My sway - all advice welcome!

[zanacal]

Hi All

I'm hoping to ttc in July so am starting the diet etc. at the start of June - Mirena comes out on Wednesday! Here's what I'm thinking. Any help or advice gratefully received :bigsmile:

Diet - Atomic's low everything diet. No breakfast. Low blood sugar levels especially around ovulation and during the 2WW.

Exercise - At least 60 minutes 6 days a week. I've bought the most exhausting looking exercise DVDs I could find and I hope they'll be challenging enough!

Supplements -
Me: Calcium Citrate 800mg, Magnesium Citrate 300mg, Vitex 1000mg (AF-O), Chitosan (2 tablets after meals), Folic Acid 400mg, Aspirin 75mg (only around week of attempt/O as breastfeeding). Antihistimines for around 5 days around O.

Re the aspirin and anti-h - I was thinking of taking these after I've fed my toddler at around 7pm as our attempts will all be in the evening and I can make sure he doesn't feed again for around 24 hours. Would that be right? Should I take another anti-h in the morning (so 2 a day)?

DH: I haven't approached him about this yet but I'm thinking Calcium and Magnesium for sure. I'm not keen on asking him to take aspirin every day - would it be best to ask him to take cranberry long-term (do nutrients matter for the man?) or to do the same as me and take some aspirin around our attempt?

Potions and gels! - An applicator of RepHresh every 3 days leading up to our attempt. My thoughts at the moment are that I'll use just a squeeze on the morning of each attempt, followed by a finger tip shortly after DTD. I have some Aci-jel and am wondering about using a finger tip full 1 hour before DTD in addition to the RepHresh. I'm not planning on actually checking my pH around each attempt as I'm hoping the extreme diet and exercise will do the job anyhow - and the creams are just a back up!

How and when - I'm going to ask DH to release each day from the beginning of my cycle then when AF is over we'll switch to BDing with a spermicide condom for 3 or 4 days. After this we'll DTD every night (with DH taking a hot bath first) and using the gels/antihistimines etc. until I get a positive OPK.

I think that's it - I'm going with the theory that diet and exercise (for me) and lowering of sperm count (for DH) are the most important things and that those things are the aspects we can achieve the easiest (though the diet and exercise are so 'not' me that they won't be easy at all!). The gels and antihistimines are our back-up and the timing matters least so I'll try not to care too much about that! I don't want to take too many pills but I'm going to hedge my bets and take calcium and magnesium and I hope the Vitex will spice up my historically very regular cycles so my body is working differently to how it's worked in the past.

One more thing, I've started to take my temps each morning and I'm wondering if I even need to. I've never done it before and I don't want to spend hours pouring over graphs! I'll use OPKs to monitor when I ovulate and I get very strong ovulation pains which will give me some idea - and if timing doesn't matter much anyway ...

Thank you!

[swish]

Looks great, zanacal! Pretty similar to my sway. I'm charting temps but only because I like to know exactly when I've o'ed so I know I'm in the tww! I'm also getting dh to take liquorice root but not other supps. Will definately be following your journey!!! Good luck!!!

[zanacal]

Thanks Swish - you too!

[swish]

What is chitosan? What does it do?

[zanacal]

Thanks jjc, I don't know where I got that from as I haven't read the instructions yet!

[swish]

Thanks! Where can you get it from? Did you order it online? Does it have any nasty side effects? Sorry, lots of questions, am just worrying about all the weird and wonderful things I'm putting in my body!

[zanacal]

It's recommended on the Low Everything Diet thread. I got mine from www.chemistdirect.co.uk - also got my RepHresh from here. I haven't started taking them yet so can't comment on nasty side effects. The description says this;

Chitosan is an indigestable, fibre-like substance, extracted from marine shells, such as crabs and shrimps.

Sounds lovely eh?!

[swish]

Yum, yum!! Will order some, just one more pill to rattle around in my tummy!

[jude17]

Nice to see someone's ttc girl plan. It looks good and similar to what I will do. I am also going to take saw palmetto and drink peppermint tea to lower testosterone. I will make dh take licorice root but he hates pills so I don't think he will take pills and be happy about it!

