How to Have a Baby Boy

Finally able to get back to blogging after days of cramming to finish work. One of the things I need to stop doing is procrastinating. But then again, better procrastinate about work than on my family. Anyway, onward with our topic for the day.

Being a mom of three girls with a husband who happens to be the only son in their family, there's a whole lot of pressure in having a baby boy. Often, older people would joke at my hubby, saying he must be such a playboy before we got married because all his kids were pambayad or pamigay. Sometimes, when people remark on how all our kids were girls, I would jokingly agree then ask them if they have any techniques on how to have a baby boy. Over the years, I have collected a few tips that can range from old wives tales to those backed by experience.

The reason why I am writing this is because I have gotten a lot of advises and would like to keep a record of them and at the same time open up a discussion with other mothers who have tried these tips or have tips of their own that they wanna share. As a disclaimer, I would like to state that I am no expert whatsoever in determining the gender of your baby before conception and am merely sharing advises and tips shared to me by other people.

And now we go on with the show...

Most of the advise I get from old people has a lot to do with the woman (which side to sleep in after having sex, sleeping with your husband on your right, etc.) which I am skeptical of because having a medical background, I know that the Y chromosome which is needed to create a boy comes from the male and not the female.

To help you better understand, here's a quick lesson in Biology:

Gender is determined by two chromosomes: the X and Y chromosome. For humans, those who have the XX chromosomes are female, while those with the XY chromosome are male. Now, in reproduction, the egg cell from the mother contains only one X chromosome and the sperm cell from the father contains either an X or Y chromosome. If the egg cell is fertilized by a sperm that carries another X chromosome, the result will be a baby girl. However, if the Y chromosome carrying sperm is the one that successfully fertilizes the egg, then we get a baby boy.

There are a number of suggestions and tips given to me by more reliable sources like my OB-GYN as well as mothers who have kids of both gender. Here are a few of them:

Have Sex during Ovulation
Male sperm travels faster than female sperm but they also die faster. With this in mind, sexual contact must be done during the time of ovulation to have a large number of male sperm near the egg for higher chances. Normally, ovulation occurs 12 to 14 days between your 28-day menstruation period. So if you're planning to get pregnant and want to increase your chances of getting a boy, you need to track your menstruation cycle to have an idea when you are ovulating.

Change Your Diet
I'm not really sure why but they say that the male sperm prefers an alkaline environment. In order to increase your alkalinity, there are some foods you have to eat like red meat,  salty food, and caffeine. Also, men are encouraged to drink coffee or soda 15 to 30 minutes before having sexual intercourse to give the male sperm a big push.

Sexual Positions
Say goodbye to missionary style.. at least until you get your baby boy. Opt for positions that have a deeper penetration like standing up, doggy style, man on top, or assume a dominating position. This also increases the chances of having the male sperm fertilize the egg.

Have an Orgasm
Having an orgasm also increases the alkalinity of your vagina. People also say that it helps male sperm travel faster to the egg although I'm not really sure how that works...

Cough Syrup
Okay, this one I am not really sure about. It has been said that taking a dose of cough medicine with the ingredient guaifenesin before having sex increases the chances of getting pregnant with a baby boy. The theory behind this is that guaifenesin is said to thin the mucus membrane of the cervix, making it easier for the sperm to swim through.

The Brief Difference
Some say that the Y sperm prefers a cooler temperature which is why it has been suggested that men should wear boxers if they wish to have a baby boy as briefs tend to have less ventilation thus making the temperature in the crotch area higher. I don't really know if it's true. However, my husband is the brief type of guy and we do have three girls so... Does A+B=C? One thing is for sure though, I am floating the idea of boxers to my dear husband. :)


Anyway, here are some of the popular tips and advises on how to conceive a baby boy. Have you tried them? Are there any other techniques you tried? Please leave your comments! :) I'd love to know your insights.


~IM

On Blogging Again

It's been years since I last had a blog. Back then, I was still in high school and my posts were all about despair and poems - the usual teenage rants and raves and everything in between. Blogging was stopped when my life suddenly turned to a different direction where priorities were shifted and time for blogs were used for other more important things. But I'm starting at the wrong end here so let me start over again...

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is my first blog post in years so please bear with me. First I would like to tell you, my hopefully potential readers, something about myself.

I'm a young Filipina mom with three gorgeous daughters aged 11, 5, and 2 (I got married at 18). Sometimes my husband and I think we have more than 5 kids judging from the amount of mess they leave behind every day. We live in an Ilocano province somewhere in the north where superstitions and traditions run in the blood and family consists not only of the parents and children, but grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins as well; sometimes even distant relatives up to the nth degree!

Three Kids and Counting is about family and raising kids and everything in between. As someone who had kids at an early age, I know what it feels like to have her life turned 180 degrees without much time to adjust. Raising kids and having a family is not an easy thing to do. Sometimes it helps to know that there are others out there who are in the same boat. I wanted to create a blog like this for a while now in order to be able to offer tips and advises to young moms like me as well as start conversations and discussions on issues relevant to family life. With that, I invite everyone to feel free to ask, comment, and suggest. However, be warned that flaming or bashing is highly discouraged and these types of comments will be taken out immediately and used to burn wood in the kalan for cooking pinakbet.

So welcome dear potential readers to an Ilocana mom's life where things aren't always what they seem and the only thing you can do at times is to just go with it.

~ IM