Oh my! AF returns after over 2 and a half years - starting my girl sway planning...

[suregena]

I want to plan it so it's not stressful. I don't want to get TOO crazy because I'm naturally a stress head and getting over-obsessed about the fine details about something that is more out of interest would be pointless; I'm happy whether or not it's a girl, but if it's a girl, great! If not, great!

But I do want to give it a good try.

Anyone want to give me any tips for my plan? I don't have one as yet but I'm working on it starting now as I need to sort of get pregnant before February for a variety of reasons, travel related (need to fly home to the US for Christmas in 2012... I live in the UK but am from the US so it's a long haul flight and I need to be able to fly, i.e. not past 36 weeks pregnant and not with an under 6 week old baby, yikes. Time pressure. Sort of...)

*Both my husband and I have been vegetarian for YEARS... so that's a bonus.

*Our diet tends to probably be fat-heavy, though we're both thin/average weight... but whole milk, lots of cheese, TONS of beans, lentils, vegetables, etcetera... so at least on my end, I'd have to really alter that...

*I'm still breastfeeding my 20 month old son, so have no idea which supplements would be safe for me+him... vitex? I'm conflicted.

*I love at least one coffee a day... in the morning, so badly needed. I drink much more normally but I could go down to 1 in the morning - would that be bad?

*I'm really undecided about frequent BDing/release or abstaining... and whether to do a cut off or not. SO conflicted. I just don't know which way to go with that...

*Would my husband benefit most, if he does anything, by taking licorice root? If he only could do one thing--what's the most ideal thing to do in terms of supplement or food? I reckon supplement would be more beneficial. Obviously we're thinking of a hot-as-he-can-stand it bath dunk before BDing!

*I'm thinking of doing a lime douche and obviously frequent PH testing... pros/cons?

*The diet... I don't know, I'll have to come up with a plan and stick to it because it will probably just be me on it and it has to remain cost effective but simple. I hear rice is good. What about spices? i.e. garam masala, basil, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and so on? If I could only have one cheese, which would be the ideal cheese?

Sorry there's a lot... I've been looking into this for nearly a year now and I'm still not sure where to start. I was waiting for my period to finally return, and it has... so... oh my! Time to start planning...

For the record, before I conceived my son, I would get pregnant first month trying but lost two pregnancies before him. I have had comments at least a few times from ultrasounds about features on my ovaries as being possibly polycystic but I have no symptoms of this, so it was merely an observation. I DO believe I probably have higher testosterone than normal. This is something I'd like to lessen/decrease, ideally... I think it'd help. I have very MILD symptoms of higher testosterone... i.e. hairy but in not too noticeable of ways (side of face, under belly button, toes, etcetera.)

Oh my goodness, sorry for rambling... :hair:

[wilma_five]

Good luck to you!!

[rainbowflower]

welcome! there's a few of us on here who are swaying pink and in the UK :)

frequent release + abstaining both lower sperm count, that's all
frequent release - probably more releases inside so can up chance of pregnancy (although releases can be discarded instead) but it can be hard to keep going, it can raise the pH in there more by repeatedly upping it
abstaining - seems to have more XX swimmers, but in couples over 35 it can raise some birth defects, and some men struggle not to release for a length of time

cut off - again, some believe strongly and it's a traditional aspect of a sway, but it can also reduce chances of getting pregnant and a fair number of studies contradict it or find no link

pH - an alternative to douching is to use a gel like RepHresh - this keeps pH steady at 4.5, so good if you are frequent releasing as it will lower the pH after each BD and perhaps it's less stressful too as you don't need to keep checking pH


cheese - any low sodium cheese. Personally I like philidelphia light, or babybel light... but mozzarella is a good one too or most cheeses with holes in seem to be lower sodium.

spices - I think most are OK in small amounts, but avoid parsley and garlic

vitex - I'm a BFer too (my DS is 9.5 months old now), and I'm taking vitex as I have a luteal phase defect. I'm taking 800mg last thing at night after his bedtime feed... I then don't feed him again until morning so think that's enough time for it to get out of my system, but even if he was to feed straight after I'd taken it I'm not too worried by the risks as I think it's safe.


