Pink Sway - Questions about LE Diet and Exercise

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic!

(First of all: I'm from a non-English speaking country, so my English is not that good and I sometimes use the wrong words.)

Thank you so much for this site! It's a huge help to us Swayers!

We want to start our Pink Sway in September. Unfortunately, we had to move it from Juli/August to September, so I don't want to wait any longer. Until a week ago I didn't know this page. So the plan was for us to do Babydust-Method and (not a strict) IG diet. But it scared me that there are so many failed Sways. So I kept searching and found you. Your theories are convincing, it sounds logical to me, and the results are good, so now I want to tackle the "Atomic Sway" for a girl.

I am 32 years old, my husband is 34 years old. We have one son who is 3 years old. I am 1.58 m tall (I guess 5 feet 2 inches ?!) and weigh 53 kg (116 lbs), so my BMI is 21.2.

Since I only found out about the LE diet a week ago, I've only been doing it for a week. My next ovulation is in 3 weeks. So that I "officially" only do the LE diet for 4 weeks. But I lost weight from January to April and June to mid-July this year, and during that time I ate a diet very similar to the LE diet. I am a vegetarian anyway, my diet during weight loss was high in carbs, medium fat and low in protein. During weight loss, I ate around 1200-1500 calories per day. So that it was quite similar to the LE diet overall.

I did a lot of exercise during weight loss. Cardio. Cycling, jogging, trampoline jumping. During weight loss, I exercised about 1 hour 4-5 days a week. So also similar to your recommendations.

Since I have been strictly on the LE diet, I do exercises about 1 hour 6-7 days a week, that is about 4 weeks until start swaying.

I know from your information that a 1-4 week diet is not as successful as 6+ weeks, 12+ weeks is best. I am now worried whether we should start in September. I want so much! I don't want to wait any longer. Actually wanted to start in Juli/August and already had to change (thankfully in retrospect, because I've only found genderdreaming now!). But I don't want to take any unnecessary risks either. Do you think I could start with Sway in September or do you think it's too risky? Because I was on a diet very similar to the LE diet from January to April and June to mid-July and did a lot of cardio during that time. And then, 4 weeks before start swaying, I followed a strict LE diet and during those 4 weeks even did 6-7 days a week of exercise. I'm worried because I ate a lot on vacation from mid-July to early August, and gained 1 kg in that time. But since then I've lost 1 kg again, so I'm back to my weight before vacation.

I am so annoyed with myself that I did not continue the diet while on vacation, then I would have no problem. Now I have about 3-4 weeks in between that I haven't been dieting. I am confused. I don't want to take too big a risk (I really wish a girl!). But I don't really want to wait any longer... have been waiting so long... I'm torn.

We would also like to include things like cut off (and only one attempt anyway), FR, PH control, hot shower for DH, Alcohol, so that the chance of conception is lower anyway. So that diet / exercise can be done longer if I don't get pregnant in the first cycle, but I don't know that in advance.

Thank you, dear Atomic! I'm looking forward to your answer :).

[atomic sagebrush]

Hey, that's ok, many of my clients are non-native speakers so I am used to communicating with a language barrier. :)

Given your BMI I would start off trying to hold steady where you're at with your weight.

Since you were already on an LE-type diet and lost weight with exercise, I am fine with you trying sooner. Go right ahead and try in September. In fact I would worry that you would lose ovulation if you did another 12 weeks of diet and exercise! Let's start now!

It's ok to have a little cheat now and then, there's enough time to recover.

It's fine for you to do one attempt and FR. If you'd like to start off with a cutoff, that's your choice, but timing doesn't work (only number of attempts) and eventually you should drop that if you don't conceive.

What method of pH control do you plan to use?

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic,

thank you very much for your answer [emoji846]. That helps me alot. It makes me feel good if you agree that we can start with the sway in September. Then we'll do that. I am so excited!

What do you mean, how many calories should I eat per day? I've typically ate around 1200-1300 calories during my weight loss for the past few months. I think that's not enough now? Should I rather go for 1500-1800 kcal? I'm afraid that I'll gain weight then [emoji85]. When I got pregnant with my son, I ate a lot and was gaining weight, unfortunately I don't know the amount of calories, but it definitely won't have been less than 2000-2300 kcal a day, I ate a lot of sweets and fat.

How intense do the exercises have to be? I do jogging, cycling, trampoline jumping, and step aerobics. Is there an indication of how high my pulse should be or how many calories I should burn? Most of the time I train hard and my heart rate averages 130-150, I burn around 400-500 kcal in that hour. Is that necessary or can it sometimes be a little less intense?

I also have a question about FR. You say DH should do it 7-10 days. I think that's a lot for DH [emoji28][emoji85] . Do you think 5 days are enough to reduce the sperm count a little? Or should DH alternatively be abstinent? When we got pregnant with my son, my husband was abstinent for quite a long time, so I don't have a good feeling for our Pink Sway with it and I would actually rather do FR.

I also have a question about fiber supplements. I'm not sure I understand what it means. I read chitosan or psyllium husks somewhere, is that correct?

I measure my pH with test strips. My PH is around 4.0 - 4.2 during my ovulation, but after the BD it is much higher at around 6-7 (despite contraception with a condom, so without the influence of sperm, and without Big O for me). I would therefore like to regulate my PH value down after BD with a gel similar to Replens, it has a pH value of 4.5. I know you say PH control doesn't work, but I definitely want to try at the beginning and if I realize I won't get pregnant with it, I'll leave it.

I also read that timing shouldn't work. That makes me feel better because my cycle isn't super regular, so my ovulation is always on a different day. My LH-Test is slowly starting to rise about 24 hours before peak, so I should get a 48 hour cut-off and I think that's OK, because it isn't a huge cut-off. If I don't get pregnant like this, we'll be planning the BD closer to ovulation.

I know that exercise, diet and one attempt are the most important things, so we will not deviate from them. If I don't get pregnant we'll leave things out like timing and pH control first.

Thank you again dear Atomic!

Greetings from Germany,
Lanini

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[Lanini]

Hello again,

I have one more question. I'm so sorry for asking you so much [emoji85]. I just want to make everything "perfect" because I really want a girl [emoji120].

I read about Myo Inositol. I know it's for women with PCO, but could it be for me too? Before I became pregnant with my son, I had very long irregular cycles (50 to 70 days). During pregnancy I had gestational diabetes (only treated with diet). After the pregnancy, my blood sugar levels were still too high, but not yet in the range of diabetes. My cycles have been normal since my son was born, at least that settled itself. I don't have an official diagnosis of PCO, and not all of the symptoms suit me. But my blood sugar level is still sometimes in a high range after meals, but not yet in the range of diabetes. I put fat on my stomach quickly. Have a little bit of acne. Could it make sense for me to take Myo Inositol? What do you mean?

