Ten years ago I had my first baby and my husband and I decided to wait until birth to find out our baby’s gender. It was truly a wonderful surprise—there was nothing like hearing, “It’s a girl!” after a long, hard labor. Such sweet victory!
But speed ahead to the baby I am expecting now and we majorly jumped the gun and found out our baby’s gender at 8 weeks. Although I could have waited, as I did for my other children at a 20 week anatomy scan and a 12 week screening, when I heard that I could take a gender test at home and find out at only 8 weeks, I was thrilled to give it a try. I mean, a $79 investment (less if you catch the SneakPeek Test on sale) is well worth the chance to find out super early.
The SneakPeek Early Gender At-Home DNA Test Kit has the potential to find out the sex of your baby with 99.1% accuracy as early as 8 weeks gestation. A handful of friends tried it before me and the positive Amazon reviews made it seem like a fun activity to help me pass the first trimester woes.
How the SneakPeek Gender Test at Home Works
- Order the kit when you are 6-7 weeks along (or later is fine too).
- Thoroughly read the instructions so once you are 8 weeks, you are prepped and ready to test—there are some very specific sanitation steps to avoid DNA contamination.
- Draw your blood according to directions and mail off your sample in the prepaid SneakPeek envelope.
- Patiently wait 2-3 business days for your email results.
- Celebrate your at-home gender test results!
What I Loved About the At-Home Gender Test
While choosing an at-home gender test may not be right for everyone, here are the features I appreciated about the SneakPeek:
It was cost-effective
My midwife offers full spectrum prenatal DNA testing and one of the included tests in that panel is baby’s gender. However, when I called the service provider, I learned that the test would cost be $700 out of pocket. Now, that is just me and just my insurance, but because I could try out the SneakPeek test for significantly less, I decided it was a great alternative—especially since our main objective in early blood work was learning our little one’s sex versus a full genetic work-up.
It was simple to use
Blood work at home made me a little nervous, but SneakPeek offers super clear instructions with photo guides. They provide all the supplies you need including the lancet to draw blood from your fingertip. And if you can’t bring yourself to do a poke at home, there is an alternative option for gathering a sample. SneakPeek doesn’t outright mention this, but you do have the choice to ask your care provider or lab tech to draw an extra vial of blood straight from your vein during other blood work. Then, send that sample to SneakPeek for testing.
They offered super-fast results
After collecting my sample, I drove straight to the post office and had my package scanned before the afternoon pick-up time on a Tuesday. My package arrived on Friday and by Saturday morning, I had my results delivered via email.
Privacy is a priority
If you’re wondering if there are any privacy concerns with using at-home gender test, I totally understand. I was concerned too, but reading SneakPeek’s privacy policy definitely put my mind at ease. They assure customers that the sample is only used for the gender test, then immediately disposed of in a safe way. Additionally, none of your information is ever shared with any third party.
What to Consider with the Sneakpeek At-Home Gender Test
While I was very happy with my choice to purchase the Sneakpeek, there are some important considerations you should keep in mind before buying yourself:
There’s a possibility for DNA contamination
SneakPeek works by tests blood samples for only one thing: male chromosomes. If the test detects the presence of male chromosomes, your result will be a boy; if it doesn’t detect the male chromosomes, your result is a girl. But here’s the catch—if you contaminate your sample, you could get inaccurate results. The blood draw walks you how to avoid contamination with steps like sterilizing your collection area and hands, so follow that advice carefully. If a male family member, friend, or even your male cat (yes, really!) is in the area you could accidentally include their DNA in your sample and thus get a boy result, no matter your baby is.
Refunds can be tricky
SneakPeek offers a full refund if your results are not accurate. Which is pretty cool, but the fine print states that the only way to collect that refund if your results are wrong is to submit an official birth certificate after you baby is born. (They will not honor an ultrasound report for that refund.) Some online reviewers have said it has been quite the struggle to get a refund as there is no phone number to call and email correspondence is lacking. So, perhaps it is best to purchase with the plan of investing in the test regardless of accuracy just to save yourself some internal frustration.
Easy and Fast
I knew from the beginning of my pregnancy that I wanted to give SneakPeek a try, so I flagged the product on my Amazon wish list to watch for a sale. I snagged it for $59—on sale from its regular $79—so I felt even more confident spending the money on this test.
I ordered the test when I was 7 weeks pregnant and tested at 8 weeks, 1 day. I did not want to wait any longer than I had to for my results! SneakPeek claims 99.1% accuracy at 8 weeks gestation, which was good enough for me.
Gathering my blood sample was not difficult. The only “trick” I employed to make it easier was making sure I was well hydrated before collecting my sample. Some test takers have reported having to do multiple pricks to get enough blood, but I did not have that trouble. The directions were clear, offered great tips, and I was done within 15 minutes or so from initial set-up to walking out the door to mail my sample.
I was incredibly pleased with the timeline and loved that I got an email once SneakPeek had the sample in hand, so I knew when to start watching for my results. Starting at 10 AM on results day, I was glued to my inbox. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long—I was thrilled to discover my gender reveal report by 11 AM. I was immediately able to prep the gender reveal we had planned (a black balloon filled with colored dust from Party City) and by lunch time, my husband and our older kids knew: a baby brother would be joining our family!
Was the Gender Test Accurate?
Although our family very excitedly wrapped our minds around our baby boy news, I had committed to not making any gender specific purchases until our anatomy scan, just in case.
I had a full two and a half months to wait for my official ultrasound, but I held strong. I bought only a handful of very gender-neutral outfits that made their way into what would be our baby’s dresser.
Then, last month I had my anatomy scan which confirmed: I’m definitely pregnant with a baby boy. Success!
A Fun Way to Get Through Your First Trimester
I definitely recommend the SneakPeek Early Gender At-Home DNA Test Kit for parents who are curious about their baby’s gender, or parents who want a different alternative that expensive testing from their doctor. And truthfully, I can say that even if my results from SneakPeek had been wrong, I would have been okay with it. For me, the test was mostly about having some fun during the otherwise miserable first trimester. But if you know yourself well enough to realize that a “wrong” result may cause too much emotional distress for you, it may be worth it to simply wait until your official anatomy ultrasound with your healthcare provider.
It’s also worth noting that because my midwife’s office even offers the SneakPeek test as an alternative to more expensive ones that offer a wider range of results, this particular option for at-home gender testing definitely feels more credible to me than some other options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the baking soda test work?
The basis of the baking soda test lies in adding baking soda to an expecting mother’s pee; if it fizzes like a soda it is a boy, if it does not, it is a girl. Problem is, this gender predictor test assesses urine, which does not contain DNA except for rare cases when epithelial cells are present. Most healthy people do have these cells in their urine. So, baking soda definitely falls into the “old wives tale” category. But, it’s fun to try and see if it lines up with more accurate testing.
How early can you tell gender?
The SneakPeek test can be used as early as 8 weeks, accuracy slightly increases at 9 weeks. That means you can find out if you are having a boy or girl during your first trimester.