HTH?

[suregena]

HTH - does that mean "hope that helps"? I totally guessed that one! Ha!

That does help quite a bit, actually. I never even thought light cream cheese might be an option...

Hmm, maybe I will abstain then. I'm 25 (26 in November) and my husband is 36 (37 next year.) He already wears tight pants so maybe that will go in our favor, also. Any truth to that tight pants/underwear thing? :bigsmile:

Also... what is considered "low sodium"... what numbers should I try to keep it under?

Think it's worth a try to go ahead and start taking vitex now? I've now only had one period since my cycle has returned... my mom started taking it for her menopause and bought an extra one she said she'd give to me. It's in liquid form. She's visiting me here in the UK for a few weeks so I could ask her to bring it...

Hmm... where can I get RepHresh? Think it's a better, more consistant option instead of lime douches?

So many things to consider! Oh my! This is sort of fun/exciting.

[rainbowflower]

sorry, yes it means "hope that helps" :)

there is apparently a little truth to the tight pants thing, but it only reduces the count by a fraction! still, maybe every little helps. I don't think my DH is prepared to do that, though! lol

low sodium is 0.6-1g per day (600-1000mg) in total

you can get RepHresh from Amazon or Boots, but Amazon is cheaper. I picked up my vitex from holland & barratt. I should have said that vitex is taken AF-O.

I agree, I find it fascinating and fun lol

[suregena]

My husband wears the skinny/slim fit stuff, so nothing needed to change there. Though I did joke with him that I would buy him some underwear that is a size smaller - he just looked at me funny. He wears briefs so think that with his tight pants are probably just fine.

Ah, Amazon - my friend! I think I'll do that instead (was reading the thread on it just before I responded here again - think I rather like the sound of it far more than douching...)

Wow... 0.6-1g per day! That's a challenge! Since you are in the UK, any food brand tips you can point my way will help me and keep my brain from exploding!

You're TTC (from your signature) around the time we are thinking. Woohoo! I figure I need to have a couple periods first before I jump into this. I'll be starting the diet the end of October (after my mom leaves... can't go restricting myself while she's here... I would probably be miserable.)

My son is 2 in January. I would have started this sooner but I was waiting for my period to return naturally without weaning him.


So now I'm thinking diet (what I eat on the diet, I have no idea yet...) + cut off before ovulation + abstainance + RepHresh + watching my pH levels.

Hmmm... think that's good enough? We're both vegetarian, anyway, so I think that should work in our favor maybe in general as my mom (I was her only girl) eats meat and his mum is a meat eater (typical British diet, more or less) - my mom had 3 boys and my husband's mum had 3 boys.

My mom conceived me when she was losing weight on a Slim Fast diet. Haha! :P

I only found this out when I specifically asked her what she ate before she got pregnant with me, compared to my brothers... for curiosity-sake. ;)

[zanacal]

I found www.chemistdirect.co.uk cheapest for Rephresh and I got Lamberts Vitex from www.expresschemist.co.uk.

Have you seen the TTC Pink Food Thread? A few of us who have/are contributing to that are from the UK so there should be some familiar stuff there.

GL!

[suregena]

Oh yes! I went and searched for it and read it last night--nice that so many UK people are writing in there... gave me a fewish ideas!
I'm glad I can at least use extra light philadelphia... that's handy to know.

[rainbowflower]

there's a UK products thread too with lots of good food suggestions in there

I think we'll be bringing TTC forwards now (maybe next cycle) because I'm losing too much weight on this diet. We'll be doing the diet (plus chocolate + cake to slow the weight loss), compressed frequent release, BD through O, RepHresh. With RepHresh you don't need to watch your pH levels because that does it for you.

[zanacal]

I had a Dairylea slice in my sandwich every lunch time - quite fancy one now actually!

rainbow - so exciting that you're attempting soon!

