How to Run a Baby Pool in WhatsApp, Google Forms or a Spreadsheet (and an Easier Way)

"Should we do a baby pool?" That question usually pops up in the family group chat, so it makes sense to run it there too. You can absolutely build a baby pool with the apps you already have. Below is how to do it with each one, where it usually goes wrong, and when it is easier to let an online baby pool do the work.

First: what will people guess?

Whatever you pick, settle this upfront:

• The questions. The classics are birth date, weight, boy or girl and the name. Length, birth time, hair and eye color make it more exciting. Our baby prediction questions have 30 ideas.
• A deadline. For example 36 weeks, so nobody guesses the date once the contractions start.
• How the winner is decided. Closest date only, or points per question? With points, the person who was close on everything wins. Our baby pool rules have a fair points table you can copy.

Option 1: WhatsApp (or any group chat)

How: create a poll in the group for boy or girl, and ask everyone to send the rest as a message, for example: "Date, weight, name: March 14, 7 lb 8 oz, Nora".

What works: everyone is already there, it costs nothing and it starts right away.

Where it goes wrong:

• A poll only handles multiple choice. Weight and date have to be fished out of separate messages.
• After a hundred messages about the baby shower, nobody can find anything. Who guessed 8 pounds again?
• Everyone sees everyone else's guess, so late guessers just shift a day.
• After the birth, someone has to dig up every guess and work out who was closest. Exactly when you have other things on your mind.

Good for: a small group guessing boy or girl only.

Option 2: Google Forms (or Microsoft Forms)

How:

1. Create a form with a field per question: a date field for the birth date, a number field for the weight, multiple choice for boy or girl, and a text field for the name.
2. Add a field for the guesser's name.
3. Share the link in the group chat.
4. Answers land automatically in a Google Sheets spreadsheet.

What works: tidy, free, and all guesses in one place. Guests can't see each other's answers.

Where it goes wrong:

• Guests see nothing afterwards either: no overview of what others guessed, no suspense.
• People fill it in twice, or type "sometime in March" in the date field if you don't lock it down.
• You calculate the scores yourself in the spreadsheet after the birth. With ten guessers that takes fifteen minutes, with forty an evening.
• You have to close the form yourself when the deadline passes.

Good for: anyone handy with spreadsheets who enjoys working out the results.

Option 3: A spreadsheet or a paper chart

How: make a table with a row per guesser and a column per question, or print a chart to pass around at the shower. Our free baby pool template has three versions ready to use.

What works: cozy at the shower itself, and you get a keepsake straight away.

Where it goes wrong: whoever isn't there can't join. And again you add up everything yourself after the birth.

Good for: a shower where everyone is in the same room.

Or let an online baby pool do the work

All three work, and all three get stuck in the same places: collecting is messy and the scoring is on you. An online baby pool is built for exactly that. Here is how it works on MyBabyPool:

• You create the pool in about a minute and pick the questions and the deadline.
• You share one link in the group chat. Guests guess on their phone with just a name and email, no account or app.
• Everyone guesses once, and the pool closes at the deadline.
• After the birth you enter the real details and every guess is scored automatically. The leaderboard shows who knew your baby best.

It is free to start and anyone can join. If you want everyone to see every guess and get the results by email, there is a one-time upgrade. Is MyBabyPool free? explains exactly what you do and don't get.

Which one suits you?

	WhatsApp	Google Forms	Paper or spreadsheet	Online baby pool
Cost	Free	Free	Free	Free to start
Family far away can join	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Guesses in one place	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fair (no copying)	No	Yes	Partly	Yes
Scoring	By hand	By hand	By hand	Automatic

A handful of people and only boy or girl? A WhatsApp poll is enough. Is the whole family joining, or would you rather enjoy the newborn days than do sums? Then you can start a baby pool in a minute.