Breastfeeding 18 month old DD, TTC another girl, I need advice!

[MommaW]

I'm a momma to 2 DS and 1 DD. My DD is still BF several times throughout the day/night, but my cycles are pretty regular. I have recently gone vegetarian, with the exception of chicken breasts. I also eat almost entirely organic, including full fat milk. I'm around 105 lbs, so I've also consumed full fat dairy. However, I do have a sweet tooth for ice cream and brownies. Anything chocolate, really. I rarely exercise as well.

I had been diagnosed with low levels of vitamin d so have been on a 5000 iu a day supplement for a couple months. I've recently read that that is not girl friendly. Ovulation should be happening within the next couple days, if I completely stop taking vitamin d, could I ttc next cycle? Or will my d levels still be too high?

I'm also taking miralax, calcium, magnesium, and beginning a folic acid supplement. What's the recommendation for probiotics? How can I safely lower my cm ph while breastfeeding?

I recall bd nearly every day of my fertile cycle with my DD, but what is thexpected recommendation as far as timing?

Any advice would be greatly advixeppreciated as this will be our last child.

[MommaW]

I would also like to mention I'm taking the pink stork monolaurin in preparation for morning sickness. I had hyperemesis Gravidarum with all three.

[MommaW]

It also took a year ttc ds2 and 11 months ttc DD. I had a miscarriage during those 11 months, 2 months before her conception.

[foxtrotmama]

The "timing" recommendation here is to aim for only one attempt in your fertile period. This can be accomplished by having one attempt at your first positive OPK, or BDing every 4 days.

I don't have any specific recommendations for diet, I wasn't BFing when I started researching so I'm not sure how the limits would have to change.

This forum doesn't tend to use the old school mineral balancing sways (calc/mag) or pH. Many of the moms here have conceived multiple boys taking tons of calc and drinking tons of milk, and many went on to have girls with the LE diet. Probiotics are often recommended for blue swayers, so I steered clear.

My vitamin D was low during my sway prep (12 weeks of diet before starting TTC), but I was able to retest and stop supplements before TTC. On one hand, I don't think supplementation would sway as heavily blue if you have an actual deficiency. On the other hand, 5000 iu is quite a lot. Was that recommended by your GP? I know a lot of natural health recommendations are for quite a lot of vitamin D, but I was only taking 2000 and was able to pretty quickly correct a moderate deficiency.

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi and welcome MommaW.

You're already petite and breastfeeding, so that is already working for you. Plus, we've found anecdotally that couples who take a while to fall pregnant may be more "set" for pink anyway.

Keep doing what you're doing in terms of being vegetarian and I do want you (at your weight, nursing, and given your history of taking a while to fall pregnant) to continue at least 1 serv. of full fat dairy a day. NO skim dairy for you.

Calcium and magnesium are at your discretion. I got boys taking them and cut them out to get girls but I allow people to use them if they want. Just be sur you're doing supps and not ingesting tons of dairy foods as dairy foods (while allowed in moderate normal amounts) have tons of nutrients in them.

The rules are different when you have a proven deficiency. Continue taking the Vit. D you need, if you prefer you can dial it back to 2-3 times a week instead. Totally up to you.

No probiotics. That was the only supplement that ever got WORSE than 50-50 for pink for us. 60% of people got boys while taking them even with otherwise good pink sways. We now use them exclusively for blue.

BD every day of your cycle is not going to work not only for your sway, but also because it drastically cuts odds of conception. (Not sure if you BD all cycle long or only around O, though??) Either way I have a thread here that explains why BD through O doesn't always work the way people think and I have an explanation here, not the first post but a few down the page. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-general-discussion/58359-what-up-bd-thru-o-pink-lately.html

What I would have you do instead is one of the two following options:

Either have hubby release on his own or with you, with a condom, every 2-4 days, and then have one attempt at positive OPK or if you absolutely must, a 2-3 day cutoff, no longer than that.

OR

BD unprotected every 4 days. (don't worry about what day the attempt falls on, just start after AF ends and continue on till you're sure you've ovulated even if htis means going on till NEXT AF.)

I don't want you worrying about jellies or douches or frequency or pH lowering supps since it took you so long to get pregnant twice. Those things have not worked for us anyway and will really cut odds of conception to nothing.

[atomic sagebrush]

I would also like to mention I'm taking the pink stork monolaurin in preparation for morning sickness. I had hyperemesis Gravidarum with all three.

The cocolaurin is ok to take, although I have my doubts as to its effectiveness. DO take that into account when monitoring your fat intake for the day. :)

[MommaW]

The "timing" recommendation here is to aim for only one attempt in your fertile period. This can be accomplished by having one attempt at your first positive OPK, or BDing every 4 days.

I don't have any specific recommendations for diet, I wasn't BFing when I started researching so I'm not sure how the limits would have to change.

This forum doesn't tend to use the old school mineral balancing sways (calc/mag) or pH. Many of the moms here have conceived multiple boys taking tons of calc and drinking tons of milk, and many went on to have girls with the LE diet. Probiotics are often recommended for blue swayers, so I steered clear.