Thank you [emoji847]

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[atomic sagebrush]

Well, the number of calories you need to eat per day varies depending on your metabolism so I can't really tell you that. You want to eat enough so you're not losing weight, but not so much that you're gaining it. Whether that is 1400 cals or what, I honestly can't say, play around with it and you'll find the sweet spot. If you start exercising more you will need to eat that much more again to compensate.

Don't track your heart rate or calories burned, it doesn't matter and just makes you too "control freak" (which may sway blue.) Just do whatever exercise you enjoy for 1 hour. Even just walking counts for this, the exercise does not need to be super intense.

Yes, fiber is psyllium or chitosan or any dietary fiber supplement.

If your husband can't do the FR for 7 days, then just have him do regular release every 2-4 days or "do what he does". 5 days is not enough to ensure that his sperm count is lowered. Honestly, even 7-10 days doesn't really work, and it does cut odds of conception, so if you can't do FR and have to let it go, it's no biggie. It's the one attempt that works.

Your husband can do abstain at 34. But it hasn't gotten good results either (better than 50-50, but not as good as the overall results of the site, same as FR) so if you aren't feeling that, just skip it. None of these things are magic bullets, though, so you will always find people who did things that swayed pink and got opposites. It doesn't mean they don't sway a little, just that other things can counteract it.

Trying to regulate pH AFTER sex is like "shutting the barn door after the horse escaped" as some say. The sperm is already potentially up inside, and adding low pH stuff after the fact is pointless. If you want to use pH methods, I strongly urge you to use RepHresh (NOT REPLENS) every 3 days starting after your period ends, and going thru till just prior to O, stopping it 12-24 hours before your planned attempt. And then in addition to that, use Acijel or Sylk as a lubricant with intercourse - these jellies will drop pH fast and the sperm will have to swim thru it on the way to the cervix.

But that having been said a pH of 6-7 after sex is actually really GOOD - semen itself has pH of 7-8 range so if it's lower than that you're def. seeing a reduction from your pH. I personally don't think pH helps one bit but theoretically that's good to see.

Yep if you want to start off aiming at a 48 hour cutoff that's ok. We can change that up over time.

[Lanini]

Thank you! That helps me a lot. Now I'm more likely to know what to do [emoji846].

Can you say something else about this:
Hello again,

I have one more question. I'm so sorry for asking you so much [emoji85]. I just want to make everything "perfect" because I really want a girl [emoji120].

I read about Myo Inositol. I know it's for women with PCO, but could it be for me too? Before I became pregnant with my son, I had very long irregular cycles (50 to 70 days). During pregnancy I had gestational diabetes (only treated with diet). After the pregnancy, my blood sugar levels were still too high, but not yet in the range of diabetes. My cycles have been normal since my son was born, at least that settled itself. I don't have an official diagnosis of PCO, and not all of the symptoms suit me. But my blood sugar level is still sometimes in a high range after meals, but not yet in the range of diabetes. I put fat on my stomach quickly. Have a little bit of acne. Could it make sense for me to take Myo Inositol? What do you mean?

Thank you [emoji847]

Gesendet von meinem SM-G985F mit TapatalkFor me that is the only uncertainty at the moment [emoji846].

Tank you.

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[atomic sagebrush]

Hello again,

I have one more question. I'm so sorry for asking you so much [emoji85]. I just want to make everything "perfect" because I really want a girl [emoji120].

I read about Myo Inositol. I know it's for women with PCO, but could it be for me too? Before I became pregnant with my son, I had very long irregular cycles (50 to 70 days). During pregnancy I had gestational diabetes (only treated with diet). After the pregnancy, my blood sugar levels were still too high, but not yet in the range of diabetes. My cycles have been normal since my son was born, at least that settled itself. I don't have an official diagnosis of PCO, and not all of the symptoms suit me. But my blood sugar level is still sometimes in a high range after meals, but not yet in the range of diabetes. I put fat on my stomach quickly. Have a little bit of acne. Could it make sense for me to take Myo Inositol? What do you mean?

Thank you [emoji847]

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Oh yes I think this must have posted while I was replying to your other question, it wasn't there when I started!

I would not personally choose myoinositol for you based on your history because you are already low enough in weight. I would suggest instead that you do the alternate PCOS diet instead. You would increase protein and fat totals to 50-60 g while keeping calories the same, use whole grains only, no white refined grain foods, use full fat dairy only, NO SKIM dairy at all (this is non-negotiable, not even part skim), and limit sugar strictly - no sweets, and while most people can have small amounts of sugar added into things like sauces and yogurt, don't go overboard even with added sugar. This will treat the PCO-tendencies (which I agree you have, even if you don't have the syndrome full blown)

PLEASE do not just add myoinositol in with a standard, very high carb LE Diet. Switch to the alternate LE Diet that's better for PCOSers.

If you really feel the need, AND you have switched diet types, then you can add in myoinositol if you would like, 1000 mg from AF-O, and 500 mg (or 1000 every other day) from O-AF, and at positive pregnancy test finish weaning off by spacing doses further and further out till down to one per day, then you can drop it. But I would much rather see you switch diets, because I think you may lose weight very rapidly on the alternate diet with myoinositol, and the myoinositol ALONE without switching diets may not be pink friendly enough for you.

[Lanini]

I already suspected that you would recommend the alternate LE diet [emoji85][emoji28]. It will be very difficult for me. I can increase fat and protein, no skim dairy products are OK for me too, but giving up white grain and sweets is very tough for me. I'll do my best, but I'm sure I won't be able to do it strictly. Should I not take Myo Inositol if I am not following the alternate diet very strictly? What about supplements like Vitex and Saw Palmetto? Should I take that?

What do you think of this sway plan:

Diet and Exercises:
- (alternate) LE diet
- One hour of cardio exercise daily
- No weight loss, weight should stay the same
- Skip Breakfast
- One glass of Alcohol daily
- One glass of drink with aspartame daily
- One glass of peppermint tea daily
- DH is biking a lot
(Unfortunately I don't drink coffee, I don't like it at all)

Supplements:
- Magnesium, Calcium, Saw Palmetto, Vitex, Cranberry, Folic Acid, Fiber for DW
- Magnesium, Calcium, Cranberry, OLE for DH

FR:
DH does FR as often as he can.

PH control:
I use Rephresh from the end of AF to about 12-24 hours before BD. During the BD we use Sylk as a lubricant.

