Trying to Conceive a Girl: How Can I Get Pregnant With a Girl?

Wondering if and how you can get pregnant with a girl? If you’re trying to conceive a girl, these all-natural tips might just up your chances!

I seriously have a super tough time believing people who have one kid and are pregnant with their second and say “I don’t care what the sex is!”

How could you have a baby boy and not want a baby girl??? How could you have a girl and not want a boy???

The big secret is, it’s OKAY to want one or the other, and while you can’t 100% guarantee the baby’s sex, you can definitely increase the likelihood that you’ll have a little girl or little boy!

And, trust me, when I say that waiting to find out the gender of your baby until birth is THE BEST THING EVERRRRRR!

Okay, so let’s get real: there are plenty of old wives’ tales that are rumored to increase your chances of having a girl, but you shouldn’t put all your stock into them as they don’t have much scientific evidence to back them.

However, there are actual scientific facts about male sperm versus female sperm that can help you understand when and how one is more likely to fertilize the egg than the other.

So let’s dive in, shall we?

Looking for tips on how to conceive a boy? Here’s the post for you!

Big disclaimer: I am not a doctor or health professional – all of the information I’m about to share comes from internet research and my own experience! Please consult your doctor or fertility specialist with any medical questions or concerns.

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links.

Trying to conceive a girl actually worked for us!

When I originally wrote this post I was pregnant with my second baby. We tried many simple tricks when trying to conceive in hopes that I’d become pregnant with a girl. I’m updating this post and want to mention our own birth order and genders of our babies (yes, we are now DONE having babies…Daddy made sure of that with his snip snip vasectomy too)

After we had our firstborn son, Kye, and started trying for baby #2, I knew I wanted a girl. Of course, I would’ve been happy with a boy but I’m a girly-girl by nature and I really hoped for a Barbie-Princess of my own.

Plus I saw adult mother-daughter relationships and I needed that. Someday my boys will grow up and get married and belong to their wives.

You know the saying: “A daughter is a daughter for life but you lose your son when he gains a wife.” SO true.

Fortunately, I got 2 beautiful girls, Brittlynn and Tessley, and then we adopted a second son, Spear! You can read all about our adoption story here.

As a mama of four we have two boys and two girls and their birth order is boy – girl – girl – boy.

Back when I was “researching” for ways to conceive a girl I read some CRAZY stuff and half the stuff I read contradicted other things I read.

I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money or do anything too crazy so I picked a few of the ideas that I thought made sense and were doable.

My mom actually gave me the idea to look for tricks when she moved to our area and gave me one of my childhood jackets.

She told me it’s an old wives tale to hang an article of clothing of the sex you hope to have in the closet of the older sibling. Who knows if it works but I stuck that junk in Kye’s closet and it stayed hanging in his closet until we brought home his little sister 🙂

Isn’t this jacket too cute?!?

When I tell people that we tried “girl tricks” they want to know what we did, so of course I will share! Take into mind that this is stuff I found on the INTERNET.

We all know the internet is in no way 100% accurate and I’m not saying these tricks actually work. I’m just saying I gave them a shot 🙂

Check out my general tips for trying to conceive a baby!

First, let’s address the science stuff

I know gender selection is very controversial and I’m not trying to stir up any controversy here. Just so you have all the facts, there is a medical way to “choose” the sex of your baby, called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This is a form of in-vitro fertilization that involves extracting a cell from a fertilized embryo and only implanting the desired sex into the mother’s uterus.

There’s some controversy surrounding this method, with fertility clinics recommending that it only be done if the parents know they have a medical condition that only impacts a specific gender. 

So that’s just something to keep in mind in case you hear something about it, or just want to know for your own reference! I’m not recommending sperm sorting or sex selection or anything scientific. It’s okay to do little tricks! In the end the most important thing is a healthy baby 🙂 

I also want to recognize that being able to get pregnant is a gift I do not take for granted. Pregnancy is a blessing and many women don’t get these chances that I’ve been blessed to have. Getting pregnant has always been easy for me and I know that is not the case for many people.

Please don’t take these tips as thinking I don’t appreciate my ability to conceive a child! There may be medical reasons at play where some of these tips shouldn’t be followed. Again, I’m in no way offering medical advice in this post nor have these tips and tricks been medically reviewed.

What are the differences between male and female sperm?

Let’s go back to junior high biology and talk human reproduction: we all know that the egg travels from the fallopian tubes to the uterus to await fertilization by the sperm cells, which contain one of the two chromosomes that determines baby’s sex. A female sperm will contain an X chromosome while a male sperm has a Y chromosome. Combined with the X chromosome of the egg, females will always have two X chromosomes while males will have an X and a Y.

Make sense? Pop quiz on Friday! (Just kidding!)

So what does that mean? It means that biologically, the two different sperm may favor different conditions.

Now let’s talk about the methods

One popular method is the Shettles Method, which was formulated by Dr. Landrum Shettles in the 1950s. Basically, it states that there are key differences between male and female sperm. By affecting some external and internal factors in the body, you can increase your chances of conceiving a boy or a girl.

I’m not for or against The Shettles Method. If you want to give it a try and it works for you, then great! But it’s not 100% infallible either and success rates vary. A lot of the research I did at least mentioned it, though, so I thought I’d explain it.

It’s also not the only way to go if you want to try different methods. The Babydust method is another one that gets talked about often, as does the Whelan method. Many of the tips and tricks for discussed here most likely came from one of these methods!

