Girl sway attempt questions

[Haking]

We plan to sway one last time for a girl. I swayed for my last boy born this year in April. I did mostly the PCOS version of the girl diet but the month we got pregnant I veered off a little bit and gained a few pounds around O time so maybe that swayed boy for me. Not really sure.

So fast forward to now, we plan to start trying for #4 and our final attempt at a girl after the new year. I plan to eat healthy, skip breakfast when possible, limit meat.

I just have a few questions:

Does breastfeeding sway girl? I plan to nurse our son for as long as possible and into my next pregnancy if possible so dropping that isn’t really much of an option for me.

Also, I’m guessing here and trying to remember from before but losing weight is most important for sway and exercise? I didn’t exercise with last sway and plan to this time. I’ve been exercising since 5 weeks PP already.

Also, I don’t think I have PCOS but would like to get my carbs from healthy veggies. Is this still good for my sway if I’m losing weight? I don’t loose well when eating lots of white carbs.

Thank you in advance. I’m just hoping to tweak a few things this time as it’s our last chance.

[ksmom]

Welcome back!

Yes breastfeeding sways pink. It's no magic potion but it certainly helps! Don't worry so much about trying to lose weight. Just focus on diet and exercise. If you do better eating whole grains/PCOS diet then stick with that. Really you could do everything the same you did last time and get a girl this time, you never know! I think doing the PCOS diet plus cardio is great so keep up the good work! :)

Good luck!

[atomic sagebrush]

Stick with PCOS version of diet this time for sure. We are getting better results with it.

I also got a boy in a month I gained soem weight back. Others have gained some and still gotten girls of course

Yes I believe strongly that breastfeeding sways pink. It's not a guarantee but then again nothing is!

No, losing weight has not been that predictive of whose sways succeed and whose don't. Time on diet and exercise and one attempt hav ebeen best.

Yes yes yes like I said, stay on PCOS alt diet!!! :agree: veggies, fruit, whole grains, little to no white carbs

[Haking]

Thank you, atomic!

I’m excited to be back and try one last time for a girl. Do you have a link to the PCOS diet version? It’s been a while and I want to brush up and make sure I remember how to eat correctly.

[ksmom]

Link to PCOS diet: http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-general-discussion/9052-swaying-under-special-circumstances-part-3-pcos.html

[Haking]

I have one other question regarding exercise. My last sway I did the couch potato route so this time I want to make sure to do the exercise. But what is the best type of exercise to do or avoid? And how often?

[ksmom]

Cardio is best for pink, avoid weightlifting. Exercising 4+ days a week for at least 60 minutes has gotten good results. For PCOS though even a moderate amount of cardio is good. It helps with blood sugar levels.

[Haking]

How many grams of protein should we be having at a meal? I don’t want to eat too many carbs and protein together and have blood sugars levels stay high for a long time.

[atomic sagebrush]

Don't worry about mixing carbs and protein. That's for blue swayers, not pink. Just eat the foods that you want and need to eat at any given meal. The LE Diet takes care of all that stuff for you, your blood sugar WILL drop anyway because you're eating lower calories, higher carb, lower protein, and not snacking all day.

[Haking]

Ok so for the past month I really upped my cardio to 60+ minutes either running or stairclimber. Is this good cardio to do? Some days I will do stairclimber and then walk for 20 minutes though to up my time 60 stairs + walking. Is this intense enough exercise and not building muscle? I’m exercising 5 days a week right now but may try for 6 on weeks when I can.

[atomic sagebrush]

As long as you've lost a little weight on a lower protein diet it's ok, you may want to focus more on running and less on stairclimber as you get closer to your sway just in case it builds muscle at all (I highly doubt it would!)

[Haking]

Okay, thank you! I will try to focus more on running. Maybe run 3-4 days and only do stairs 1-2 days. I just like to do it for a a change of pace and it really is a hard workout for me. Almost more so than running sometimes. I really get sweaty and heart rate is very high on the stairs compared to running.

I have definitely lost some weight since starting the diet only 5 weeks ago as well as upping exercise. Weight is coming off quicker this time compared to last sway when I didn’t do any exercise and just did the couch potato style sway.

[atomic sagebrush]

Sounds great! Keep up the hard work!

[Haking]

Any suggestions to up calories without eating more protein or fat? I’m good on those levels but still need about 200-300 calories a day. I’m skipping breakfast with the exception of coffee and cream and some sweet n low. This is okay, right?

Lunch and dinner I’m having veggies, cooked in veg oil and rice and occasionally a beer with dinner for empty calories. But feel like I need a little more. Right now I’m around 1200-1300 calories a day.

