My husband and I are trying for our second baby and are TTC a girl.

Many of the methods we have read require me to know my exact ovulation time. I am using a home ovulation kit but I am getting confusing results. The test is indicating no LH surge and yet I am having a thick, stringy, rubberband like substance. I have read that typically precedes ovulation. My question Is this, is this substances truly a precursor to ovulation and if so, typically how long after this rubberband like substances is detected do you usually ovulate?

If it makes you feel wet down there, looks and feels like egg whites, and stretches, your body will more than likely ovulate within a day or so. Some women have several days of that kind of cervical fluid, while others only have one.

The important thing is to on those days because sperm can live for up to 5 days in that type of cervical fluid.

From what I have read and researched, a woman typically ovulates on the day of her last egg white cervical mucus (EWCM), that's that stretchy rubbery stuff. But, by the time you know it was your last day, it's too late.

I am trying for a girl as well, so I know it's tough. If I were you, I would use and opk 2 times a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. That way you have a better chance of catching the hormone shift to know when you are ovulating.

Now, an interesting thing, I read a scientific study about boy/girl sperm and timing methods. The study appears in the latest issue of Fertility and Sterility, the respected journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). The conclusion agrees with some previous studies showing that X and Y sperm cells have the same morphology (size, shape, and structure). In his book, Dr. Shettles claims the size difference between the two types of sperm -- X and Y, with the X's responsible for the conception of a girl and the Y's causing the conception of a boy -- is the key to swaying the odds in favor of conceiving the gender of your choice. Because the Y chromosome is smaller than the X chromosome, Shettles theorized, the Y-bearing sperm should be smaller and faster. The greater mass of the X sperm, on the other hand, should make it slower but hardier and better able to overcome obstacles to fertilization. Data from the study shows that, not only are X and Y sperm indistinguishable from one another, even abnormal sperm cells with the wrong number of chromosomes -- too many or too few chromosomes -- cannot be identified by having a different shape or size.

Shettles describes how he observed two distinct populations of sperm: smaller, pointier sperm that he assumed were Y sperm, and bulkier, rounder sperm that he assumed were X sperm. However, Shettles never proved that the different-appearing sperm cells he saw actually corresponded to X and Y sperm. We now know for a fact that it is impossible to identify a living X from a Y sperm just by looking at it with a microscope, no matter how powerful the microscope is. (If it were, we'd have a reliable method of gender selection without resorting to PGD.)

The truth is that at the time Dr. Shettles conducted his interesting sperm experiments -- more than 4 decades ago -- there didn't exist an accurate method of detecting X and Y sperm in a semen sample. What has been shown by recent research is that sperm shape indicates maturity, not whether the sperm is carrying an X or Y chromosome. Sperm cells which have undergone "capacitation", which occurs after ejaculation and enables a sperm cell to fertilize an egg, are pointy. Sperm cells which have not undergone this process are round and enlarged, and cannot fertilize an egg.

Now, one thing that Dr. Shettles also said was that the pH of the women's tract is also very important. A more acidic environment favors girls, since it will kill the weaker y-sperms first, leaving a greater quantity of x-sperms available to fertilize the egg. On the other hand, a more alkaline environment favors boys. Shettles recommends a douche of water and vinegar (acid) immediately before intercourse to favor a girl; a douche of water and baking soda (alkaline) will help for a boy. Position of intercourse and depth of penetration are important, partly because of pH. The closer to the entrance to the vagina, the more acidic the women's tract is. Women's orgasms can also be important. It also has to do with pH. When a woman has an orgasm, the body releases some kind of substance that makes the environment more alkaline, favoring boys. He recommends no orgasms when trying for girls

That part of his research has not been disputed. So, take that information as you will. I know it was a lot to read, and I'm sorry for that. But it changed my way of thinking completely! Good luck in your attempts!

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