For the low everything diet I can find various threads with information about this diet. But is there a thread with the diet in full and also recommended supplements all in one place? I think I have it worked out but I want to make sure. Is this atomics 'low everything diet"

http://genderdreaming.com/forum/showthread.php?761-diet-suggestions-for-TTC-Pink

I think the dream member section has a sample of the low everything diet?? is this correct??

Thanks heaps

[jude17]

Also I am far to lazy to exercise. Is it true that you can either do heaps of exercise or none at all to sway girl? I have also been thinking about using both RepHresh and aci-jel together so I will be really interested to see how this goes for you when you sway. good luck

[Mochagirl]

Looks like a great sway to me! Mine will be similar, except I'm not exercising, and I've had to eliminate some of the drugs because I'm still nursing my 23 month old. I've given up on temping, myself. I just find that with 3 kids 5 and under, I'm up so often in the night that there's no one time when I would get a good temperature for me at rest - that and I just simply forget to do it every morning!

[zanacal]

Mochagirl - I'm also nursing my 18 month old. That's why I'm only taking aspirin a little around the crucial time. Which other supplements are you avoiding? I think I'll forgoe the temping too ...

Jude17 - that's right, loads of exercise or none at all. The thing is, I don't do anything even at the moment, but I'm pretty muscley from lugging the kids around and just walking around our town (which is very hilly!) and those things can't be avoided, nor would I want to. I also feel that it's something I've never done before, definitely not while we've been ttc, so I'll give it a go - and hope to get pregnant quickly!! I've read the information on the Dream Member's page regarding the diet, so helpful.

[Mochagirl]

Mochagirl - I'm also nursing my 18 month old. That's why I'm only taking aspirin a little around the crucial time. Which other supplements are you avoiding? I think I'll forgoe the temping too ...


Now that I look more closely, I guess the Baby Aspirin is the only one I was avoiding - I've been taking cranberry instead, but now I'm tempted to do what you'd doing instead, especially since ds3 only nurses once a day, at bedtime. I'm also not taking Vitex or Chitosan, mostly because I'm just undecided about them. I feel like I'm taking so much already with all my supplements!

[rainbowflower]

looks good, I have a few thoughts/questions, though:

1- RepHresh - atomic suggested just using half an applicator every 3 days so as to not kill all the swimmers... and someone on here said that if you cut open the applicator and remove the gel (putting it in sterile container) you can get about an extra 50% out of it! I like the idea of using a fingertip after the attempt, though

2- BDing - will you BD through O? will you BD more frequently on O day?

3- hot baths - how long do these have to last? my DH is not a fan of baths! how hot do they have to be, and how long do I have to persuade my DH to sit in it? lol

4- temping - no harm in giving it a try... I did it before conceiving both times and found it very very stressful and would spend hours comparing my charts to others and poring over it trying to interpret it. It was reassuring to know that I'd OVed, and before I got my BFP with my son I took my morning temp and it was still high so I knew AF wasn't going to arrive that day! Also, temping pinpointed OV day as the day after my first CBFM peak (same as a pos OPK), but both my scans that I had (at 6+4, and 12+4) both dated my pregnancy to the day before that, so the day of the pos OPK. Temping can be a day or two out, but so can scan dates... maybe it doesn't make any difference, who knows. :) If you get on with it, great! if not, at least it's a relatively cheap thing to try out.

[zanacal]

Thanks Rainbowflower.

1) I won't use a full applicator any time near our attempt, it just seems easier (less messing around!) at other times during my cycle.

2) I think we'll BD until I get a positive OPK. I'm pretty convinced that timing doesn't matter but I want to try this first because it's different to what we did with the boys. I think even my super-sexed DH will be fed up by this point too having 'released' every day for a fortnight!!

3) I don't know about the baths - I'll just run one for DH an hour or so before I 'need' him!

4) Thank you, I've decided to give it a miss though. I'll know that I've ovulated because I find it very painful and we'll stop BDing when I get a positive OPK. It won't be particularly precise but good enough I think and better than getting obsessed.