BD:
One attempt. Timing if possible approx. 48 hours before ovulation, or if OPK is positive.

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[atomic sagebrush]

I personally do not recommend myoinositol for anyone with your BMI who doesn't have full blown PCOS but if you want to take it I laid out the directions above.

You cannot assume that will make up for continuing to eat white refined grain and sugar though. It very well may not, which is why I don't use it that way. It's really more for people whose bodies just can't handle carbs even when they're trying hard to eat well, and NOT as a fix for "getting away with" eating too many carbs. I just can't guarantee it would work that way if you continue eating a lot of sweets. Your call to make just that I can't sign off on it.

I no longer recommend Vitex, SP, or peppermint tea (though 1 cup a day is usually well tolerated, if you must). They have caused massive amounts of side effects (delaying or even stopping ovulation, short LP, and cutting odds of conception) and have much lower results using them than not using them.

I do not recommend cranberry for women. It hasn't worked and has a lot of risks and side effects. Your husband needs to pick EITHER cranberry or OLE, not both. You take one or the other of those, do not mix them.

Everything else is looking good!

[Lanini]

Thank you again Atomic [emoji4]. That helps me a lot and I have now adjusted the supplements. My sway plan is now ready [emoji106].

The problem with my diet is less the sweets (I'm not a chocolate junkie) but more things like pasta and rice and baked goods [emoji85]. I try to eat less of it, but I can't do without it completely. I have my blood sugar under control, the values are usually in the normal range if I don't eat huge amounts. But I have a tendency towards PCO, which was more present before the pregnancy with my son, but is not completely gone now either.

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[atomic sagebrush]

Ok. Maybe we can work out a compromise. Of these things you've listed, pasta is the best option to continue to have the white form. Since pasta is made of a wheat that has a high protein (in addition to having some protein from the eggs that are in it) it is much more forgiving for blood sugar than many other white refined grains. Let's have you go ahead with continuing white pasta just however much you'd normally eat anyway.

Then, when it comes to white rice, again, as long as you are having the rice WITH something that has protein/fat, such as a stir fry with some meat or tofu, or some sort of dish with cheese and beans too, then it will not just be pure carbs either and will be better tolerated by your body. So I would maybe try to eat that a little less often, or have less rice than normal and just MORE of whatever protein food you eat with it.

To sum up so far - that puts us at eating normal amounts of pasta, slightly less white rice than normal.

Then, that leaves us with white baked goods - bread, cake, cookies, etc. These are the least desirable. Does having the ability to have pasta and rice help you with eating less of these things?? If at all possible, I would try hard to limit them. Occasionally if you're just absolutely craving something, then go ahead, but cut back as far as you can. (like, instead of a whole sandwich, have a half, or half a cookie or whatever) This three pronged approach should make it easier to stick to the diet overall while still keeping MOST of the goals we are aiming at.

PCO tendencies never go away. They can improve if your diet is better but they're always there, and if anything worsen as we age because our body becomes less able to respond to high carb intake. So you don't need to be perfect all the time on everything but I do want you to be cautious not to overdo it on those empty carbs for the sake of your sway but also for the sake of your health.

[Verena]

Thank you again Atomic [emoji4]. That helps me a lot and I have now adjusted the supplements. My sway plan is now ready [emoji106].

The problem with my diet is less the sweets (I'm not a chocolate junkie) but more things like pasta and rice and baked goods [emoji85]. I try to eat less of it, but I can't do without it completely. I have my blood sugar under control, the values are usually in the normal range if I don't eat huge amounts. But I have a tendency towards PCO, which was more present before the pregnancy with my son, but is not completely gone now either.

Gesendet von meinem SM-G985F mit TapatalkHi Lanini,

are you from Germany as well? If you have a REWE nearby I can recommend their wholemeal spelt pasta. It's a huge difference to other wholemeal pasta I've eaten. I actually really enjoy it.

Good luck and LG ;-)

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210829/a41b24b44a5c83158b305f1376f7f05f.jpg

[Lanini]

Thanks @Atomic Sagebrush. That sounds good. If I can eat pasta sometimes, my diet will be much easier [emoji28]. If I can eat pasta, it is not difficult for me to do without white rice. Is brown rice allowed? Potatoes are OK too, right? I try to avoid baked goods such as cakes, bread etc. as much as possible and will only eat them in exceptional cases.

In the past few weeks I've sometimes measured my blood sugar levels (I didn't do it for far too long before [emoji85]) and my blood sugar was always in the normal range, with one exception when I ate rather excessively, after which my blood sugar was 150 after the meal. My fasting glucose is always low, which was never a problem with gestational diabetes either. So I try to fast as long as possible every day, so skip breakfast and eat lunch as late as possible so that my blood sugar is low for as long as possible. Is this the right way? Even before the LE diet, I did not eat breakfast, but I always ate breakfast before the pregnancy with my son. At that time I Was eating all the day [emoji85].

I got my period on Saturday so my first Sway cycle started. Here we go [emoji123]!

@Verena: Yes, I'm from Germany. Thanks for the recommendation [emoji4], I'll be going to Rewe in the next few days and hope that I can find the pasta. I don't like regular whole grain pasta, but these are worth a try. Are you trying a girl sway too? How many boys do you have?



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[atomic sagebrush]

Brown rice and potatoes are both fine and indeed, great!

I honestly don't recommend tracking blood sugar levels unless you need to for your overall health. We don't know what, if anything, the numbers really represent for our purposes, and it just gives another thing for you to think about and worry about. Too much attention to meaningless detail simply makes people feel very "control freakish" which can undermine a sway.

I do NOT want you fasting too long. Starvation is not good either. We are aiming at an inbetween where we are cutting back but can still get pregnant, and we also do not want to risk messing up our metabolism into the future (because then we might just regain weight and more when we start eating normally). Fast only 12-16 hours per day, no more than that.

[Lanini]

Thank you! That helps me a lot [emoji106].

I no longer measure blood sugar. I've only done it a few times in the last few weeks to get an overview at all. Since I hadn't checked it in a long time, I didn't know whether the values ​​were now diabetic, but that's not the case. They even got better, which is probably also due to my weight loss in the last few months.

Yes, I unfortunately fit perfectly into the "control freak" schemel [emoji85]. I try not to worry too much about everything and to plan everything down to the last detail, but that's really difficult for me and sometimes I think that "not planning" stresses me more than planning [emoji28]. But I also know that I cannot control everything and that is OK for me (without stress). With your help I no longer worry that I have to DEFINITELY create a perfect timing (cut-off) or that the PH level is EXACTLY on a certain number or that I feel bad because I ate a "forbidden" food. Fortunately, I'm now relaxed about these things and don't worry anymore [emoji4]. Instead, my mind now revolves around whether I'm doing the diet right or whether the exercises are enough or even too much. I don't quite manage to turn off the control freak [emoji849].