[suregena]

What's compressed frequent release?

[atomic sagebrush]

1) Being vegetarian is fabulous for pink but just be sure to cut back on the protein as well. Aim for 40-50 g of protein - you may need to cut way back on legumes or eliminate them all together. On my Low Everything Diet, vegetables are allowed, with an emphasis on the less-nutritious ones. The diet breakdown is, 1500-1800 calories a day, 40-50 g of protein, 20-30% fat, 700-1000 mg sodium and a MINIMUM of 2500 mg of potassium. I don't think potassium sways (but it is a part of the IG and FGDs) and so for most pink swayers on the LE diet, there is no need to even count potassium, but if you're trying to include mineral ratios in your sway diet, please get 2500 mg of potassium at the very least.

you will want to cut back/eliminate as much healthy fat as possible and also choose fat-free dairy whenever possible. (altho you may not choose to do this while BFing, I feel that it's safe because your body takes what it needs to make your milk with.) Also, a fiber supplement like Chitosan or Metamucil may help absorb fats and sweep them from your body before they're digested.

2) I took vitex while BF both DS 3 and 4, 2 W on, 2 W off. I believe it to be safe to take while breastfeeding, esp. a 20 monthy old (I would not take it if breastmilk was my child's only source of nutrition or until they were at least 9 months old). But you have to go with what your heart tells you on that.

3)I don't think you need to cut out caffeine at all. The only reason why the IGD and FGD have a restriction on caffeine is because they think it causes calcium to leach from your body, which is an urban legend that has been pretty much debunked (you would have to ingest fatal amounts for that to happen). Plus, I'm not at all convinced that calcium = girls anyway. I've talked to literally dozens of girl moms both here and on IG that were total caffeine addicts. And caffeine in large doses can actually reduce overall fertility, which sways pink.

You do need to be aware that coffee and tea do have antioxidants that may sway slightly blue but as an overall part of a Low Everything diet, they are perfectly fine because you'll be reducing the level of nutrients you take in from other places anyway. Also, sometimes I find that caffeine fuels the "testosterone beast" and makes me more competitive and tenacious about things, so if that is true for you, it may be something to consider cutting back on.

4)I wrote an essay that should answer all your q's about frequency of BD http://genderdreaming.com/forum/showthread.php?5636-frequency-of-BD-for-pink-and-blue Let me know if there is anything you still need to know.

5)I think licorice root is the best supp for DH to take. If he can do aspartame, that might help a little but the licorice root is the best thing. Baths are great too or if you can get him to ride a bike, that helps as well.

6)Pros and cons of douching (and how to) can be found here. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/showthread.php?866-Guide-to-Douching-TTC-Pink

7)The FGD and IGD do not allow herbs and spices because they are alkalinizing. They are allowed on the LE diet. My Low Everything diet and also recipes from my cookbook-in-progress are in the Dream Members section.

8) Swiss is the "best" cheese for pink because it's low in sodium, but regardless of what cheeses you use, do keep to the 1500-1800 cal, 40-50 g protein, 20-30% fat guidelines of the diet and you can use whatever cheese you want. In my cookbook I frequently use smaller amounts of strongly flavored cheeses like fresh parmesan, feta, and blue cheese because you can use a tiny amount and get a lot of flavor.

9)Diet and losing some weight will really help lower your testosterone levels naturally. If you want a quicker fix, you can use saw palmetto BUT you can't use that while nursing and you'd ahve to wean.

[atomic sagebrush]

What's compressed frequent release?

That is explained here: http://genderdreaming.com/forum/showthread.php?5636-frequency-of-BD-for-pink-and-blue

[suregena]

Thank you so much for that breakdown of everything for me, Atomic! THANK YOU! That is very helpful. I think I'll do the vitex but won't do the Palmetto, as I do not want to wean my son.
Thank you again, ladies.