I forgot to mention that we have Sylk if we should need it - and I think we might with all this BDing!

[rainbowflower]

I know what you mean about doing it too much! I'm finding that BF has made it very uncomfortable to do anyway - have you found that? hoping that rephresh will help when we start trying
I think I might get my DH to "release" without DTD every other day.. gives me a break, less swimmers overall in there, yet should sway girl

[Mochagirl]

zanacal - I have some Sylk too and am planning to use it. Can we use both Rephresh and Sylk at the same time?

[stellanneedsasis]

Very similar to my sway we DTD yesterday. I was hoping for a 3 day cut off but I can feel the O pain today!! I'm kinda freaking out but telling myself timing has been disproven. We did abstinence for 13 days instead of the frequent release..I think either way is great. Also my hubby took the cranberry, calcium, mag, and 2 licorice root pills a day. My diet was already low cal so for 2.5 weeks before I took it down even more and lost 3 lbs! Wishing you luck and a BFP with a pink bean soon! also we did a whole tube of rephresh the night before attempt and I've been taking zyrtec for 3 days. I laid there for 10 minutes then dumped, missionary, shallow, and no O!

[swish]

Mocha girl, you can use both

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi All

I'm hoping to ttc in July so am starting the diet etc. at the start of June - Mirena comes out on Wednesday! Here's what I'm thinking. Any help or advice gratefully received :bigsmile:

Diet - Atomic's low everything diet. No breakfast. Low blood sugar levels especially around ovulation and during the 2WW.

Exercise - At least 60 minutes 6 days a week. I've bought the most exhausting looking exercise DVDs I could find and I hope they'll be challenging enough!

Supplements -
Me: Calcium Citrate 800mg, Magnesium Citrate 300mg, Vitex 1000mg (AF-O), Chitosan (2 tablets after meals), Folic Acid 400mg, Aspirin 75mg (only around week of attempt/O as breastfeeding). Antihistimines for around 5 days around O.

Re the aspirin and anti-h - I was thinking of taking these after I've fed my toddler at around 7pm as our attempts will all be in the evening and I can make sure he doesn't feed again for around 24 hours. Would that be right? Should I take another anti-h in the morning (so 2 a day)?

DH: I haven't approached him about this yet but I'm thinking Calcium and Magnesium for sure. I'm not keen on asking him to take aspirin every day - would it be best to ask him to take cranberry long-term (do nutrients matter for the man?) or to do the same as me and take some aspirin around our attempt?

Potions and gels! - An applicator of RepHresh every 3 days leading up to our attempt. My thoughts at the moment are that I'll use just a squeeze on the morning of each attempt, followed by a finger tip shortly after DTD. I have some Aci-jel and am wondering about using a finger tip full 1 hour before DTD in addition to the RepHresh. I'm not planning on actually checking my pH around each attempt as I'm hoping the extreme diet and exercise will do the job anyhow - and the creams are just a back up!

How and when - I'm going to ask DH to release each day from the beginning of my cycle then when AF is over we'll switch to BDing with a spermicide condom for 3 or 4 days. After this we'll DTD every night (with DH taking a hot bath first) and using the gels/antihistimines etc. until I get a positive OPK.

I think that's it - I'm going with the theory that diet and exercise (for me) and lowering of sperm count (for DH) are the most important things and that those things are the aspects we can achieve the easiest (though the diet and exercise are so 'not' me that they won't be easy at all!). The gels and antihistimines are our back-up and the timing matters least so I'll try not to care too much about that! I don't want to take too many pills but I'm going to hedge my bets and take calcium and magnesium and I hope the Vitex will spice up my historically very regular cycles so my body is working differently to how it's worked in the past.

One more thing, I've started to take my temps each morning and I'm wondering if I even need to. I've never done it before and I don't want to spend hours pouring over graphs! I'll use OPKs to monitor when I ovulate and I get very strong ovulation pains which will give me some idea - and if timing doesn't matter much anyway ...

Thank you!