[Haking]

I forgot to add that I add in chicken to my dinner and lunch too to meet protein goal

[atomic sagebrush]

fruit is the best way to do that on the alternate diet. Or bend the rules and have some more carby grain foods or even a bit of sugar if you need to.

YOu're at 50-60 g protein and fat, right? Because that's where you should be on alt. diet.

Yes the coffee in the am is fine!

[Haking]

Yup, about 50-55 for both most days. I may have gone a tad over on fat 1-2x during the holiday but I’m really trying to not stress it and go with the flow this time. Last sway I was too strict, and obsessive. Different approach this time.

When you say carb/grain food would a dinner roll or something like crackers be okay?

[atomic sagebrush]

yes. whole grain if you can

[Haking]

Ok got it. Fruit and whole grain crackers or rolls if possible. That should help make up my 200-300 calories deficit.

Thank you!

[Haking]

So, maybe this is a silly question but since starting the diet my period has disappeared. I had one at the start of the diet and nothing since in the 7 weeks on it.

I’ve never had this happen before. Is there something I did wrong or should change or just wait it out and things will even back out?

[atomic sagebrush]

Up calories, ditch fiber if you are taking it, be sure you're more at 60 g fat especially.

Drop one day a week on exercise.

It's not that you did something wrong, it just happens sometimes. We're trying to turn that radio dial just to the right place where you're able to get pregnant but your fertility is somewhat lowered and that can be hard to get just right sometimes. It's ok, we just need to dial it back.

Add in a serving of full fat dairy and 4-6 eggs a week if you aren't eating them already.

[Haking]

Yikes, all that sounds scary like I’m compromising too much of my sway. And I do agree if I’m not ovulating I can’t get pregnant but it’s a lot.

Would upping fat and eating eggs or dairy be okay to try first without dropping exercise. I don’t reallg wanna drop that. I’m not taking fiber right now at all.

Currently I’m at 50-60g of protein a day, 1500-1700 calories a day, 45-55g of fat. I am also breastfeeding.

[Haking]

Also, I feel like adding dairy will sway blue for me. I ate full fat dairy last time every day and don’t want to do that again if possible.

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes absolutely it is FINE to do this in stages. Totally fine.

I always have people who are nursing at 1800 or more cals and 50-60 g fat. That one thing right there is the first thing I'd change. Try that, give it a couple months.

Then, at that point you may want to add in either dairy OR the eggs, or the dairy 2x a week and the eggs 1x a week, whatever. This is supposed to be flexible, it's a-ok to not do everything just as I say it. I have to come up with blanket guidelines for people but the point of the guidelines is simply to increase the amount of saturated fat you have coming in (plus more fat and calories overall, but I think you can do that before you add in the dairy/eggs) So if you feel comfier doing that in stages and seeing how it goes, I am fine with that.

Over time you will be further out from birth, too, and that will help restore ovulation. A lot of this is simply a waiting game, waiting on your body to be ready to have another baby, while giving it the bare minimum of what it needs to make that happen. And if you prefer to do that in little bites over time, I actually prefer you guys do it that way!

[Haking]

Ok, I’ll try upping calories/fat a little bit and see how that goes. And hopefully that helps some. Right now I feel like with breastfeeding, eating LE modified diet and running in using up everything I got. Maybe a couple hundred calories will help restore ovulation without improving fertility too much and still help me sway girl.

Any suggestions on getting more saturated fats like you suggested without eating the dairy and eggs? Luckily we aren’t in a major hurry to get pregnant. Ideally by May or June though would be nice.

[atomic sagebrush]

I don't see the point of upping saturated fats w/out the dairy and eggs. Just eat more unsaturated fats first and see how that goes. The thing is that the dairy and egg fat is the shizz for fertility and most other sources of saturated fat is in things like meat and stuff which is going to be if anything worse than the dairy and eggs, plus it's less good for fertility.

[Haking]

Ok makes sense. Thank you, I’ll try getting more saturated fats then. Any suggestions? Ha. I’m not positive what is considered saturated fat.

I guess in a small way I’ve cut back on fertility so that’s good but maybe too much obviously since I’m not ovulating regularly.

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, that's the catch, see, is that dairy and eggs are the best ways to get saturated fats. Other sources of sat. fats are meat (which I think is worse for your sway than dairy/eggs) or coconut oil but we are not too sure coconut oil is as good for fertility as the dairy fat is. Try coconut oil and see if it helps.

