Expert: K Shows - 8/3/2006

Question
My husband and I are thinking of getting pregnant and I am way too curious to wait to actually give birth to find out how he/she would look like. I am of an olive complexion, black hair, brown eyes. Both of my parents are white/light complexions. My father has black hair and brown eyes, and my mother has brown hair and light brown eyes (which turn more hazel-ish green when she becomes tanned). My brother, though has my mother's eyes and light brown hair, while my sister looks like me. My husband has an olive skin tone too. Both of his parents are white/light skinned. His father has black hair and brown eyes, and his mother has blond hair and blue eyes. He has 1 brother with blonde hair and blue eyes, but 1 other brother and a sister who have light complexions, brown hair and brown eyes, and 1 brother with an olive complexion, black hair and brown eyes (5 children!). Even though my side of the family has darker features, I have a great grandfather and a great uncle who had blue eyes on my dad's side, and my father's cousins all have blue eyes. I know that I put a lot of extended family in this, but I want the most accurate depiction. Thank you for your time!

Answer
Noor,

You and your husband may be heterozygotes, carrying silent recessive genes that could be passed on to your child.  You may carry either blue or green genes for eye color, and light brown genes for hair color; your husband definitely carries a blond gene for hair color and a blue gene for eye color.  If you are truly a heterozygote, you could have a child with light hair and blue or green or hazel (like your mom) eyes; however, statistics say your child will probably have brown hair and brown eyes.  I would expect the complexion to be similar to both you and your husband, that is, light olive, although it could be darker or lighter, based on the random combination of genes.