I LOVE this sway! Very nice!

1)I would prob take 800-1200 mcg of folic since you will be getting less than normal due to the restrictive diet. Space it out, so take one 400 mcg in the morning, one at noon (if desired), and one at night.

2)I like that you're taking them after you've fed your LO. If you're doing Zyrtec, you only need to take those once every 24 hours (and weirdly, they wear off about 24 hours on the button.) No need for two. If you're doing Benadryl, I think you are supposed to take those more often but I HATE the way Benadryl makes me feel.

3)I think aspirin is better for DH as well.

4)I still have qualms about mixing the Acijel and the RepHresh but enough people are saying it works, that if you feel good about it, go for it. I would NOT do any jels after DTD though. The RepHresh that is already in there and then the Acijel beforehand will be enough to lower the semen pH and I worry that too much of a good thing will keep you from getting pg.

5)I think you are 110% right on with the temping. If you have OPK and you're not worried about timing, you don't need it and it's only going to feed the swaycession and potentially raise testosterone.

Seriously, great job.

[atomic sagebrush]

Nice to see someone's ttc girl plan. It looks good and similar to what I will do. I am also going to take saw palmetto and drink peppermint tea to lower testosterone. I will make dh take licorice root but he hates pills so I don't think he will take pills and be happy about it!

For the low everything diet I can find various threads with information about this diet. But is there a thread with the diet in full and also recommended supplements all in one place? I think I have it worked out but I want to make sure. Is this atomics 'low everything diet"

http://genderdreaming.com/forum/showthread.php?761-diet-suggestions-for-TTC-Pink

I think the dream member section has a sample of the low everything diet?? is this correct??

Thanks heaps

The "diet suggestions" was an early attempt to make everyone happy by encorporating all the diets into one. But I dont' think it's possible to do that and have enough food and people couldn't stick to it. My low-everything diet thread is in the Dream Member section and it's a lot less restrictive than the "diet suggestions" thread. It's not anywhere close to being finished yet but it gives you more of an idea of the kind of diet I think is best and why.

[atomic sagebrush]

Also I am far to lazy to exercise. Is it true that you can either do heaps of exercise or none at all to sway girl? I have also been thinking about using both RepHresh and aci-jel together so I will be really interested to see how this goes for you when you sway. good luck

Yes that is true about the exercise. BUT you have to be actively losing weight on a low-protein, lowfat, low calorie diet for either option to sway pink. It's not enough just to not exercise, that won't do anything for you. You have to be not exercising while losing weight on the Low-Everything diet.

[atomic sagebrush]

looks good, I have a few thoughts/questions, though:

1- RepHresh - atomic suggested just using half an applicator every 3 days so as to not kill all the swimmers... and someone on here said that if you cut open the applicator and remove the gel (putting it in sterile container) you can get about an extra 50% out of it! I like the idea of using a fingertip after the attempt, though

2- BDing - will you BD through O? will you BD more frequently on O day?

3- hot baths - how long do these have to last? my DH is not a fan of baths! how hot do they have to be, and how long do I have to persuade my DH to sit in it? lol

4- temping - no harm in giving it a try... I did it before conceiving both times and found it very very stressful and would spend hours comparing my charts to others and poring over it trying to interpret it. It was reassuring to know that I'd OVed, and before I got my BFP with my son I took my morning temp and it was still high so I knew AF wasn't going to arrive that day! Also, temping pinpointed OV day as the day after my first CBFM peak (same as a pos OPK), but both my scans that I had (at 6+4, and 12+4) both dated my pregnancy to the day before that, so the day of the pos OPK. Temping can be a day or two out, but so can scan dates... maybe it doesn't make any difference, who knows. :) If you get on with it, great! if not, at least it's a relatively cheap thing to try out.

3)With baths, the longer, the better, but even a short bath is better than no bath!

4)Actually, there IS harm in giving it a try, if you're the type of person who gets very consumed by doing projects...all the charting and number crunching makes some people get kinda obsessed over it and that can cause testosterone to rise. I think the best pink sway is the one you think about the least, and the more charting, note-taking, etc you do, the more it stays in the forefront of your brain all the time. The second you get up, you pop a thermometer into your mouth and start your wheels spinning over your sway, KWIM???