[suregena]

Now I think I might have to change the plan I am trying to formulate! :/

Any feedback would be helpful. I know diet is the most important thing, so I'm leaning on that and the fact that both me and my husband are vegetarian, anyway (though we loooove our beans/cheese/fat... so that will have to change, at least for me, entirely! I'm leaning on going as vegan as possible, I think, for this...)

But I do want some sort of timing plan in place, I guess. I was going to abstain but now it's clicked about the slight increase of birth defects in men over 35 (my husband is 36... 37 in January when we'll likely being to attempt...) and I am almost 26. I don't want to make it so bad it's... well, a bad idea!

I suppose I would be doing everything everywhere else that timing wouldn't be as much as an issue, and perhaps frequent release with a cut off would be more ideal? I've mentioned this multiple time in several threads, but hubby already wears tight jeans, is happy to take hot baths right before DTD, doesn't usually wear boxers but boxer briefs, etcetera. He is happy to take Licorice root. And even drink some stuff with aspartme in it. His diet won't change as much as mine will.

Do you think, given the factor of his age, but with my younger age (I've always managed to get pregnant first month trying... though lost my first two pregnancies early on), that perhaps abstinence may not be the greatest idea?

Thanks for always answering my questions... you ladies are marvellous. I've just finished my second period, post-partum (my son is now 21 months!) and so far everything is more regular than it was before I had my son! My cycle so far is sitting around 29 days. (before my son, it was always about 32 day cycle...)

[zanacal]

Your husband sounds like a star and all those things he's willing to do will help! Regarding abstinence or frequent release, have you read this?

http://genderdreaming.com/forum/showthread.php?5636-frequency-of-BD-for-pink-and-blue

[suregena]

Your husband sounds like a star and all those things he's willing to do will help! Regarding abstinence or frequent release, have you read this?

http://genderdreaming.com/forum/showthread.php?5636-frequency-of-BD-for-pink-and-blue


Yes, I have. Ha! That's why I'm confused--I just don't know! With his age, and being that I had two past miscarriages before my son, I wonder if abstaining would not be good for me or for him like I originally planned on.
Part of me thinks that because my body has now done it that it will know what it's doing now. But miscarriages will happen for a variety of reasons, regardless of anything I did. I'm trying to prep myself for that eventuality as well. I might be lucky and the first resulting pregnancy will be fine. One can hope.

My husband doesn't want me to obsess about it, and he'll go along with it as long as it doesn't become some stressful thing, and I've assured him I'd be totally happy with a boy, but I thought might as well try for a girl for the second kiddo for fun. He is curious about it, anyway, to see what happens.

[atomic sagebrush]

Now I think I might have to change the plan I am trying to formulate! :/

Any feedback would be helpful. I know diet is the most important thing, so I'm leaning on that and the fact that both me and my husband are vegetarian, anyway (though we loooove our beans/cheese/fat... so that will have to change, at least for me, entirely! I'm leaning on going as vegan as possible, I think, for this...)

But I do want some sort of timing plan in place, I guess. I was going to abstain but now it's clicked about the slight increase of birth defects in men over 35 (my husband is 36... 37 in January when we'll likely being to attempt...) and I am almost 26. I don't want to make it so bad it's... well, a bad idea!

I suppose I would be doing everything everywhere else that timing wouldn't be as much as an issue, and perhaps frequent release with a cut off would be more ideal? I've mentioned this multiple time in several threads, but hubby already wears tight jeans, is happy to take hot baths right before DTD, doesn't usually wear boxers but boxer briefs, etcetera. He is happy to take Licorice root. And even drink some stuff with aspartme in it. His diet won't change as much as mine will.

Do you think, given the factor of his age, but with my younger age (I've always managed to get pregnant first month trying... though lost my first two pregnancies early on), that perhaps abstinence may not be the greatest idea?

Thanks for always answering my questions... you ladies are marvellous. I've just finished my second period, post-partum (my son is now 21 months!) and so far everything is more regular than it was before I had my son! My cycle so far is sitting around 29 days. (before my son, it was always about 32 day cycle...)