Yeah we have to hit the moving target - reduced fertility, but still able to get and stay pregnant. The remedy may be Vitamin P - patience. You're still in the postpartum stage to some extent and it may just be waiting for your body to "feel like" getting pregnant again. :)

[Haking]

Ok, yes. I think I’ll just give it some time. Up calories a bit and fat a tiny bit in the meantime and just be patient. I’m not in a huge hurry anyway so I won’t stress it. I know I can’t get pregnant until my body is ready to, anyway.

[Haking]

Since my period is all over the place and not really on a schedule per-say, what is the best method for timing? I thought I remember reading every 4 days since 1 attempt sways pink. Am I correct in remembering this?

I am trying to go the relaxed route without temping and tons of ovulation tests, etc so what is the best to plan on having attempts?

I’m sure with breastfeeding and whatnot I won’t have consistent periods for a while anyway.

[atomic sagebrush]

:agree: sure. That would be e4d method, and I'd start off doing that in the Monday/Friday pattern of days. Lower odds of conception, better odds of pink.

[Haking]

Do you have a link to timing methods/odds? I thought I read one in the past but can’t find it now.

[Girlswaylondon]

https://genderdreaming.com/forum/trying-to-conceive-a-girl/51473-complete-pink-swaying-statistics-spreadsheet-info-links-enter-your-sway.html

Do you mean this? Hope it helps!

[atomic sagebrush]

Do you have a link to timing methods/odds? I thought I read one in the past but can’t find it now.

I"m not sure what you mean exactly, I have this: http://genderdreaming.com/forum/ttc-a-girl-best-practices/2728-abstain-frequent-release-cutoff-o-12-one-attempt.html?2728-abstaining-frequent-release-and-mixing-cutoff-with-O-12=

and this:
http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-general-discussion/9736-how-many-attempts-should-i-do-when-pink-blue.html

[Haking]

Last night we had our first real attempt. We’ve been doing every 4 days. I feel like our timing this month was as good as it could be. We dtd on Sunday at 7:30am. And then last night at 11pm we dtd. I know it wasn’t exactly e4d technically since I should have waited till this morning at 7:30. But I got a positive opk at 8pm so I didn’t want to wait till the morning.

I’m hoping this isn’t going to count as multiple attempts though. :nails: I felt like waiting till today would miss out on ovulation.

I think we may continue on e4d just to be safe though that ovulation isn’t delayed.

[atomic sagebrush]

No that's actually still e4d in the way 75% of people do it and is exactly what I'd have told you to do. Yes keep going with e4d from here on in - it happens more often than we'd like, that O actually does come later on and so that way you will still be covered and not miss the month!!

[Haking]

Ok thank you! I figured that the sperm from Sunday morning wouldn’t have too much chance by Wednesday morning. I guess technically they could but didn’t want to completely rely on that and miss out on this month since our next attempt would have been in less than 12 hours anyway.

Anything I should be doing or not doing the next 2 weeks to help sway girl?

[atomic sagebrush]

Yep exactly! And if something was left from the early attempt, it will have fertilized the egg before the second attempt could even capacitate.

Just keep going on diet. Don't go off and on the diet till u see that BFP!

[Haking]

Yay perfect! I’m gonna try to lose a pound or two also.

[atomic sagebrush]

You don't need to, just don't gain. :)

[Haking]

Last month it didn’t happen for us. Moving onto next month and feeling good about it. I do have a question though regarding exercise. I exercise at least 5x a week between 70-100 minutes, usually running. However, I’ve noticed I’ve gotten flabby. What are your thoughts on lifting weights for arms? Just to tone them? In addition to running? Is it’a bad idea due to building muscle?

[atomic sagebrush]

yes, it's a bad idea, and it may be good that you're a little less toned than you were. I found when I swayed unsuccessfully with my 4th son, even tho I'd lost quite a bit of weight, I was still muscular. With my 5th (successful sway) when I lost weight I was a lot less muscle and a lot more mush.

[Haking]

Would using some sort of sperm friendly lubercation like preseed undermine my sway if we still did 1 attempt, kept up exercise and diet? Basically just adding that in is all but not changing anything else. I feel like with breastfeeding I already don’t have much cervical mucus as it is.

[atomic sagebrush]

Just use the tiniest amount you can get by with for comfy intercourse. We have had good results with using very small amounts of Preseed/CP/YB with pink sways. Larger amounts may sway blue, though.

