Kids - Is it a girl or boy?

Emily: Mommy, will the baby be a girl or a boy?

Mommy: Well, remember when we talked about Daddy’s sperm meeting my egg cell and making a baby?

Emily: Yes. That happened in your uterus?

Mommy: Well… that’s close, Emily. But they actually met in one of my fallopian tubes, which connects to my uterus. And here’s something else. Inside Daddy’s sperm are a set of instructions that tell the baby to be a boy or a girl.

Emily: Instructions… like the kind we used to build my dollhouse?

Mommy: Yes, except these instructions are for building a baby.

Emily: Gee… I bet that’s harder than building a dollhouse.

Mommy: It sure is. And here’s something very important. The instructions in Daddy’s sperm have a secret letter on them.

Emily: A secret letter?

Mommy: Yes. And if the letter is an “X”, it means the baby will be a girl like you.

Emily: “X”… “X” marks the spot!

Mommy: That’s right! And if the letter is a “Y”… what do you think that means?

Emily: “Y”… why it will be a boy.

Mommy: Right! “X” is for girls… “Y” is for boys.

Emily: I sure hope it’s an “X”.

Kids - Is it a girl or boy?

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Review Date: 11/12/2021

Reviewed By: John D. Jacobson, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

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