There are a few ways to try to determine the gender of your baby, and only one way is a sure thing. You can go the Kim Kardashian/Chrissy Teigen route, particularly if you’re undergoing IVF, where you can select the boy or girl embryos to implant. This is known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and it’s a fool-proof way of selecting the gender, particularly for couples already undergoing genetic testing. 

There’s also sperm sorting, which involves separating X (girl) sperm and Y (boy sperm) in the lab and inserting the sperm of your preferred gender via intrauterine insemination (IUI). According to recent studies, x-sorted sperm produced female fetuses at a rate of 87% and 74% for y-sorted sperm. 

For a more low-key approach, a few other methods exist, like the Shettles Method, which theorizes that because X sperm are slower but live longer than Y sperm, which are faster but die quicker. Therefore, if you want a girl you should have sex before you ovulate so that the X sperm can get there later but wait around for the egg. If you want a boy, however, you should have sex as close as possible to ovulation, since the Y-sperm will get to the egg quicker. To the contrary, the Whelan Method dictates the opposite, stating that biochemical changes in a woman’s body and her cycle will dictate what she’ll conceive, but that to have a girl, you should have sex before or on the day-of ovulation. Whatever route you choose, happy baby making and you’ll most likely get what you get!

Ovulation, aka when your egg releases from an ovary, is one of those magic moments in your cycle that you might not even realize is happening. Since the ABC’s of baby making is literally sex during ovulation, here are a few signs to watch out for, so you can be sure to NAIL it:

• Chart the length of your cycle: since ovulation usually occurs at around 14 days after your period starts (based on a 28 day cycle), start determining when you get your period and how many days last between the start of your next one.
• Examine your cervical mucus: it gets slippier around ovulation time!
  
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• Take your temperature: There’s a small rise in body temperature AFTER ovulation, so if you take your temp daily, you’ll begin to notice when the rise occurs, and you should plan to have sex before it.
  
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• Period symptoms: you may experience the same feelings as when Aunty Flow comes to town, namely breast tenderness, bloating and mild abdominal pain
• Predictor Kit: If you still can’t quite figure out when you’re ovulating, try an ovulation predictor kit. These handy pee-on-a-stick baby-making essentials show when your hormones levels increase around the time of ovulation by measuring the hormones found in your pee.
  
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If you’ve been trying to conceive for one year, you may want to consult a fertility specialist to determine why you’re having trouble. Some women over 35 might choose to wait only six months.

It’s a totally personal call when you think you might want some intel. We always feel like more is more when it comes to information, so feel your way through it and don’t hesitate to advocate for yourself when you think you might need assistance.

If you’re more zombie than human without that morning cup of joe, don’t stress it. As long as you’re not consuming super high amounts, caffeine is unlikely to harm your chances of getting pregnant. However, excessive caffeine intake, 300mg or more daily, does connect to higher rates of spontaneous miscarriages, and 600mg of caffeine more than doubles your chance of miscarriage.

The magic number for caffeine is 200mg or below, so enjoy your coffee, but keep it to a minimum, mama.

All the time, mama! Seriously though, you should probably start having sex every other day by around day 10-12 of your cycle.

You’re more likely to get pregnant if you have sex within a day or two of ovulation, since an egg can live for about 12-24 hours after being released.

Sperm, meanwhile, can live for up to seven days inside a woman’s body. So if you’ve had sex before you ovulate, the sperm will have time to travel and wait for the egg to be released.

Since an egg can continue to live post-ovulation, keep the love going even a day or two afterwards. Since it’s all a giant mystery anyway, take some Sex Dust and get on it, mama!

It certainly could! Many recent studies have revealed links between women’s levels of stress and lowered chances of pregnancy. At the same time, stressed out women may also have less sex, or drink and smoke to deal with stress, which can lower chances of pregnancy. 

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine states that little if any proof exists between stress and infertility, however unhealthy behaviors that often accompany stress can lead to infertility. If you’re feeling stressed out, try and get more sleep, remember to eat a healthy diet, keep smoking, drinking and caffeine consumption at a minimum and remember, the most important thing you can do in trying to have a baby is to have sex! Also, try and incorporate stress-reducing activities into your daily life, like yoga, meditation and exercise.

If you stick to a generally healthy diet, if you load up on the omega-3’s, the B’s and C’s, the K’s the D’s and all the other vitamin-based foods, you’re good to go, mama. Some extra calcium won’t make a difference in your odds of conceiving, but know that the best home to welcome an embryo is a healthy home. So if you’re consciously trying to conceive, start taking a prenatal vitamin or extra folic acid, cut down on processed foods and fish with high levels of mercury, and start limiting your caffeine and alcohol intake.

It’s just a fraction of everything that’s to come. Plus, not getting enough nutrients, or if you’re severely underweight or overweight, can affect your menstrual cycles and ovulation.

Practice healthy choices now, and once you’re pregnant.