I do want to mention that barely there EWCM is not always the dealbreaker for conception that people think it is. This is something people do often overthink. You don't have to have copious amounts of EWCM or even ANY visible EWCM to conceive. The semen acts like a "life raft" to keep the sperm alive and then there's often much more EWCM up inside the cervix than you realize. I got pregnant when I was testing my pH (using CM) 2-3 times a day and it never went up, I saw NO visible CM, and I didn't even realize I had ovulated till I was staring at a pregnancy test weeks later - and remember, I am supposed to be an expert LOL. So I really urge you not to think too much about this and start telling yourself you have to in effect sway blue just to get pregnant, since we do not even know that to be the case. :)

[Haking]

This makes sense. Thank you for putting it in perspective. I guess I just felt like I couldn’t get pregnant with no visible EWCM. I keep thinking maybe that’s why it’s not happening for us. Though I’m sure timing or who knows what is actually to blame. And really in reality, we’ve only been trying and not just “not preventing” for 3 months. I bought some pressed but we may or may not use it. Usually DH uses spit (probably a no no and, TMI) but I figured that isn’t probably helping our chances.

[atomic sagebrush]

People contact me all the time worrying about it, though, and then they DO get pregnant.

Yes saliva is actually worse than nothing and has been proven to kill sperm. So I'd def. give that a pass and you can always use a teeny amount of the Preseed.

[Haking]

I kind of suspect a possible short luteal phase. I’m not positive though. Started BBT this cycle though to see for sure. Is this a side effect of swaying pink? I don’t ever recall having this issue in the past? And if so what can I do to fix it without totally swaying blue. I obviously know with a short luteal phase I can’t get pregnant though so I guess just trying to do enough to fix the problem without totally swaying blue in the process.

[atomic sagebrush]

You actually CAN get pregnant with a short luteal phase though. This is something people overthink a LOT. 10 days or more is plenty, even 8-10 is still doable. 7 or less may need treatment (usually in the form of Clomid) but that is really quite rare that people have that short an LP.

Short LP can be a side effect of swaying pink. Drop fiber, add in full fat dairy 1 serv. daily, 4-6 eggs a week, a serving of salmon if you like it, red meat if you don't every week.

Can you give me a brief rundown of everything you did the last attempt?

[Haking]

Last attempt we did every 4 days so the Monday Thursday, etc pattern. Used a tiny bit of preseed. I’m breastfeeding, exercising 5x a week 60-90 minutes of cardio. 50-60g protein and same with fat. No snacking, 2 meals with just coffee in the morning.

The only reason I’m thinking about luteal phase is because I got positive opk on cd 25 and then started period 9 days later. So I started bbt this month to see if maybe it is short since I know opk isn’t always accurate and doesn’t tell when you did ovulate.

[atomic sagebrush]

Ok. Your sway looks solid, I agree let's give it a month with BBT to see if that was either a fluke or if you Oed sooner than you think. :)

[Haking]

Ok I’m good with that. As long as luteal phase isn’t too short I’m not too worried about continuing on like we have been I just got worried about being able to sustain a pregnancy with lower progesterone. I’ve had lots of changes in my period since swaying, shorter period, etc.

[atomic sagebrush]

Weirdly, when your LP gets short like that it's actually not progesterone that's making it short. About 7 days past ovulation, the corpus luteum starts to break down (and will continue to do so unless a newly developing pregnancy signals it to keep making progesterone) and so your body releases a surge of estrogen that sustains the lining a little longer to give a new pregnancy a chance to burrow in and send that signal so the CL remains and keeps making progesterone. So if you're not eating enough fat, that surge in estrogen doesn't happen correctly and the lining starts to come off before a new pregnancy can send that signal to the CL and your period comes early. So it's not just progesterone the way people think of it and so we need to be absolutely sure youre getting the raw materials we need to keep things working as they should. :)

[Haking]

Makes sense. Thank you for explaining it. So would eating more fat be the fix? I feel like I eat lots of veggies, and some fruit almost daily and the rest of my calorie intake is made up from carbs, rice, etc. Maybe just not enough fat with exercise and breastfeeding. My baby is 1 but not showing any signs of weaning and still nurses around 4-5x a day.

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, you need more fat. Full fat dairy 1 serv a day, 4-6 eggs a week, 1 serv of salmon/red meat, but beyond that you NEED 50-60 g fat a day in total when exercising and breastfeeding. If you're not eating fat, that will make your LP short and your O delayed. Your body can make do for a while with your stores of body fat but it will start shortening LP/delaying O at some point.

[Haking]

Ok adding in a few of those things. But adding those wouldn’t I be well over 50-60 goal?

[atomic sagebrush]

Nope. 1 serv. full fat dairy is 6-8 g fat depending on what you're having (and I think butter is 11 g but don't quote me on that one) an egg has 5 g fat and a serving of salmon (that was supposed to be per week, not per day, messed up writing my previous post) about 7 g fat. You can have the eggs on different days than the salmon. Red meat depends on the cut but you can find some that are super lean, but you'd want a little fat on it and so that generally comes out to 5-13 g fat depending on the cut.