Suregena, TBH, I NEVER think abstinence is the best idea except maybe in a 18 year old. LOL. It may sway very strongly but there are other things that sway too and I just think err on the side of caution, ya know? Plus, knowing men ;), there's just no way that all the women on the face of the planet were conceived with these long abstains, so it is in no way a prerequisite to conceiving a girl.

HUGE :agee: to vegan!!

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, I have. Ha! That's why I'm confused--I just don't know! With his age, and being that I had two past miscarriages before my son, I wonder if abstaining would not be good for me or for him like I originally planned on.
Part of me thinks that because my body has now done it that it will know what it's doing now. But miscarriages will happen for a variety of reasons, regardless of anything I did. I'm trying to prep myself for that eventuality as well. I might be lucky and the first resulting pregnancy will be fine. One can hope.

My husband doesn't want me to obsess about it, and he'll go along with it as long as it doesn't become some stressful thing, and I've assured him I'd be totally happy with a boy, but I thought might as well try for a girl for the second kiddo for fun. He is curious about it, anyway, to see what happens.

I think there is something to your theory that your body may know what it's doing now. I used to work for a dog breeder and it was not at all uncommon for the mama dogs coming into heat the first time, would lose their first litters or else they were very small, and go onto have normal and large litters afterwards. This happened so often that my boss quit breeding them in their first heats.

Esp. since you will be happy with another boy personally I would not do the abstain but as always, that is totally your choice!

[suregena]

Okay, I'll change tactic then. I think!

I was playing with the idea of buying that miracle noodle stuff and have that for dinner every night (to save me from trying to figure out a meal all the time) and just alternate safe "sauces". What are your thoughts on miracle noodle?

I'm definitely going to try to go as vegan as possible without making myself starved considering the diet is so restrictive, more or less, anyway. At the very least I'll cut out the dairy I probably OVER-do in my normal, every day vegetarian diet. I mean, this household goes through blocks of cheese in a couple days it seems. Maybe doing the opposite will make my body go, "WHAT THE!" ;)

[zanacal]

I'm not sure you'll get enough calories in having miracle noodles for dinner every day - they're the ones with barely any calories aren't they?

[atomic sagebrush]

Okay, I'll change tactic then. I think!

I was playing with the idea of buying that miracle noodle stuff and have that for dinner every night (to save me from trying to figure out a meal all the time) and just alternate safe "sauces". What are your thoughts on miracle noodle?

I'm definitely going to try to go as vegan as possible without making myself starved considering the diet is so restrictive, more or less, anyway. At the very least I'll cut out the dairy I probably OVER-do in my normal, every day vegetarian diet. I mean, this household goes through blocks of cheese in a couple days it seems. Maybe doing the opposite will make my body go, "WHAT THE!" ;)

I think the Miracle Noodles are great as is eliminayinh most of the the cheese BUT I do agree with what Zana says, it's best not to cut back TOO far because then you risk stopping your ovulation.

[suregena]

I wouldn't eat it plain. Heh - I'd add fat (not sure what yet...) to 'beef' it up in other ways... but the basic bulk would be those noodles. Well, I'm thinking, anyway. I think the diet is the most confusing bit for me and I'm trying to figure out ways to make it easy on me, and therefore less stressful, so I don't raise my testosterone too much stressing about what my next meal is.

The diet is truly the only thing left making me feel more out of control with this.... but I am going to definitely try!

Hmmm... a low everything mostly vegan diet... tricky!

[atomic sagebrush]

suregena, if you topped the Miracle Noodles with a higher cal sauce with some fat in it, then they are a great choice! Even for every day. I just don't want people to cut back too far, KWIM???

[suregena]

suregena, if you topped the Miracle Noodles with a higher cal sauce with some fat in it, then they are a great choice! Even for every day. I just don't want people to cut back too far, KWIM???



Oh yeah, totally! I just think they'd add a stress-free way to do something. And stress-free is important!