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[atomic sagebrush]

:agree: yes absolutely, that's one of the best benefits of weight loss is that as you lose weight, your blood sugar improves. Even just small weight loss has been shown to really improve insulin response.

Keep in mind that all of us with all boys have those tendencies and our good results are in people who are cut from that same cloth! Over time you may find that the questions about diet and exercise even fade into the background as swaying becomes a lifestyle for you. But if you're still a little control freakish around the edges that's ok! :)

[onelittlewish]

Thank you! That helps me a lot [emoji106].

I no longer measure blood sugar. I've only done it a few times in the last few weeks to get an overview at all. Since I hadn't checked it in a long time, I didn't know whether the values ​​were now diabetic, but that's not the case. They even got better, which is probably also due to my weight loss in the last few months.

Yes, I unfortunately fit perfectly into the "control freak" schemel [emoji85]. I try not to worry too much about everything and to plan everything down to the last detail, but that's really difficult for me and sometimes I think that "not planning" stresses me more than planning [emoji28]. But I also know that I cannot control everything and that is OK for me (without stress). With your help I no longer worry that I have to DEFINITELY create a perfect timing (cut-off) or that the PH level is EXACTLY on a certain number or that I feel bad because I ate a "forbidden" food. Fortunately, I'm now relaxed about these things and don't worry anymore [emoji4]. Instead, my mind now revolves around whether I'm doing the diet right or whether the exercises are enough or even too much. I don't quite manage to turn off the control freak [emoji849].

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I've been secretly following your post and just want to pop up and say I totally feel you here...even when you know you have a solid plan it feels out of control because there is just no control over this thing. One day I'll be super relaxed and in the zen state of mind convincing myself I've done my best and next day I'll start questioning myself am I doing enough and am I doing everything correctly :nails: I don't think we can change our personalities overnight but really just to remind ourselves each and everyday not to stress over the tiniest details and that the bigger picture matters. And there are so many successes here I think this is our best shot with a natural sway :cheer:

Very best luck on your attempt this cycle and will be following your updates!

[Verena]

Hi Lanini,

I have 3 boys and would like to sway for a girl for the second time soon ;-) I don't know when or if at all I'll start ttc though because I have some health issues that have to be fixed first. And I'm 39 already so time is not on my side too.

Fingers crossed for your upcoming cycle!!! [emoji847]






@Verena: Yes, I'm from Germany. Thanks for the recommendation [emoji4], I'll be going to Rewe in the next few days and hope that I can find the pasta. I don't like regular whole grain pasta, but these are worth a try. Are you trying a girl sway too? How many boys do you have?


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[Lanini]

It's fascinating to see that boy moms are so similar. Thanks also for your words @onelittlewish. At the moment I'm pretty calm and relaxed and not a control freak at all, although our BD will probably be in about a week. I'm a bit surprised at myself. The last cycles I was always very much a control freak, even though I was just watching the cycle and wasn't swaying.

@Verena I wish you the best of luck and that you can start the sway soon!

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[Lanini]

Hi Atomic Sagebrush, I'm 6DPO now. In our attempt we did quite a few things that reduce fertility, so I don't think I got pregnant. Therefore I would like to start planning our next attempt now.

It is difficult for me to stick to the diet and daily exercise. So I want to increase the chances of conception in the next cycle. I still want to have a good chance of getting my girl. Atomic, you say that things like PH (Represh, Sylk), cranberry/aspirin, Cut Off, antihistamines and FR aren't clearly swaying, right? So do you think I can leave these things out the next Attempt without significantly reducing my chances of having a girl? I don't want to reduce my chances of getting a girl. I will only leave it out if it really doesn't do much good? Then I only do Diet + Fiber, Skip Breakfast, Exercises every Day, One Attempt at positive OPK, Alcohol, DH does cycling a lot. The next time I ovulate, I've been dieting and exercising for about 9 weeks.

I could take Femara. I was able to get Femara through a dear Swayer in a German group. I would love to take it in the next cycle to increase the chances of having a girl. Do you think it's a good idea? I am 32 years old. How should I take it? 2.5 mg a day from CD 3-7, is that correct? My cycles are a bit irregular and are usually between 28-32 days. I usually ovulate on CD 15-19. Sometimes earlier.

Of course, hope dies last and I'm so curious whether I might get my BFP in a few days. Because of CutOff, Represh, FR and so on, the chances are very slim, so I don't really believe in it. We will see.

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, none of those things are swaying in our results. We get the same results with and without them. You can drop them all, or one or two every month, just whatever you prefer. If I were swaying I would skip every one of them.

I am always in support of Clomid or Femara if you can get them. As for worrying about whether you got it from a doctor or not, after having seen hundreds of doctors on six different continents prescribing Clomid/Femara in very irresponsible ways (at much too high a dose, for too many months in a row, telling people terrible misinformation about when they will ovulate and their chances of twinning, without having them take pregnancy tests and starting it just "whenever" in the cycle, even if they may be pregnant) I honestly think the way most people use it on their own is probably just as safe as the doctors.

CD 3-7, 2.5 mg. It will likely change your ovulation day so be prepared for that.

[Lanini]

Thank you for your answer [emoji4].

I will probably leave all of these things out in the next cycle. It's difficult for me to do the high level of exercise, so I definitely want to increase my chances of getting pregnant in the next cycle.

I know there is no guarantee that I will get my girl. But I should have a good chance with diet + exercises (every day) for 9 weeks, fiber before meals, skip breakfast, Femara, one attempt at positive OPK, alcohol every day from AF-O and a husband who rides a lot of bicycles, correct? Is there anything else I could do to increase the odds? Have I forgotten anything that sways pink?

I am not worried about taking Femara. Unfortunately, I know from my own experience that many doctors do not prescribe medication carefully. I have read a little myself and have no concerns about using this drug without medical advice and I trust your experience. How can Femara change ovulation? Does it come sooner or later?

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes - diet, exercise, number of attempts, hubby biking - all that stuff is great! The only thing I'm not seeing is coffee but you may be including that (and even if not it's just one little thing).

Femara can change your ovulation to come sooner OR later. It all depends on a) when your cycle was coming anyway and b) the medication's effect on you. Like, a person who always ovulates on CD 18 or so, might see their O day come earlier. A person who always ovulated CD 12 would likely see it come later. And if you O on CD 14, it can go either way.

