the complete guide

What is a baby pool, and how do you set one up?

Everything you need to know about baby pools — what they are, how they work, and how to run one at a baby shower or in the office, step by step.

Start your baby pool Ready in 1 minute

What is a baby pool?

A baby pool is a game where friends and family guess details about an expected baby — such as the gender, birth date, weight and name. After the baby is born, the real details are revealed and whoever guessed closest wins. It is also known as a baby prediction game, a baby guessing game or a baby shower game.

How does a baby pool work?

The expecting parents create a pool, choose which details people can guess, and share a link. Each guest submits their predictions and can see a live leaderboard. Once the baby arrives, the parents enter the real details and every guess is scored automatically to find the winner.

How to set up a baby pool, step by step

Setting up a baby pool takes about a minute. Follow these four steps to get your pool ready to share.

  1. 1

    1. Create your pool

    Enter the parents' names and the due date, then pick a photo and color to make the pool your own.

  2. 2

    2. Choose your questions

    Select which details guests will guess — gender, birth date, weight, length, name and more. Keep it short or include everything.

  3. 3

    3. Invite friends and family

    Share your pool link via WhatsApp, email or social media. Anyone with the link can join and guess from their own phone.

  4. 4

    4. Reveal the winner

    After the birth, enter the real details. The pool scores every guess automatically and reveals who knew your baby best.

Running a baby pool at a baby shower

A baby pool is one of the most popular baby shower games. Print the pool's QR code, place it on a table, and let every guest scan and guess on their own phone — no paper cards, no lost answers. You can reveal the early leaderboard live at the party.

Running a baby pool in the office

When a colleague is expecting, an office baby pool lets the whole team join in. Share the link in your team chat, let everyone guess before the due date, and reveal the winner together once the baby arrives — a small team treat makes a great prize.

Which questions should you include?

Popular baby pool questions include gender, birth date, birth time, weight, length, hair color, eye color and the baby's name. Start with gender and birth date — the crowd favorites — and add as many of the others as you like.

Rules and scoring

Most baby pools follow simple rules: one guess per person, submitted before the due date. Scoring rewards accuracy — exact matches earn the most points, and close guesses earn partial points (for example, a birth weight within 500 grams). MyBabyPool handles all the scoring automatically.

Announcing the winner

Once the real details are entered, the leaderboard updates and the winner is crowned automatically. Share the final leaderboard with everyone who played — it's a lovely way to close the celebration and thank your guests.

Fun baby pool ideas

Add a personal touch: ask guests to guess the baby's name, include a birth time tiebreaker, or arrange a small prize for the winner. You can also keep the pool as a keepsake of everyone's guesses to look back on later.

Not sure of the due date yet?

Use our free due date calculator to work out the estimated date from your last period, conception or IVF transfer — then start your pool.

Open the due date calculator

Quick answers

Baby pool FAQ

A baby pool is a game where friends and family guess details about an expected baby — such as gender, birth date, weight and name — and the closest guesser wins after the birth.

keep exploring

More ways to play along

Baby Pool Game

The online baby pool where friends and family guess your baby's details and a live leaderboard crowns the winner.

Baby Guessing Game

Guess the baby's weight, gender, date and name — the classic guessing game, played together online.

Baby Prediction Game

Run a baby prediction game or gender pool and let everyone call gender, date and weight before the big day.

Baby Due Date Pool

A due date pool where everyone guesses the day baby actually arrives — closest guess wins.

Baby Sweepstake

A free baby sweepstake — all the fun of a betting pool, no money and no gambling involved.

Office Baby Pool

Start a baby pool for a pregnant colleague — everyone guesses on their own phone, no spreadsheet needed.

Ready to set up your baby pool?

Now you know how it works — create your free baby pool in about a minute and invite everyone to play.

Start your baby pool

Easy peasy — quick to set up