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@One2-Three4: I've heard a lot of superstitions like that. Although you can't eat anything during preganncy that will help you have a girl or boy, since gender is already determined by that point. I don't really buy into those superstitions though. There are also a ton out there about figuring out the gender during pregnancy too.
It's sperm that determines the gender of the baby, not the egg. So anything the woman does will have ZERO effect on the sex of he baby.
I've read that the timing of sex can determine gender. There are both male and female sperm. Female sperm carry the extra chromosome- the X and thus swim slower but can live longer. Male sperm don't carry the extra weight so they can swim faster, but die quicker. So... the idea is that if you have sex on the day you ovulate then the male sperm will get to the egg before the females and will fertilize the egg. On the other hand if you have sex a few days before you ovulate the males will get there first but will die. The females will eventually catch up and because they live longer they (well one of them) will fertilize the egg. Of course this isn't always the case, fraternal twins can be both male and female, but it is an interesting idea and you could always give it a try if you know exactly when you ovulate.
Both the Shettles and Whelan methods are interesting ways to try and choose your baby's gender.
http://www.fertilityfriend.com/Faqs/Gender-Selection-The-Shettles-Method.html
http://blog.myfertilitycharts.com/2010/02/02/the-whelan-method-of-gender-selection/
Im pretty sure you can pick (and hair and eyes). It just costs a lot and not natural.
@Northernazbride Isn't that fascinating? My husband and I read about that earlier this year. I think it was something like 3-5 days before ovulation you have a better chance of a girl and 1-2 days before ovulation you have a better chance of having a boy. Very interesting!
I never heard about this dairy and red meat, etc. As Moose said, it's the sperm that determines the gender so it doesn't matter what you eat or do...
@Moose1209 - LOL, yeah I realize that - in my original post I said be it superstition, myth, or whatever, please share the so-called things that will "assist you" with having a boy or girl?
I know activity does not determine the gender of your baby... no different than silly wedding superstitions that will determine "whether you have a happy marriage"... it's just supposed to be a thread to share funny ridiculous stories
When we knew that we were getting close to trying for a baby, we knew we wanted a boy, as I already have two girls. I researched the Shettles Method and followed that loosely to increase my chances of conceiving a boy. The idea behind the diet is that certain dietary habits can affect the environment in the vagina that make it more boy sperm or girl sperm friendly.
I also used OPKs to nail down when I was ovulating (I didn't chart, I'm too lazy for all that), and we tried to conceive as close to that as possible, since supposedly male sperm are faster. There are a few more elements to it than just what I mentioned, but that was what I focused on.
I'm not really superstitious. I thought the information that I read was rather scientific and based in biology more than one might assume. I certainly didn't feel like I was taking snake oil.
I'm certainly not advocating the Shettles Method, or declaring that it's the reason that I'm now pregnant with a large baby boy. But I was willing to try anything within reason, and this was all very simple when broken down to brass tacks.
They do have sperm sorting. I don't think I would go that far and it's not 100% successful but I have heard of it, it's probably really expensive too.
@northernazbride: I think this makes the most sense (boys are faster but girl sperm endure longer). So from this, we kinda figured out our procreation place, based on this. If we have a Girl= conceived in Italy, If we had a Boy=conceived in home sweet home. It's a girl!
The Shettles method is really effective, about 80-90% when trying to conceive a boy, and 75-80% when trying for a girl. Of course, you have to be charting (fertility awarness method) to actually know when you're ovulating, for it to be effective. SO and I definitely plan on using it when we TTC!
@littlemissmango: I didn't chart. I just used the OPKs a couple of times a day around the time I knew I would be ovulating, and as soon as I got the smiley face on the digital thingy (Clearblue Easy), we went for it. We weren't banking on getting pregnant the first month of trying, but we did, and we got our boy! So, good luck!
I did a little research about the Shettles and Whelan Methods. The interesting thing is that they directly contradict one another, (Shettles, try early for girl, Whelan try early for a boy - though for different reasons) so that in itself should disprove both. (This is based on reading about four articles on both methods online).