The thing to be aware of is that you will not ovulate till 5 days after the last dose, at the earliest. AND also that Clomid will cause false positive OPK for 3 days after the last dose.
So if you take an OPK strip 4 days after your last dose, you will get an accurate reading in case of ovulation that happens 5 days after your last dose (the earliest you can ovulate on Clomid).

[Lanini]

Thanks again [emoji4].

I don't like coffee at all, so I won't integrate that into my Sway [emoji85]. I hope this doesn't drastically reduce my chances.

Thanks for the information about changing ovulation with Femara. My ovulation is mostly between CD 15 and 19, in rare cases earlier. I am excited to see what will happen.

If I take Femara from CD 3 to 7, does that mean that my OPK from CD 8 to 10 can be positive without ovulation coming soon? Does that mean that if the OPK is positive at this time, we shouldn't DTD? If the OPK should be positive from CD 11, does that mean ovulation is coming soon and it would be time for BD?

I also have a question about when exactly should we DTD on my cycle pattern? I use the Premom app to track my OPK and the following values ​​refer to the T/C ratio there. The following case in the current cycle:

Up to CD 14: Tests are weak, ratio below 0.2
CD 15 at noon: Tests are slowly getting stronger, ratio 0.5
CD 15 in the evening: ratio 0.7
CD 16 at noon: First positive OPK, ratio 1.25
CD 16 in the evening: peak, ratio 1.35
CD 17 in the morning: value begins to decrease, ratio 0.9
CD 17 in the evening: ratio 0.5

When do you think we should DTD with this cycle pattern? On CD 16 in the evening? We can only DTD in the evening because we already have a child [emoji28]. I am afraid that a BD on CD 16 late in the evening might be too late, because the OPK was already positive on CD 16 at noon? There could then be less than 24 hours between BD and ovulation. But if we DTD on CD 15 in the evening (on the day when the tests get stronger but are not yet positive), the time to ovulation could be too long, right? I want to have the greatest possible chance of conception. My OPK get stronger every cycle in the same way, only the CD are different.

[atomic sagebrush]

Hey, what you include in your sway is always your choice. NO one little thing (unless it's a BIG thing, like diet) can completely undermine a sway.

Yes, that's right. You can get a false positive on OPK for 3 days after having taken Clomid. And you won't ovulate till the 5th day after. So if you get a positive OPK on CD 11, this means that ovulation will likely be coming on CD 12/13 and you should have an attempt. I would not advise having unprotected sex CD 8-10 (unless you're doing e4d method, that is). If you're trying

The Premom app and all the "ratios" and stuff is garbage. I hate those types of apps, I loathe them, they should be taken off the market because they are peddling pseudoscience. Those numbers do NOT mean anything at all. While your hormone levels are rising, the individual darkness is determined by the concentration of hormone in your urine and is not a scientific measure the way they make them sound. They have assigned numbers to something that is wildly variable and they are not indicative of anything real.

You should use the first positive OPK and not the "peak" which does not tell you anything other than that your body is putting out a lot of hormone. Your body will ovulate based on when the hormone levels in your blood reach a certain amount, even if the hormones get stronger later on. So based on that, I would have you have sex the night of CD 16. That should not be too late because you have an average 24-36 hours, and in many cases as long as 48 hours, from first peak to O. I know that in the OPK directions they say that you can ovulate as soon as 8 hours after the first peak, but that mainly happens in people who are not testing regularly. (since they don't test early, they may miss an earlier peak the day before or whatever, and then they test when they expect to ovulate and have a positive then). We have far more people (I mean like 99%) ovulate later after the positive, it's very rare for us to have people ovulating quickly after the positive if they're testing often enough.

CD 15 I think would be too early, because not only could you be 3 days out from ovulation still at that point, it is possible for you to have those dark, but not yet positive OPK for days. Even though you haven't had this in the past, swaying can change the way your surge appears on OPK strips and so I would not want you to have an attempt only to find that you don't get a positive for days after that.

[Lanini]

Hello, thank you very much for your information :). Then I know what to do.

Unfortunately, I am now facing the next problem. Why can't everything just run smoothly!? I've been measuring my BBT every cycle for almost a year. My luteal phase has always been 14 or 15 days without exception. I've had slight abdominal pain since 6DPO, which I've never had before. A light spotting started on 10DPO at 10 p.m. At first I thought it might be an implantation bleeding and was full of hope. Then on 11DPO (yesterday) I got my menstruation. My BBT went down today. I have severe abdominal pain (PMS). I never have PMS otherwise, my menstruation is always painless. It's all different this cycle. BFN all the past few days, I am definitely not pregnant.

I worry now because my luteal phase was so short. It's the first time since I've been measuring my BBT. I think the luteal phase was too short to get pregnant. Can the cause be too much exercise / diet? Am I overdoing it? I've lost some weight in the past few weeks, my BMI is now 20.2 (50.3 kg). I know I shouldn't be losing any more weight. But somehow there's a fear in my head that the girl sway won't work if I don't lose weight. I'm going to increase the calories a bit now so that I don't lose weight so quickly. I want a girl so much, but if my luteal phase is too short, I won't get pregnant at all. Can too much exercise / too hard diet be the cause of a short luteal phase or do I have to look elsewhere for the cause? What should i do, Atomic? Could I just drink more alcohol to increase the calories and not increase the calories from the diet? I think this makes me feel better than eating more.

I think I'll ask my gynecologist if she'll give me progesterone for post ovulation. Is this a good idea?

So, I think I'm now on CD2 in the next cycle. I'll start taking Femara tomorrow, right?

[Lanini]

I thought again about the shortened luteal phase and somehow I can't imagine that it was due to the exercises or the diet. As mentioned before, for a few months this year I went on a diet similar to the LE diet to lose weight. During this time I also did a lot of exercise (one hour 4-5 days a week), but not only cardio, also strength training. I never had problems with a short LP. I haven't done much differently now so I don't think exercise / diet was the cause. I do the LE diet, lose some weight, and do exercises (cardio only). The exercises are a little more than they were then, but that's actually the only difference.

Could it be supplements that shortened the LP? Saw palmetto maybe? I took this for the first time this cycle. Anyway, I'll skip many supplements on this cycle. I have a feeling that this could be the cause.

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, you absolutely need to stop losing weight now. But you're wrong about the LP, 10-11 days is absolutely long enough to get pregnant with. That's barely shorter than normal (12 days). Please do not panic about this.

