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Grandparenting

Having all granddaughters

(61 Posts)
antonio6 Mon 12-Sep-22 01:22:36

Why is that some parents have all boys, all girls or vice versa and yet still have granddaughters?

imaround Mon 12-Sep-22 01:36:44

Ummm....

Maybe Mother Nature is ensuring that the human race continues.

Hithere Mon 12-Sep-22 01:36:59

It's a matter of genetics, I guess

nanna8 Mon 12-Sep-22 02:05:49

We got all girls, never found the recipe for boys. Still, we have quite a few grandsons and great grandsons so they must have worked it out. Funny because my husband’s brother had no girls, just five boys. There are a few old wives tales around about why you might have one rather than another. Maybe another thread?

Norah Mon 12-Sep-22 07:46:35

Ours are all girls, we have a grandson (of 8) and a GGS (of 4, so far). It's down to the sperm chromosomes.

Oldnproud Mon 12-Sep-22 08:05:54

I do know a couple who had three daughters, no sons, and each of those daughters has only had daughters too.
But who knows - maybe the next generation will only produce boys, so average things out then.

Our own family has certainly averaged out well so far:
We only had boys
One DiL was one of 3 girls.
Other DiL was one of a pigeon pair.

So far, every single one of the couples formed by these 'children' (only one hasn't started a family yet) has had a pigeon pair, in one case as twins.

grandMattie Mon 12-Sep-22 08:13:33

A doctor I had in Jersey, CI, came from a long line of sons. His wife, from daughters…. He hoped for a daughter but all 5 of their children were boys.
My family tends to have more girls, but both my sisters and I had more sons. Why? Who knows…
I had 2 boys one girl, my sisters a boy each.

Shelflife Mon 12-Sep-22 08:13:44

We had two daughters and a son. Not ever heard of pigeon pair - had to Google!!

DanniRae Mon 12-Sep-22 08:19:39

I have a friend who has 2 daughters and each daughter has 2 sons and another friend who has 2 sons and each son has 2 daughters! Me, I'm very lucky I have 2 daughters and a son and one grandson and a one granddaughter - perfect!! smile

M0nica Mon 12-Sep-22 08:25:46

I read somewhere that the age of the sperm and the age of the egg when fertilisation occurred could affect the sex of the subsequent child.

But which way round it was. A sperm that sprints to the very recently released eggs produces boys, while the one taking the scenic route while the egg smells the daisies and gently ages produce mainly girls, it or may be the other way round.

Either way, does it matter?

J52 Mon 12-Sep-22 08:47:10

I only had sons and only have granddaughters. The world went from blue to sparkly pink!

Granny23 Mon 12-Sep-22 08:53:42

My maternal Granny was a 2nd DD.
She had 2 DDs the younger one was my Mum.
I was MY Mum's 2nd DD and I had 2 girls.
my DDs each had a DD, then,
Surprise Surprise, elder DD produced an enormous son!

It took a bit of getting used to especially his habit of peeing in your face when you changed him.

JackyB Mon 12-Sep-22 09:05:50

A mix here, too. I only had boys but one has produced only boys and the other only girls.

There are all sorts of theories about this - I think the "Old Wives" know best. My cousin's wife was told by her Persian midwife that "with her hips" she would only have boys. She had 4!

A friend of mine was using yoghurt to treat thrush when she got pregnant with her 2nd, a daughter. She is convinced that the pH "down there" because of it determined the sex.

JackyB Mon 12-Sep-22 09:07:59

After a war, it is usually accepted that more boys are born to make up the losses (how does that work?)

We have a walnut tree in the garden. Several local people have said that if it is a good year for the nuts, more boys will be born.

lemsip Mon 12-Sep-22 09:21:45

I think it's to do with where you are in your 'cycle' when you conceive! No reason really except that my two were planned and conceived half way through and two sons..... of course I wasn't planning the sex, just coincidence which later made me think of the theory... and my sister in law had two girls conceived earlier in her cycle.. we talked about it years later because, not at the tie of course.

probably complete rubbish anyway!

Wheniwasyourage Mon 12-Sep-22 09:27:42

There are some families in which almost all babies are boys, which could suggest that either the Y chromosome is strong or the X is weak.

Grannybags Mon 12-Sep-22 09:27:49

J52

I only had sons and only have granddaughters. The world went from blue to sparkly pink!

Me too!

Sar53 Mon 12-Sep-22 09:43:28

I am an only daughter with three brothers, my ex-husband was one of three boys yet we had two daughters and now five granddaughters.
My eldest daughters MIL has three sons and seven granddaughters.
I have often wondered why.

Dee1012 Mon 12-Sep-22 09:50:52

Wheniwasyourage

There are some families in which almost all babies are boys, which could suggest that either the Y chromosome is strong or the X is weak.

That's really interesting - I've been attempting to do my family tree and for generations, on both sides, it's mainly boys born!

I've often wondered why.

Urmstongran Mon 12-Sep-22 09:53:41

Friends of ours had 3 daughters. No sons.
Now they have 6 grandsons, no granddaughters!

annodomini Mon 12-Sep-22 10:05:20

My paternal granny was peeved when granddaughters kept arriving. She send lots of blue garments when my mum was expecting my second sister, but no luck. There were three of us and we had six girl cousins. I have two sons as has my second sister, though my late sister had one of each. The next generation is a nice mixture and the newest is my beautiful, 3-month-old, GGD.

MiniMoon Mon 12-Sep-22 10:09:32

I'm the eldest of 3 girls.
I have one of each. My DD gave us 1 granddaughter and 3 grandsons.
My son has no family.
One sister has 3 boys, one son has 2 girls
The other sister has 2 girls neither are married yet.

Lathyrus Mon 12-Sep-22 10:26:35

You can see the difference in sperm. Male sperm are thinner and have longer tails, are more active and move faster.

Female sperm are rounder, have shorter tails and move more slowly, but are longer lived.

So the point in the menstrual cycle when sex happens is part of the equation.

The second is the natural propensity for some men to produce more male or female sperm. That’s genetic.

The third is the chemical balance of the female vagina. It affects which sperm is most likely to get through.

We can do a lot naturally to sway the odds if one sex is desired.

But, of course, lots of countries offer IVF selection.

storynanny Mon 12-Sep-22 10:28:44

I’ve got one sister and one girl cousin only. I had 3 boys, sister and girl cousins had 2 boys each
All our our boys have an even mix of girls and boys

crazyH Mon 12-Sep-22 10:36:34

My brother had 3 boys. So did my best friend - 3 boys. So much easier to deal with, I would guess. ?