I'm right around ovulation now so am not starting just yet but have ordered the licorice root, peppermint tea, and folic acid. I don't know if I, myself, will do anything else outside of folic acid and peppermint tea. I may or may not try vitex (my mom gave me some of the liquid stuff when she came out to the UK to visit... so I do have some.) Going to try to go as vegan as possible but for my own sanity will have some dairy here and there... at least to make sure I get enough calories in. Will also get some RepHresh.

My hubby and I were half-joking that we'll just hit two birds with one stone and try in the bath... if you know what I mean! Hah! But I think we might actually do that. Him in the water. Hahah. :x With control and gravity on my side and heat on his!

[atomic sagebrush]

I actually think TTC in the bath or even standing up in the shower is a great tactic for TTC pink!!

Everything else looks great, best of luck to you!!

[suregena]

Yeah... my rough plan is.... (for next cycle...)

Try to be vegan most of the time with non-fat/low fat dairy occasionaly, but cut out milk and opt for light soy or rice milk instead.

He'll be taking Licorice Root.
I'll take folic acid, drink peppermint tea (still breastfeeding so no Saw Palmetto...), might/might not do vitex because my cycles thus far post-natal have been SO regular. The most regular cycles in my life. The stereotypical 28 day cycle. Wild!
RepHresh every three days.
Frequent release + a cut off (maybe up until positive OPK... but part of me wonders if I should cut it slightly before then...)
Going to try in the bath (our shower is broken!) with him in the bath.

We're both already vegetarian so doing more vegan things (might have him do more soy milk also) on my end and definitely lowering the fat/cal/salt/protein/sugar count for myself (husband is not doing the diet), as I do eat a LOT of beans/lentils/cheese...

He already wears slim fitting pants.

I'm breastfeeding (that sways, doesn't it?)

So, we'll see. Next cycle, we are GO!


Any suggestions/things I might want to add/change?

I guess I am doing it without getting TOO hardcore because I do think I have higher testosterone than normal, so I want to feel like I'm practically floating through the whole thing if I can help it.

Because, at the end of the day, we're happy either way. But still going to give it our best go.

[atomic sagebrush]

I think that's brilliant and I literally have nothing whatsoever to add.

I would BD to pos OPK but you know what, it's your sway and you need to go with your gut!

Good luck!

[suregena]

I think that's brilliant and I literally have nothing whatsoever to add.

I would BD to pos OPK but you know what, it's your sway and you need to go with your gut!

Good luck!


Yeah, I've been umming and ahhing on that bit! Do I go to positive OPK or cut off just before? Hmm! I suppose it might be worth up to positive OPK, I guess, especially if hubby is taking the licorice root... don't want to make it too hard for us to get pregnant.

I am also trying to decide about jump + dumping. Suppose do jump + dump and frequent release, up to positive opk.

[atomic sagebrush]

I personally feel that the advantage of stopping at pos OPK is that it removes some of the stress from the equation - like, what if you stop BD and then don't O until 2 days later...you're freaking out trying to decide what to do at the last minute because now your husband hasn't released for 2 days and it's boy frequency...

What you could do is do j and d until the final release and then lie down for 5-15 min after that. Conversely, you could also lie down after the attempts EXCEPT for the last one. They both make a kind of sense really and to my mind it's a toss up as to which would be better. First option, you'll be getting rid of excess semen that can raise pH and since it's pretty unlikely you'll get pg from those attempts anyway (but you might) eliminating most of the sperm is prob. an ok thing to do - some sperm will survive to make it to they crypts but most will be carried away with the semen. Second option, you're ensuring that more sperm will prob. manage to make it into the crypts, most of the semen will exit the building at the 5-15 minute mark anyway, and then on the final attempt, you would do a J and D to make sure that less sperm from that ejaculation make it into the crypts. Which is best? Who knows??

[suregena]

I see your logic... all of those potential ways of doing it sounds right... so I'll just go with what my gut says when we get to that part of the cycle. :D