How to Conceive a Girl: Tips and Tricks I Used to Get Pregnant With a Girl Naturally

Here are the “tricks” we used to conceive a girl when trying to get pregnant:

Track your menstrual cycle

Since boys do swim faster… if you conceive your baby on or after your ovulation date then you most likely have a boy (which was true with us for Kye!) And since girls are slower, if you conceive before your first day of ovulation you’re most likely to have a girl.

When we tried in Sept/Oct we would try EVERY DAY (which I read it supposed to help make a girl but I think it’s the main reason we didn’t get pregnant…hello lower sperm count!) but stopped trying the day of my ovulation. When we tried in March we did it every other day. I used an ovulation test and they actually are positive BEFORE you ovulate. If you read the instructions it says a positive test means you will be ovulating within the next 48 hours. I was actually in Atlanta (without Zach) on my true ovulation days but we did it both of the two days prior and got pregnant during that time!

Foods

Things I read said to lower my intake of both salt and potassium. I’m not a big salt eater anyway, so I didn’t overly worry about this one. But if you are, it may be a good idea to cut back for a while! I didn’t make any huge diet changes because we all know a perk of being a girl pregnant with a baby is that you get to grub out a bit 😉

I also read to have more calcium and magnesium. Supposedly girl sperm “swim” slower than boys but are also stronger. Calcium and magnesium are supposed to thicken the cervical mucus in a woman’s body so boy swimmers will have a harder time swimming through it while girls will be able to keep going. I took a calcium and magnesium vitamin from about August until March and could tell a difference in the “water down there.” (I know it’s gross, I tried to say it as non-grossly as possible!!!)

Drinking lots of juice is supposed to help you conceive a girl b/c the strong acid content makes it harder for the weaker boy sperm to survive but since the girls are stronger they can survive acidic environments.

Top positions for intercourse

Missionary position is the best position of sexual intercourse to make a girl because the sperm are slower and it’s more of a direct angle of carrying sperm for them getting where they need to be! The deep penetration gives them that extra little push 🙂 Any other sexual positions that would also allow for deeper penetration are more likely to result in conceiving a girl too: doggy style, straddling, etc.

Supposedly it’s also best for the woman not to fully enjoy the baby-making act while having sex. By reaching that pleasure moment (again I’m TRYING to let ya’ll know what I’m saying without actually saying it…is it working?!? Okay, fine: female orgasm! It’s just biology!) it supposedly makes it more likely that the girl swimmers won’t make it since they are slower and something about the extra “water” and movement of such water pushes them back.

It’s said that a wild and crazy time makes a boy while a sweet, romantic situation creates a girl. Male sperm like it wild, girl sperm like it sweet apparently 😉 Reading all of these tips makes it OBVIOUS that I would have had a boy first and we probably would keep on producin’ boys if all of this is true haha.

What’s the right time for sex in order to conceive a girl?

Anytime, right? Ha ha! Actually, timing of intercourse may actually affect your chances of conception. There are studies to suggest that morning sex might be the key to conception because for men, sperm count tends to be higher in the morning! So, why not give it a try?

But on the flip side, I’ve also heard that nighttime is the best time for conception in general because you’re able to lie down for a long time afterwards (i.e., go to sleep) which helps sperm travel to their destination! This is what we did and it worked for us, so you be the judge!

See all my best tips for conceiving a baby here!

Those are all the things we tried…I did find LOTS of other advice out there but these were ones I felt comfortable with doing (or not doing…) and didn’t think they were too crazy. I also thought the reasoning behind them made practical sense and knew it wouldn’t hurt anything by trying them!

While trying to conceive it’s so temping to take a bunch of pregnancy tests but it’s really best to wait several days or even weeks after ovulation before taking a pregnancy test.

Every time we’ve conceived I’ve waited to test until I notice I’m late for my period which is typically a week or two following ovulation!

Just because we did these things I do not think I’m in any way for sure having a girl this time around. We won’t know until December whether or not they worked! 🙂 If you do the Chinese Gender Chart it says the baby will be a boy – so we can also see how accurate that junk is too!

Did you try anything to conceive the gender you wanted? Did you do any of these things and get a girl without even trying for it? I’m interested to hear everyone’s take on this!!! You all probably think I’m nuts and can’t believe I talked Zach into all of it haha!

We do not find out the sex of the baby during pregnancy which makes it extra fun to guess 🙂

How to Conceive a Girl: Final Thoughts

When trying to conceive it’s natural to possibly favor a desire to have a boy or a girl. There are many easy, simple “tricks” to try while trying to conceive that just may help put the odds in your favor for the gender of baby you’d prefer!

1. Lower salt and potassium intake
2. Take a calcium and magnesium supplement
3. Have sex on the days PRIOR to ovulation
4. Drink lots of juice
5. The best sex position to use is the one that allows for deeper penetration

These are simple tricks we personally tried, I am not a doctor or a medical professional. We DID conceive a girl but there is no scientific proof that these tricks work!

Recommended Products

The Babydust Method: A Guide to Conceiving a Girl or a Boy

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How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby

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Magnesium Supplement

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Calcium Supplement

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Emily Parker

Hey Y'all, I'm Emily! I'm a stay at home mom and consider parenting to be my passion. Disney is my happiest place and I love making memories as a family together. I'm a big believer in transparency and share all of my real-life moments as a mother of four.

My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.

You can read more about our family on my About Me page. Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!

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