August 26, 2026

Method for having a girl or having a boy

Are you looking for a baby and would love to be able to choose whether it’s a boy or a girl? Today I’m going to tell you about the best-known methods to have a girl or a boy, from the Shettles method to the Chinese pregnancy calendar, so you can try and pick the sex of your baby 💕.

It would be incredible to be able to decide your baby’s sex, as easy as using a pregnancy test. This matters most to couples who already have two children and are trying for a third, hoping for a girl this time, or the other way round. But these couples have it complicated, because they have around a 75% chance that the third child will be the same sex as the previous two.

This happens because some men produce X sperm \(which makes girls\) or Y sperm \(which makes boys\), while the mother always contributes an X chromosome. So the baby is XX for a girl and XY for a boy.

Method to have a boy or girl

We already saw in the article about ovulation tests and fertile days that to conceive you need to have sex at the right time. And if you also want a baby of a particular sex, timing becomes even more important, because some studies suggest a link between the baby’s sex and the timing of sex.

Before we dig in, a quick reminder: I’m not a doctor and this article is just for information. All of these are traditions or theories with no scientific guarantee, so treat them as a curiosity and always talk to your doctor if you have any doubts ❤️.

Shettles method for having a girl or a boy

This method was designed by Dr. Landrum Shettles and is based on the idea that Y sperm, which makes boys, is smaller, faster but less resilient than X sperm, so it struggles to survive in acidic environments inside the vagina.

With these ideas, the Shettles method for conceiving a boy recommends:

Having sex as close to ovulation as possible, when the uterus becomes less acidic. If you want a girl, you’d try a couple of days before ovulation.
The woman reaching orgasm at the same time as the man, so the vagina holds less acid and lets the Y sperm move forward.
Having a cup or two of coffee beforehand, which, according to this theory, would also help the Y sperm on its way.

In short, anything that favours a more alkaline environment.