of any siblings getting on but I really don't think it's the holy grail by any means.

Good luck ttc

Thanks ladies! All your suggestions are great. Anyone else willing to share their advice or tips to increase my chances this month as I am fairly new to this TTC business?