Many, many people will tell me "but it can't be diet/exercise because I've dieted in the past and this didn't happen" but a) many times they're being more restrictive than they remember from the past b) you may have had more reserves built up that time than you do this time, and c) your body does change over time and things you could tolerate when you were younger you may not be able to tolerate now. You can't use what you did in the past to tell you what to do now. The reason I have the BMI limits set where they are is because I saw SO MANY people see disrupted cycles once they dropped under certain BMI.

That having been said, you should not be taking saw palmetto. I do think that may be at the heart of this issue, and is certainly contributing to the problem, and I want you to drop it (I have not recommended that for many years because it was massively disrupting to the menstrual cycle and did not work anyway). I would like you to tell me everything you're taking because MANY of the supplements can alter the cycle, most of them don't even work anyway, and of the few that work, many of them are not suitable for a person who doesn't have weight to lose.

Yes, absolutely not enough food coupled with the exercise can cause a short LP. That's why we have the BMI limits set where they are, and the calorie/protein/fat limits set where they are. People delay or stop ovulation, and/or get a short LP if you don't eat enough and exercise a lot. So please listen to what I'm telling you now, that you should not have dropped below BMI 21 - this is exactly why I tell you that, and the diet DOES work without losing weight thanks to the limits and other changes in diet.

Do not just drink more alcohol. That isn't real food and likely won't help. You need to boost calories, particularly calories of fat. You haven't mentioned how many cals you're eating, but you should be at least at 1500-1800 cals, and if you're losing this weight at that cal intake, bump up to 1800-2000. I would like you eating at least 50 g of fat daily, NOT COUNTING the fat in fruits and vegetables. You may want to add in a serving of full fat dairy daily and 4-6 eggs a week (or use these things to meet your fat goals) but if that feels too scary to you I'm ok with you just dropping saw palmetto and possibly many other things you're taking (again, please tell me what you are taking and I can help you weed out the bad stuff) and waiting a month or two to see if things correct themselves. This is ONLY provided you are eating enough, though. I really think you're going to be disappointed if you just drop supplements and keep not eating enough and losing weight.

Do be aware that changes happen over time, and so it takes time to fix them. You can't just drop the supplements and eat more and everything will go back to normal again. It may take a few months, so don't be too surprised if this continues next month. I promise you can absolutely conceive with 10-11 day lp. What we do NOT want to do is have you keep eating low calories, not enough fat, and just dropping supplements. You're going to end up even worse off than you are now, and we'll really have to reverse course on diet to keep your cycle going if you do that.

I do not think you should keep doing what you're doing and just ask for progesterone supplements. Firstly, that is just masking a problem (inadequate hormone levels) and that problem may be causing other effects that may prevent you from conceiving. And secondly, this is likely not a progesterone issue, but an estrogen issue. Your body is meant to release a burst of estrogen at 7 DPO or so, that helps maintain the uterine lining long enough for your body to detect a new pregnancy, and signal the corpus luteum to make more progesterone. Estrogen also governs things like when/if you ovulate, your lining, the quality of your cervical mucus, so if you're not making enough estrogen, this has very real ramifications that can affect your ability to conceive. We want you guys with lower estrogen, but not so low that you can't get pregnant.

Yes, you'd start Femara today, CD 3.

[Lanini]

Thank you very much for your very detailed answer. You are really of great help!

First question: Should I start the Femara today (Sunday evening)? Or not until tomorrow? The question is whether the spotting on Friday evening (start at 10 p.m.) already counts as CD1? Or the beginning of the heavier bleeding on Saturday morning? I assumed that Saturday counts as CD1 and should therefore start with the Femara on Monday?

Okay, I'm going to increase the amount of calories. I have eaten different amounts in the last few weeks, on average 1400 kcal per day (I know that will have been too little) and sometimes 1600 kcal. I will now try to stick to the 1600 kcal. If I keep the weight and eat little nutrients at the same time, will it still sway pink? When I was in the weight loss phase a few months ago, I never ate more than 1300 kcal on average. As a result, my cycles became longer and my ovulation came later and later. However, the luteal phase never shortened at that time. Back then I didn't lose weight as quickly with 1300 kcal as I do now with a little more calories. I think all the exercise is one of the reasons I'm losing weight so quickly.

I am now at BMI 20.2. I will not lose any more weight. But I shouldn't gain weight either, right? So I should stick with my BMI 20, right? I eat several eggs a week. I've been a vegetarian since I was a child, but I eat eggs several times a week. Nuts are also high in fat, but also have a lot of nutrients. Can I still eat a few nuts?

I took several supplements last cycle. I canceled a lot of it for this cycle. I now take: Folic acid 800 mcg (combined with vitamin B12, 10 mcg), Myo Inositol 1000 mg from AF-O (500 mg after ovulation), Antihistamines from AF-O, Vitex 10 mg. I have been taking Vitex for a few months, I started taking it because of my PCO tendencies and have not had any problems with Vitex so far, but I don't know whether it had a positive effect either. Should i stop taking it? I also take fiber (chitosan) before high-fat meals.

It's nice to hear that my shortened LP is still long enough to get pregnant. Even if my LP was shortened by a few days, I'm glad it was still long enough for a pregnancy to occur. I am very excited to see what my new cycle will be like.

Thanks again!

[atomic sagebrush]

1) The spotting at 10 pm is NOT CD 1, count the first day of red flow (Saturday) as CD 1

2)Yes, if you follow the diet and hold steady on weight it still sways pink. Weight loss/gain is not very predictive of whose sways work and whose don't. Doing the LE Diet even without weight loss gets good results. Don't get too focused on "little nutrients" though, just do the diet as it is written and do not cut back below the amount of protein, fat, and calories in the diet.

Yes, exercise will make weight come off even at higher cal intake. You do need to eat more to compensate, and our good results are in people who are exercising and eating more calories to make up for it.

3)In most cases you can just hold steady where you're at and shouldn't need to gain weight back at that BMI.

Yes, you can absolutely eat some nuts within the limits. Do not worry about the nutrients in food aside from calories, protein, and fat, and then avoiding vitamins and fortified foods. That is all you need to do. You do not, and should not, cut out other foods on the basis of the nutrients in them, just stay in the limits for cals, pro, fat.

4)Please tell me the supplements you WERE taking. Like I said, these supplements have cumulative effects that take time to go away again, so things you were taking last month may have effects this month. Also, if you were taking many supplements and just dropped them cold turkey without weaning off, this can make your body get "nervous" (if they were nutrient based) or mess up your hormones, and that may have contributed to the disruption in your cycle.

As for the supplements you are taking, I do not recommend B12 for your sway, unless you have deficiencies in that I'd wean off that to a folic acid without B 12.