I liked this quote from an article on babycenter
"I tell my patients that if they want to try low-tech methods, give them a go," says Brian Acacio, a fertility specialist and medical director of the Sher Institutes of Reproductive Medicine (SIRM) in Los Angeles. "They probably won't hurt, and there's a 50 percent chance they'll work."
50 percent? Classic...and I'm no math major but that sounds about right... 
At this point I'd be happy if we had a happy healthy baby of either gender but it interesting to see what methods are out there!
@Miss Starlet: Ahh, that would work too. :) Man I really kinda want to get one of those things, just as one more way to be sure of when I'm ovulating. They're ilke $150 though right? Probably worth it I guess. I think trying for gender selection will be so fun!! My baby fever is running a little high these days... lol.
One of my The Mommy Playbook messageboard friends conceived her son with swaying. I was surprised it worked!LOL
@littlemissmango: I spent about $30 on the initial testing device and I bought the test strips twice I think, bc as it turns out, I ovulated two days later than I would have assumed. So, if I would have tried conceiving just based on what the calendar told me, we just might be having a girl. All in all, I only spent about $70 and got everything at Walgreens.
I know people roll their eyes and make snarky comments when I say that I "worked" on having a boy. We would have been happy with a healthy baby of either gender, but like I said, the method was perfectly reasonable and totally worth a shot.
@One2-Three4: My coworkers used to get pregnant all the time and they all insisted that if you had a lot of morning sickness you were having a girl. It didn't help them pick at all, and they were wrong 50% of the time but I did have to hear that a lot. Also, it didn't help her with gender because she ended up with boys but one of the women insisted that she knew she was pregnant because she only likes french fries with honey when she's preggers. She was also one of those people who would scarf potato chips and say, 'the baby really likes salty snacks.' Gross.
Not that eating anything will determine it, but a fetus' sex is not determined until several weeks into development. Whether or not you have an x or y sperm, all fetuses start with the same pre-gonad - it looks like a pole with a knob on the top with wings on either side. If a Y sperm is present, that pole fuses into a penis while the knob on top becomes the glans penis. The 'wings' on either side become scrotum. If an X is present, or if there is any sort of mutation on the Y chromosome, or anything 'goes wrong' during development, that primary gonad will instead turn into a vagina, a clitoris, and labia. Female sex traits are the 'default' so to speak. So, while nothing you eat will affect it, sex is NOT determined at conception but several weeks into the process.
@One2-Three4: there was a woman in the news a few months ago who paid thousands of dollars to go to Thailand where she could have a procedure to screen the sperm to impregnate her with sperm only carrying the right chromosome
After my friend had her first girl she used the Shettles method to try for a boy--and got a girl. They decided to try again using the Whelean method and and everything else-I mean all out--there was more planning going into that baby than most military operations! And she just went in for her 22 week ultrasound--definitely a girl again... Which makes me feel almost sorry for their daughter-I mean, Im sure they will love her will all their hearts and souls, but how would u feel knowing that all that work went into hoping you weren't the sex you were?
@meggie808
we reaaaaaally want a boy this time around... we already have a girl. We wanted a boy the first time around (biiiig thing in my family as we are ALL girls) but we still love our little girl with all of our hearts =)
My dad is so crazy he even told my husband "I'll pay for "sperm spinning" as he calls it, if you agree let the boy have our last name" needless to say my husband was a little weirded out.. and politely declined.. haha.
I recently read Philippa Gregory's novel "The Other Boleyn Girl," in which everyone seemed to think eating asparagus would help a woman conceive a male child.
There is an author who wrote a book about it. If you want a girl you should try to conceive when you first enter your fertile period. If you want a boy, the peak of your fertile period. He believes in the catholic Natural Family Planning method. I doubt it works that wellthough.
I also have read studies that women who eat more cereals with a certain vitamin, like vitamin B havebeen having boys.
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OK so I know it's not yet readily possible in this world that you can choose the gender of your baby in advance. However, I have heard that you have an inreased chance of a boy/girl if you partake in certain activities/foods/habits, etc. Be it superstition, myth, or whatever, please share the so-called things that will "assist you" with having a boy or girl?
Girl - eat more dairy pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy
Boy - eat more red meat