Guide
26 baby pool ideas: what to guess before the big day
The name, the weight, the date… and everything that will keep the family laughing until the baby arrives. Here are the 20 questions from the My Baby League catalogue, six custom ideas to go further, and a scoring guide for your baby pool, whether you run it in the app or on paper.
Updated September 30, 2026
The six classics
The questions every baby pool asks, and the most hotly contested. Each one is settled on the big day, no arguments possible.
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What name?
The big one, especially when the parents are keeping it secret. The right name scores the maximum, and the right first letter still saves a few points.
200 pts · 50 pts for the first letter
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Girl or boy?
A fifty-fifty shot, so it's the prediction worth the least. If the parents already know, they can reveal it on scan day, and everyone finds out who called it.
50 pts
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How heavy?
Nobody nails it to the ounce, so the scoring leaves some room. For reference, most full-term babies weigh between about 5½ and 8¾ lb (2.5 to 4 kg).
200 pts within 4 oz · 100 within 8 oz · 50 within 1 lb
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How long?
Less dramatic than the weight, just as hotly debated. For reference: around 20 inches (50 cm) at birth.
200 pts within ¾ in · 100 within 1½ in · 50 within 3 in
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What day?
The due date is only a guide: few babies arrive right on it. That's the whole fun of this one.
200 pts on the day · 100 within 2 days · 50 within 5 days
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What time?
The one everyone forgets, and often the one that settles the final leaderboard.
200 pts within 30 min · 100 within 2 h · 50 within 4 h
The portrait
What will the baby look like? You can check almost all of these on the first photo.
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Whose eyes?
Caution often pays: eye colour can still change over the first few months.
75 pts
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Who will baby look like?
The debate that starts at the hospital, family photos at the ready.
75 pts
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Full head of hair or totally bald?
Settled by the very first photo.
75 pts
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What colour will their hair be?
Four possible answers, so more points for whoever gets it right.
100 pts
The big day
How the arrival plays out, which nobody can predict.
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Early or late?
Easier than the exact day, for anyone who'd rather not pick a date.
75 pts
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What time of day?
A gentler version of the exact time.
100 pts
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Weekday or weekend?
Close to a coin toss, which is exactly why it scores so little.
50 pts
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Lightning labour or marathon?
Best kept for families who'll laugh about it.
50 pts
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Vaginal or C-section?
Only if the parents are comfortable with it: it's their call.
50 pts
Just for fun
The ones that keep the conversation going for nine months.
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Who'll cry first?
The guesses fly, and the answer often surprises.
100 pts
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Who's going to pass out?
A family-dinner classic that gets retold for years.
75 pts
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Will dad make it in time?
For dads who work far away, or who sleep very deeply.
75 pts
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A real screamer or totally chill?
The first few seconds are enough to settle it.
50 pts
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Who'll hold the baby first?
After the parents, obviously. Cue the race to the hospital.
75 pts
Your own ideas
The catalogue isn't enough? Write your own questions. Three formats work well: multiple choice, a number, where the closest guess wins, or a free answer, where the parents pick the winner.
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What head circumference?
Measured at birth, like weight and length: around 13½ inches (34 to 35 cm). It's a number, so the closest guess wins.
75 pts for the closest
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How many letters in the name?
The trick when the name is a secret: everyone plays without giving anything away.
75 pts for the closest
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What middle name?
If the parents are planning one. It's a free answer, so they pick the winner.
75 pts, picked by the parents
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What's the weather on the big day?
Impossible to predict nine months out, easy to check on the day.
100 pts
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Who'll send the first congratulations?
The possible answers: the quickest guests in the league. Phones at the ready.
50 to 100 pts, depending on the number of answers
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How many photos in the parents' first message?
For those who know the parents-to-be well.
75 pts for the closest
In My Baby League, custom predictions come with the paid plans. The 20 catalogue questions are included in every plan, with no limit on how many you use.
How to score a baby pool
Two rules. The harder the question, the more it's worth: getting the weight within 4 oz beats a coin toss on girl or boy. And numbers get some leeway, otherwise nobody would ever score.
| Question | 200 pts | 100 pts | 50 pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | ±4 oz | ±8 oz | ±1 lb |
| Length | ±¾ in | ±1½ in | ±3 in |
| Day | On the day | ±2 days | ±5 days |
| Time | ±30 min | ±2 h | ±4 h |
| Name | The right one | – | First letter |
- Question with 2 answers (girl or boy, weekday or weekend…)50 pts
- Question with 3 answers75 pts
- Question with 4 answers or more100 pts
- Custom prediction: a number, or a free answer75 pts
That's the My Baby League scoring. The app applies it on its own on the big day, and every question shows what it's worth. It works in pounds and ounces or in grams, whichever the organiser picks: in metric, the weight steps are 100, 250 and 500 g, and the length steps 2, 4 and 7 cm. On paper, just copy the table.
Baby pool questions to skip
A baby pool should make everyone laugh, starting with the parents.
- Mum's body. Weight gain, pain, stitches: none of it belongs on a leaderboard.
- The baby's health. Complications, a longer hospital stay: nobody should be playing with worry.
- What the parents would rather keep private. If the pregnancy has been hard, let them choose the questions: it's their game before it's yours.
- Questions that leave part of the family out. On paper or in your custom predictions, adapt the words: “dad” can become “the other mum”, and “Grandma” can go by her real name.