[atomic sagebrush]

zanacal - I have some Sylk too and am planning to use it. Can we use both Rephresh and Sylk at the same time?

Yes, but before you do, you might want to double check just to see what your pH does when you combine them.

[atomic sagebrush]

Very similar to my sway we DTD yesterday. I was hoping for a 3 day cut off but I can feel the O pain today!! I'm kinda freaking out but telling myself timing has been disproven. We did abstinence for 13 days instead of the frequent release..I think either way is great. Also my hubby took the cranberry, calcium, mag, and 2 licorice root pills a day. My diet was already low cal so for 2.5 weeks before I took it down even more and lost 3 lbs! Wishing you luck and a BFP with a pink bean soon! also we did a whole tube of rephresh the night before attempt and I've been taking zyrtec for 3 days. I laid there for 10 minutes then dumped, missionary, shallow, and no O!

That is great Stella! :agree: Hope this is it for you!!!

[zanacal]

Thanks for the advice Atomic, I'm happy to up the folic acid (not just because it's a tiny pill and not MASSIVE like all the others!!).

DH is not up for the supplements but I think I can convince him to take a few aspirin around our attempt. I hope I'm right in thinking that his main role is the frequent release and that these things matter less.

I'm yet to experiment with Acijel or Rephresh but I had my Mirena out this week and I got a fade-in (I think!) on an OPK this morning so I'm hoping for some EWCM soon to experiment with lol!

I'm thinking of delaying our attempt until August to allow me to lose some more weight - I would need to lose 28lb or thereabouts to get to my lowest ever pre-conception weight - but I think I'll have to see how I feel and how I get on over the next few weeks.

In all honesty, I'm still convinced that our last baby will be another boy. I think your research is amazing Atomic and the TWH seems to make so much sense. I really do think it's my best shot but I just can't believe it'll work for *me*. Oh well, best foot forward .... :D

[rainbowflower]

3)With baths, the longer, the better, but even a short bath is better than no bath!

4)Actually, there IS harm in giving it a try, if you're the type of person who gets very consumed by doing projects...all the charting and number crunching makes some people get kinda obsessed over it and that can cause testosterone to rise. I think the best pink sway is the one you think about the least, and the more charting, note-taking, etc you do, the more it stays in the forefront of your brain all the time. The second you get up, you pop a thermometer into your mouth and start your wheels spinning over your sway, KWIM???
lol or wherever!

[swish]

Ha, ha, zanacal! This is me exactly, I think the advice is fantastic and boy am I giving itba go BUT I don't actually think it will work for me! I think it must be the British in us!!!

[zanacal]

Glad I'm in good company Swish!

[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks for the advice Atomic, I'm happy to up the folic acid (not just because it's a tiny pill and not MASSIVE like all the others!!).

DH is not up for the supplements but I think I can convince him to take a few aspirin around our attempt. I hope I'm right in thinking that his main role is the frequent release and that these things matter less.

I'm yet to experiment with Acijel or Rephresh but I had my Mirena out this week and I got a fade-in (I think!) on an OPK this morning so I'm hoping for some EWCM soon to experiment with lol!

I'm thinking of delaying our attempt until August to allow me to lose some more weight - I would need to lose 28lb or thereabouts to get to my lowest ever pre-conception weight - but I think I'll have to see how I feel and how I get on over the next few weeks.

In all honesty, I'm still convinced that our last baby will be another boy. I think your research is amazing Atomic and the TWH seems to make so much sense. I really do think it's my best shot but I just can't believe it'll work for *me*. Oh well, best foot forward .... :D

Hey, the 4 boy moms club is a very cool and elite one! ;)

Yes, the best thing DH can do is the frequent release! :agreee:

Losing weight seems to really work for people...if I had to pick ONE thing that gives the most bang for the buck, I think it would be that one.

[purplepoet20]

Looks great.... girl power for everyone!