At your low BMI and with weight flying off, you probably should not be on myoinositol any more. If you MUST take it, I'd cut back to half dose - 500 during the FP and 500 every other day during the LP. Myoinositol can lower hormone levels which for some people is good, but your LP getting shorter means you may be making things worse with the myo. I also would like you to drop the fiber. You are blocking the raw hormones you are in need of to continue ovulation and have an adequate LP. This is, of course, good in some ways for swaying, but we need to not continue doing this any more if your cycle becomes disrupted. That is a sign we've gone too far.

You should not ever have been taking antihistamines from AF-O. I only ever recommend them for a few days around ovulation. And they did not work anyway, with lower chances of conception, and the same number of boys and girls conceived with and without them. Since you're on Femara antihistamines need to go now.

Vitex is 1000% absolutely causing or contributing to your short LP. These things have cumulative effects - meaning diet, exercise, and herbs, Vitex and SP in particular, work TOGETHER. So if you were only doing one or two of them, you may not have issues, but all three together can cause issues. Plus, some issues take months to develop meaning you can take herbs for a couple months and it's only after a while your hormones get too low. Neither Vitex nor SP worked at all in our results (indeed, they had significantly WORSE results than the overall success rate of the site - meaning more people get girls without them!) and really cut odds of conception by a lot.

And if all that wasn't enough, you should NEVER EVER have been taking vitex and SP with Femara anyway, that is a huge no-no. They can make the Femara not work as well, and also really cut the odds of you conceiving on Femara to practically nothing.

Keep me posted about your upcoming month!

[Lanini]

1) OK then I'll start Femara today.

2) I will increase the amount of calories and meet the protein and fat requirements. 50 g fat, 50 g protein, the rest carbohydrates? I will eat around 1600 kcal and see what effect this has on my weight.

3) OK then I'll eat nuts within the limits.

3) Last cycle, I took Magnesium, Calcium, Saw Palmetto and Baby Aspirin in addition to the things I told you yesterday. I've already taken these things out for this cycle.

I'm going to cut down myo inositol and fiber. I will cut out antihistamines and Vitex completely.

I thank you again. I think I wanted "too much at once" last cycle. More is not always better. I want a girl so badly that I must have overshot the mark. The shortened LP definitely showed me that something was wrong. I am curious to see how my current cycle will develop. I will keep you updated.

[atomic sagebrush]

So you haven't been eating that much fat and protein so far? How much do you estimate?

:agree: I hope you weaned off the cal, mag, and aspirin rather than just dropping them. Your body gets somewhat "used to" having things at that higher intake and then it can cause issues to just stop them. Vitex, saw palmetto, are fine to just drop though.

[Lanini]

So far I've mostly eaten 40-50 g fat and 30-50 g protein (sometimes more, sometimes less), the rest are carbohydrates. I will increase both to 50 g per day.

Yes, I slowly reduced calcium, magnesium and aspirin and took less and less.

[atomic sagebrush]

Ok great, thanks!

[Lanini]

Hello,

I'm on CD 8 today. I used Femara from CD 3-7, so I took the last tablet yesterday. I ask again just to be sure, so is it certain that I will definitely not ovulate for the 5 days after the last dose? Earliest ovulation will definitely be CD 12? I ask because everything is different than usual. I've been doing OPK since yesterday. The OPK is as good as positive tonight, the lines are almost identical. But thanks to your tip I was prepared for that. My Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor says "High" this morning (it was "Low" yesterday). But the strangest thing I find is that my BBT today was as high as it usually is only after ovulation (the temperature was still low for the past few days). I am a little afraid that I will ovulate and now miss it or not use it. Maybe we should DTD tonight if I'm ovulating? If ovulation does not start until CD 12 is reached, do we have enough time between attempts, right (like e4D)? I'm a little unsure.

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, it is as certain as anything can be when it comes to our bodies, you won't ovulate till the 5th day. A couple of times I've seen people ovulate the 4th day but they didn't take the pills consistently. It is unlikely in the extreme you'd ovulate

Clomid changes everything. Most doctors will tell you not to temp on Clomid because the temps are confusing and make no sense. So it's to be expected that your temperature would be different.

Yes, you would have enough time between CD 8 and CD 12 to have an attempt now, if you want, and still be in with the e4d pattern (in fact, CD 11 is the "72 hour" pattern".) But I don't think you need to.

[Lanini]

Thanks again. I decided against a BD. The OPK immediately turned negative again the next day and the BBT has been low as usual since CD 10.

So, I'm now on CD 14. Unfortunately, nothing is happening and I'm a little worried whether I will ovulate this cycle at all. I took the Femara from CD 3 to 7. I had a check-up with my gynecologist on CD 11. I didn't mention the Femara, but the desire to get pregnant. She did an ultrasound and said that she can see a follicle that is 13mm in size. She said follicles grow about 2mm per day and ovulation is about 20mm in size, so she predicts ovulation on CD 14-15.

So now it is CD 14 and there is no ovulation in sight. I usually have EWCM at least 2 to 3 days before ovulation. But so far I have nothing. And the OPK are still very clearly negative. Now I'm a little worried that I won't ovulate at all this cycle. Or that if ovulation occurs, the egg is out of order. Ovulation should be today or tomorrow and it doesn't look like anything will happen until tomorrow. Do I have to give up hope and what could be the cause if ovulation does not occur? I track my cycle for a year and I've always ovulated so far.

[atomic sagebrush]

You will all but certainly ovulate. Femara can change the patterns you are used to seeing, in terms of CM and OPK. It can slow things down and delay ovulation but nearly everyone still ovulates with it, even if it takes a little longer than they expect.
The egg is not "out of order" and nothing is wrong here. Your gyno saw a developing follicle and it has simply grown a little slower than she anticipated, that's all.

[Lanini]

It's CD 16 now and it still doesn't look like ovulation is coming. I had EWCM since yesterday, which I take maybe as a good sign. But the OPK are still negative. I test 3 times a day so as not to miss the increase. BBT is high again today, as high as it usually was after ovulation. There is an up and down and there is no high or low position recognizable. It's crazy.

My cycle lengths are always different and I have certainly had cycles where ovulation was only on CD 20. It was rare and a few cycles ago, but it happened. But I worry that the BBT goes up and down alternately and I just don't understand it. I hope it's really up to the Femara that the temperature is insane.

The biggest concern of all, however, is that my doctor saw a follicle 13 millimeters in size on CD 11. This should now be big enough on CD 16 for ovulation and it drives me crazy that ovulation does not want to come. It makes me feel like this cycle is lost and I can't get pregnant. I keep watching, but I don't have much hope. I will report.

