Which do you think is harder?

[Junie]

I didn't do anything special to get pregnant or try for one sex either this time or last, and each time I got a boy although I don't really fit the "boy" criteria necessarily as I am quite thin, have long irregular cycles (which are normally a sign of poor fertility not good fertility) but I'm also active (we live in a big European city where you walk/bike most places), I work out 2ish times a week, but I eat whatever I like (lots of healthy fats and good homemade meals, but also unhealthy things like nachos) and both times I got pregnant the first try.

I know what I have researched so far of the girl strategy here makes me a bit worried. There is absolutely no way I could work out strenuously 5+ times a week. I really would just lose too much weight too fast and as I was already at the healthy limit just before being too thin so I just can't imagine doing it (or being disciplined enough to do it!!!).

Good thing I have some time to prepare LOL. Maybe I will try not to lose all the pregnancy weight so I can lose it for TTC HAHA.

[Zivic-Bubac]

From my perspective, it's practically impossible to have boys Eventho I was trying real hard to live 'boy life style'

[atomic sagebrush]

I don't get why people who have all girls are usually less fertile...those having boys more fertile...and yet when I do everything to sway boy and increase my fertility...it is taking me FOREVER to get pregnant (ok only 3 months so far but thats forever) and while 'apparently' less fertile I fall preggers first go every time???

I know this is hard for people to understand what I mean when I talk about less fertile. I do NOT mean that people who have girls necessarily take longer to get pg, are infertile, or any such thing. It is entirely possible to have less than optimal fertility and still conceive very very easily. It just can mean that a bit less sperm are in the mix, whether it's because DH has fewer to begin with or because fewer survive to make it to the egg.

When you are talking about tens of millions of sperm being ejaculated, fewer still means A LOT. Plenty to conceive with. If getting a girl was super hard, we wouldn't have about5 50-50 girls and boys being conceived. There is a lot of wiggle room along the continuum and at the end of it all, luck plays its own part.

I don't claim to have all the answers, but I do think that as a general rule it does seem to hold up. Dudes with lower sperm numbers for any reason (even totally unrelated reasons like chemicals vs. riding a bicycle) have more daughters. Women with hostile CM and who are not ovulating regularly due to restricted diet have more daughters.

[atomic sagebrush]

I didn't do anything special to get pregnant or try for one sex either this time or last, and each time I got a boy although I don't really fit the "boy" criteria necessarily as I am quite thin, have long irregular cycles (which are normally a sign of poor fertility not good fertility) but I'm also active (we live in a big European city where you walk/bike most places), I work out 2ish times a week, but I eat whatever I like (lots of healthy fats and good homemade meals, but also unhealthy things like nachos) and both times I got pregnant the first try.

I know what I have researched so far of the girl strategy here makes me a bit worried. There is absolutely no way I could work out strenuously 5+ times a week. I really would just lose too much weight too fast and as I was already at the healthy limit just before being too thin so I just can't imagine doing it (or being disciplined enough to do it!!!).

Good thing I have some time to prepare LOL. Maybe I will try not to lose all the pregnancy weight so I can lose it for TTC HAHA.

Long irregular cycles can also be a sign of PCOS which sways blue by raising testosterone. You may want to see your doctor to rule it out.

You do not have to work out 5+ days a week to conceive a girl. That's just one strategy that some people use. Others use the "couch potato" strategy and do not work out at all (this is what worked for me). Moderate exercise tends to sway blue, while extreme AND no exercise tends to sway pink.

[atomic sagebrush]

From my perspective, it's practically impossible to have boys Eventho I was trying real hard to live 'boy life style'

This is why I believe it's harder for pink mamas to get boys. You can do everything "right" and your body (or DH's) still doesn't cooperate.

[Junie]

Long irregular cycles can also be a sign of PCOS which sways blue by raising testosterone. You may want to see your doctor to rule it out.

I live in Germany and I can almost guarantee that no doctor would do anything regarding PCOS since I don't have trouble getting pregnant, and my cycles stay somewhat regular if I am on the pill most of the time. I'm guessing I do have a mild case of it as it was something I looked into a bit when I was still in highschool in the States and my gyno there confirmed it could be a possibility.

We are still at least 1 1/2 off from TTC since I am pregnant at the moment, but would you have tips to combat the PCOS? I'm planning on getting a personalized plan from you when the time comes but for some reason have been interested in researching the topic now a bit-even though I am really pleased to be having a second boy. The first pregnancy I spent hours looking into strollers/wraps/and cloth diapers- this time none of those things have interested me so I have to find something else to research

Also do you think I will still be able to pull it off if my husband doesn't change his lifestyle at all? I don't think he would be on board at all for swaying

[atomic sagebrush]

Junie, I have a thread going about PCOS and swaying that you can read here: http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...rt-3-pcos.html It's not complete but I will redouble my efforts on it - I hope to have a few sample meals and diet guidelines for swaying with PCOS

The good news is that many of the pink sway tactics are helpful for PCOS anyway and I elaborate more about that in the essay. You're already doing a lot of great things for keeping PCOS under control (thinness, exercise, eating healthy fats).

You can def have a great sway even without your husband on board. What DW does matters WAY more than DH, because it's your body that has to carry a baby for 9 months and then BF for at least 9 more and then raise a child for several years afterwards, while men can do a "hit and run" and (at least in nature) are often around only for conception and then do a disappearing act. So the female's environment is much more representative of the environment/resources available for the child to be born into.

[Junie]

Thanks so much for your reply- what you have already written about PCOS is so interesting! I'm glad to hear it doesn't mean I am doomed to failure on a sway- and glad to hear that DH doesn't have to actively take part. I just know it will be hard enough to get him to agree to a third that trying to get him to take supplements or change his lifestyle would really be pushing my luck!

[purplepoet20]

I think both can be hard when you are used to a certain diet! Boy Diet = You have pig out and Girl Diet = you starve

I found it hard to do a girl diet because I wanted all kind of boy friendly things but after a long time eating nothing I have a hard time eating again. I am still not hungry until 10am and a cup of coffee with water seems to hold me over. I eat 3 small meals a day and I am not snacking. I have been staying even and loosing a few lbs or oz here and there since I got prego and I am 14 1/2 wks, by now I would have gained over 15lbs.

[Butterfly Spirit]

Swaying GIRL definitely is most difficult in my opinion simply because I LOVE FOOD too much!!!

But if you look at what you do, and how you eat and how you'll be almost completely flipping your diet/lifestyle to sway and you aren't used to doing it..It's probably hard to sway for either one!