My vitamin D was low during my sway prep (12 weeks of diet before starting TTC), but I was able to retest and stop supplements before TTC. On one hand, I don't think supplementation would sway as heavily blue if you have an actual deficiency. On the other hand, 5000 iu is quite a lot. Was that recommended by your GP? I know a lot of natural health recommendations are for quite a lot of vitamin D, but I was only taking 2000 and was able to pretty quickly correct a moderate deficiency.

I had a weekly 35,000 iu supplement, then went to 5,000 iu daily as directed by my doctor. I feel that I could take much less than the 5000 iu a day and be okay.

[MommaW]

Hi and welcome MommaW.

You're already petite and breastfeeding, so that is already working for you. Plus, we've found anecdotally that couples who take a while to fall pregnant may be more "set" for pink anyway.

Keep doing what you're doing in terms of being vegetarian and I do want you (at your weight, nursing, and given your history of taking a while to fall pregnant) to continue at least 1 serv. of full fat dairy a day. NO skim dairy for you.

Calcium and magnesium are at your discretion. I got boys taking them and cut them out to get girls but I allow people to use them if they want. Just be sur you're doing supps and not ingesting tons of dairy foods as dairy foods (while allowed in moderate normal amounts) have tons of nutrients in them.

The rules are different when you have a proven deficiency. Continue taking the Vit. D you need, if you prefer you can dial it back to 2-3 times a week instead. Totally up to you.

No probiotics. That was the only supplement that ever got WORSE than 50-50 for pink for us. 60% of people got boys while taking them even with otherwise good pink sways. We now use them exclusively for blue.

BD every day of your cycle is not going to work not only for your sway, but also because it drastically cuts odds of conception. (Not sure if you BD all cycle long or only around O, though??) Either way I have a thread here that explains why BD through O doesn't always work the way people think and I have an explanation here, not the first post but a few down the page. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-general-discussion/58359-what-up-bd-thru-o-pink-lately.html

What I would have you do instead is one of the two following options:

Either have hubby release on his own or with you, with a condom, every 2-4 days, and then have one attempt at positive OPK or if you absolutely must, a 2-3 day cutoff, no longer than that.

OR

BD unprotected every 4 days. (don't worry about what day the attempt falls on, just start after AF ends and continue on till you're sure you've ovulated even if htis means going on till NEXT AF.)

I don't want you worrying about jellies or douches or frequency or pH lowering supps since it took you so long to get pregnant twice. Those things have not worked for us anyway and will really cut odds of conception to nothing.

Thank you for all the information! When we conceived our DD, we BD every other day after period was over, then everyday for 5 days during the fertile window, around and during ovulation.

How do I go about accessing a full list of foods to sway pink? What is the stance on mozzarella cheese, non fat Greek yogurt, spinach salads, chocolate? I've never counted amounts of nutrients or calories before so this is all very new and foreign to me. Do I aim for refined grains versus whole wheat? Praying it doesn't take a year this time and that we get a DD.

[MommaW]

Would takingredients a breastfeeding supplement containing milk thistle, fenugreek, and fennel be okay for the next couple weeks? Does it sway away from pink?

I recall drinking fertilitea and taking maca when ttc our DD, but unsure whether that is the right move this time. Thoughts?

[foxtrotmama]

Fennel and fenugreek in medicinal quantities are not safe for pregnancy, so I wouldn't take that supplement while planning a pregnancy or TTC.

Just about anything you do to "boost fertility" will likely sway blue, although I don't remember what's in that particular tea.

The easiest way to count calories and nutrients is to put everything you eat into a website like myfitnesspal.com and let it calculate for you. As a general rule, within the dietary limits there aren't really "foods to consume" and "foods to avoid". It's best to stay away from foods that are heavily vitamin fortified, like meal replacement products.

[MommaW]

My LP last cycle was 10, maybe 11 days. Is this long enough?

[MommaW]

Also, if I eat dinner at 6:30 and can't go past 9am without having breakfast. What should one aim to eat in the morning? I don't see any information on water intake, but I drink quite a bit. That and full-fat milk. I'd there something I should incorporate in my liquids part of the diet? I know fruit juices are not recommended. Water kefir.water probably isn't either due to its probiotic content. I can't bring myself to consume aspartame while breastfeeding.

[atomic sagebrush]

My LP last cycle was 10, maybe 11 days. Is this long enough?

yes

[atomic sagebrush]

Also, if I eat dinner at 6:30 and can't go past 9am without having breakfast. What should one aim to eat in the morning? I don't see any information on water intake, but I drink quite a bit. That and full-fat milk. I'd there something I should incorporate in my liquids part of the diet? I know fruit juices are not recommended. Water kefir.water probably isn't either due to its probiotic content. I can't bring myself to consume aspartame while breastfeeding.

That's fine!! All you're trying to do is gradually extend the amount of time with no food coming in. There's no magic amount of time or any set way to do it.

I like you guys to drink water to your level of thirst. Don't force yourself to drink more than you want and don't restrict it, either. This is VERY important esp. when breastfeeding! Your electrolytes can easily get messed up when you're eating differently and I don't want anyone to make themselves sick drinking too much or not enough.

Kefir is fine. The probiotics we avoid are not those but the pill kind that do not dissolve until they get into your intestines. Kefir and yogurt are a-ok.