The hardest part of early pregnancy for me was waiting to know the gender of our growing baby. I’m the type of person who needs to plan as far in advance as possible, so not knowing exactly what to expect was driving me crazy. I couldn’t imagine waiting til we were 20 weeks, so after a little searching, I found the SneakPeek test that could predict your baby’s gender with 99.6% accuracy. I was totally on board.
What is SneakPeek?
According to their site, SneakPeek is “the only 99.6% accurate DNA test that lets you know your baby’s gender — as early as 9 weeks into pregnancy.”
Basically, they’re an at-home blood test that claims it’s able to know your baby’s gender by detecting Y chromosome DNA (or absence of) in the mother’s blood. When you’re at least 9 weeks pregnant, your baby’s DNA can be found in your own bloodstream. And since women don’t have the Y chromosome, if the test finds any trace of it, then a little baby boy is in there! If the test doesn’t find DNA related to the Y chromosome, then you’re likely having a girl!
The way they “promise” this works, is by telling you to have absolutely no trace of male DNA present when you take your blood sample. This means you need to disinfect the area, thoroughly wash your hands, and follow their directions closely.
Taking the test
When I first got my SneakPeek test, they made it very clear that “this box should not be touched by men,” essentially. It had multiple labels on the outside of the box that warns male DNA will ruin the test results. So I told Mr. Smith that he has to wait in the other room while I take the test, but to listen for my body hitting the floor because I HATE seeing my own blood lmao.
Once I opened the box, the only thing I could really get to is the instructions. Everything else was in a smaller plastic box to keep them sanitary. The instructions give you a long list of prep work to sanitize the area you’ll be sitting at and exactly how to wash your hands. Basically, it feels like you’re scrubbing down to go into surgery.
I did all the cleaning and hand washing, so now I could open up the rest of the supplies, lay them out on my paper towel, and get ready to prick my finger. The box has three lancets just in case you mess up, break one, or whatever. Thank god, because at this point, I was FREAKING out. I had a tourniquet on my left wrist and a lancet in my other hand and I could NOT bring myself to prick my own finger. It sounds funny now, but at the time my phobia got the best of me.
I made Mr. Smith come sit with me because at that point, I said: “screw the accuracy of the test, I’d rather have Alex here with me for moral support.” I sat for another 10 minutes still not being able to prick my finger. Finally, I just made him take the lancet and prick my finger for me as I looked away.
And honestly? It wasn’t THAT BAD. I felt it, sure. But it didn’t hurt. It feels like a rubber band snap.
I was able to quickly grab the little vial and squeeze blood from my fingertip into it. They need about 1/8 teaspoon of blood, so I had to basically “milk” my fingertip like an udder until it filled to the line on the vial.
And that’s it! I could close up the vial, put it in their little box, and clean up. It was scary for me, but once you prick your finger you’re basically done.
Test Results
Once you’re done taking the test, you have to mail it back to the SneakPeek lab so they can do all their science to it — make sure you take the test earlier in the week so your mail service has time to ship it the very next day!
After 24 hours, I got an email that says they’ve received my sample, and in 48 hours they had my results! And the results were….. *drum roll* A BOY! Here’s a screenshot from the email they sent me:
I was 100% convinced I was having a girl, so when I saw this I was in complete disbelief. I had already bought some girl clothes (I jinxed myself) and had been mentally prepping for a girl since week 4.
I figured because Alex helped with the test, we somehow ruined the results because his DNA got mixed in. I mean, there’s always a chance that happened, but we were both very careful that he would only touch the lancet and not even breathe in the direction of the vial. Despite him being there, I still think we did a really good job of keeping it as “male DNA-free” as possible.
So did we ruin the test? There’s no way to know for sure. At my first OB appointment, I had the NIPT test done and the results came back confirming it was a boy! So whether Alex’s DNA or the baby’s is what gave us the “boy” results, we’ll never know.
Final thoughts
I think this test is worth it, no matter how scared I was to take my own blood. Do I believe it’s going to be accurate as often as they advertise? No way. I’ve seen some reviews where people got inaccurate results. But for $60 (I bought it on sale) it was a fun way to try and predict our baby’s gender early. Just don’t go and buy your baby’s wardrobe or decorate their nursery until you get an actual doctor’s input!
And trust me, if you’re interested in trying the test yourself, it really isn’t that scary. You can get your own SneakPeek test on Amazon, if you want! I just have a genuine fear of needles and medical things. I’ve even blacked out multiple times giving blood or having shots. It’s just a small prick that’s probably a lot like the finger prick diabetics have to do.
I’m just so glad that I was able to “know” our baby’s gender a few weeks earlier. It got me in the mindset of having a son and sparked so much excitement for us!
If you want to follow along for more of my motherhood, seasonal, lifestyle, and homemaking posts, check out my social media accounts:
Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
