O next week -- need a game plan!

[4thtimeacharm]

Hi, would love some advice. i'm turning 37 tomorrow and have three little boys, 5, 3, 1. i was on here about six weeks ago after starting the diet (and taking it way too extreme). My husband and I were on the fence between a sway and going HT, and after Atomic's thoughts, we leaned HT. I met with three fertility docs and nearly pulled the trigger when at the last second, we chickened out and ultimately decided that, morally, we both had hesitations. So, here i am, back to swaying. After throwing myself into HT, i left the diet behind, but in looking at my habits, i realized i've been keeping pretty low-cal, low-nutrient habits for the last 7-8 weeks. I've been skipping breakfast and eating small meals, with very limited protein. drinking lots of coffee and wine, which i often do during my small windows between breastfeeding and pregnancy. i haven't had supplements (i got unbearable stomach pains from calc-mag tabs i took before my last pregnancy) and have been half-heartedly taking a pre-natal that i have leftover from when i was breastfeeding. my exercise these days is not where i want it to be because of lack of time. my bmi is 20.5.

i ovulate next week, and am consistent. my ovulation pains are always very strong in the first couple of periods following 2 years of not getting them, so i can pretty accurately pinpoint it. my question is, what do you think my plan of attack should be?

I planned on doing one attempt (all three of my boys had multiple attempts during fertile window), but wasn't sure when to do so. Do you think it's worth a try for o+12? is that all complete BS?

Should i add any last minute tactics? would there be any help if i started some hardcore cardio if it's just for the week preceding O?

I know the jury is out on Ph. mine ranges from 5-5.5. does that mean that my diet isn't very effective? do you think it's worth trying like a rePhresh or something? lime douche? Would sudafed before dtd be advisable if i have a lot of EWCM (I generally do).

what's the verdict on jump and dump? with all three of my previous conceptions, i've layed with my hips elevated for about 20-30 mins post-bd. should i do the opposite?

Thanks for your help. i'm nervous about all of this. With all of the talk about HT, my husband and I have really talked through a fourth child and even though i'm sure i'll have a bit of GD if it doesn't go my way, we'll still have no regrets about expanding our family. still, it's hard. my sister-in-law just announced that they are expecting a boy after two girls - just what they wanted! i'm dreading hearing about how perfect it all is and how they would have been so disappointed if it went the other way. ugh, i hate feeling so petty, but it's easy, isn't it, after over-thinking all of this.

Really appreciate your thoughts.

[Raining]

I also had multiple attempts during fertile window with my boys, used pre seed and did not J&D.

For my sway I tried to just do what’s been proven to work plus a few other things I just felt good about. One attempt at pos opk, used sylk lube and J&D, clomid, I was on diet for 12 weeks and did the recommended exercise.

I would really urge you not to over think it! I’m a very type A over thinker so I totally get it. I just had to let go of the planning and thinking. I settled on my sway and just let go of the rest.

Best of luck to you!!!

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi again!

Yes my advice would definitely be to have one attempt. O+12 is my absolutely positively least fave sway tactic ever and you can read why that is here: https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum/trying-to-conceive-a-girl/35539-no-12-a.html

No, that pH is totally normal and diet really doesn't affect pH. Explanation here: https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-general-discussion/11684-ph-pickle.html

I think it's fine to start cardio now but not hardcore - the reason is that you may not get pregnant the first month out and then will end up with ample time doing exercise.

I wouldn't bother with RepHresh (hasn't worked) although you can if you want to. I'm not a fan of douching either (when we had a statistician analyze the results, it also did not work) but it's up to you. If you do wish to do one of these things, make sure it's either/or, not both, as douche and RepHresh can interact and cause pH to rise.

sudafed is not safe and I never recommend that for women. If you must take something you can take an antihistamine instead, diphenhydramine 1-2 hours before BD or cetirizine 6 hours before. Or both, but only if you are not nursing and not drining alcohol. Antihistamine has not seemed to work in our results.

J and D, unlike some of these other things, has actually seemed to confer a small benefit in the results. So I would wait 5 minutes and then do a J and D, that's how most of us are doing that.

[4thtimeacharm]

Thank you SO much! i am relieved to hear your advice as i'm not keen on taking anything OR douching and really didn't want to. Re: timing - for one attempt, what day would you aim for? i am quite regular and have gotten pg on the first try for all three kids. i use opks and usually ov within 24 hours after a positive test. my last baby was 3 days before ov, but my other two i bd when the strips got dark.

[atomic sagebrush]

Timing is largely at your discretion. We tend to have attempts at positive OPK but that's because so many people develop irregular cycles on diet and it's just an easy way to have one attempt even with irregular cycles.

I prefer no longer than a 2-3 day cutoff max. 1-2 days before O is best timing for conception. Timing actually doesn't sway at all but it's fine to try for a couple cycles if you want - just be sure you give up timing before adding attempts! https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-general-discussion/7691-trouble-timing.html