[atomic sagebrush]

Deep breath. Ovulation can and all but certainly WILL still happen. This cycle is not lost. Femara can change your cycle, it can affect your temps and make them different than you expect, and it can change your symptoms too. You can't look back at old cycles to tell you anything about what a cycle on Femara will be like. And even two consecutive cycles on Femara can be totally different. So this may be a weird one and your next one is totally like your normal ones.

Sometimes one of the follicles grows really fast and then just kinda sits there. Then another follicle grows and takes over. This is one of the ways your body guards against ovulating eggs that may not have the best chance of ending in a successful pregnancy.

By the way, as you probably know already stress is one of the biggest things that can delay ovulation. You seem so very tense about all this, testing and temping and watching every little thing and you are so convinced that everything happening is some sort of terrible sign, this in and of itself may be delaying ovulation.

I promise that this is ok. If the worst thing that happens is that you don't ovulate this month, it's no big deal at all. You'd have a bleed that would reset the cycle hormonally and then everything will be just fine. But that is NOT what is happening, you will most likely O in a few days' time, and being so wound up over it is only going to make ovulation come later. Everything is ok here, I promise.

[Lanini]

Thank you, you really manage to calm me down [emoji4]. Thanks for the information, then I will know better now. I am now a bit optimistic that ovulation will still come. My BBT is also lower again this morning, it's really an up and down. My OPK this morning was a little darker than the last few days, but still clearly negative, but it could indicate a slow increase. We will see. I could imagine that the OPK is almost positive tonight or that both lines are almost equally dark (I often find this difficult to identify correctly) and that tomorrow at noon the test line will be darker than the control line (if it goes as usual in my cycles ). Should we then DTD tonight (when both lines are almost equally dark) or tomorrow evening (at noon the test line is darker than the control line)? Perhaps I should mention that my BBT increases sometimes 2 days and sometimes 3 days after the darkest OPK.

I think I sound a little more panicked and stressed than I really am [emoji1]. Actually, I'm pretty relaxed about the Sway this cycle and not as much of a control freak as last cycle. I only notice that it is difficult for me to carry out the high exercise permanently and it would be really bad for me if a whole month remained unused because ovulation does not take place. My cycles are rather long anyway and if there were still a full cycle without ovulation, that would be too bad. In addition, I only have Femara for 2 cycles and if there was no ovulation in the first cycle, I would be sad too.

[atomic sagebrush]

The pink effects of the Femara can last a month or even two after you stop it.

If you only have two months of Femara, you may want to just start doing every 4 days in the 72 hour pattern now. (I'll suggest that again below.)

The patterns on the OPK are meaningless. You can have a gradual rise, or go straight to positive, or go back and forth from darker to lighter to darker and finally to positive. I just don't want you to expect any particular pattern on that.

I think you should have intercourse the night the lines are almost dark, and then again 72 hours later to cover your bases. If you have ovulated between the two, the first intercourse will cover it. If you haven't, the other shot will have a chance.

[Lanini]

OK thank you [emoji4].

Yesterday the OPK were still clearly negative, so we had no BD. This morning (CD 18) the test line is definitely darker, but not quite as dark as the control line. I guess it will get darker later in the day. My Clearblue Advanced Monitor said "Peak" this morning. We're going to have our BD tonight. To be sure if ovulation comes later, we would like to take your advice and do the e4d method. That means, if we do our BD tonight on CD 18 (Tuesday), the second BD would be on CD 21 (Friday), right? Please wish me luck and lots of pink dust [emoji166][emoji3526].

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, please go off the first OPK of any brand that goes positive. Don't wait for them to be in agreement! So today is the day!

Yes that's right, Tuesday, then Friday! You got it!

Good luck and pink dust headed your way!

[Lanini]

We had our BD last night.

The OPK yesterday morning was negative but the line was definitely darker than the days before. The OPK yesterday at noon was positive, both lines had the same intensity. The OPK last night was "Peak", the test line was a little bit darker than the control line. I'm not sure about the OPK this morning, I think the test line is a little bit lighter than the control line, but it's really very similar.

I hope ovulation is today. The BBT was low this morning. I hope for an increase tomorrow.

I wish so much that I become pg [emoji120].

[atomic sagebrush]

Those little variations in darkness on the OPK don't tell us if O has happened, I hope so. That was good timing with one attempt. FXFXFX!

[Lanini]

Hello dear users, hello Atomic!

Unfortunately it didn't work. Got my BFN. I think AF comes on Thursday or Friday. I am a little sad and disappointed. It all worked out so well. We had our attempt on positive OPK. We haven't done anything to reduce fertility. No represh or PH control, no FR, no CutOff.

I'm unsure how to start the next cycle. I'll show you a diagram of my last cycle. The blue line is the BBT. The orange line is the OPK. You see, OPK was positive on CD 18, my BBT was rising on CD 21, so I think my ovulation was on CD 19 or 20. I suspect CD 20, I had EWCM until the morning of CD 20. We did our BD on CD 18 with pos. OPK. No other attempt in the fertile window.

Do you think I should do the same thing in the next cycle? Or should I change tactics? Maybe switch to e4D? Do you think this increases the chance of pregnancy? I am a little unsure because there is a risk that we will, for example, DTD on CD 17 and CD 20. If my ovulation is on CD 20, that could mean that the shot of CD 17 is already gone and the shot of CD 20 is too late to catch the egg, as we can only do DTD in the evening (because of work and child). What do you think? Is it better to stick with one attempt at positive OPK or switch to e4d? Or is there another option? I don't know what to do. I want the greatest possible chance of getting pregnant without endangering the Pink Influence.

I want to take Femara again in the next cycle. I still have Femara for one cycle. Should I take it from CD 3-7 just like last cycle, or is it better to start later because my cycles are so long?

Then I have one last question. How much does Alcohol reduce Fertility? I drank 1-2 glasses daily each cycle from AF-O. Sometimes I even feel a little drunk for a short time if I haven't eaten that much before. Is that too much? Should I cut down on alcohol?

By the way, I have my weight under control now. It has remained unchanged for a few weeks at 49.5 to 50 kg. I am neither losing weight nor gaining weight. However, I have eaten quite a lot and unhealthily for the last 2 weekends and therefore have a guilty conscience and fear that I have ruined my pink sway. From Monday to Thursday I had everything under control. I stick to the limits, I was even a little lower. From Friday to Sunday I ate a lot and also a lot of fat. My app says that in the last few weeks I ate an average of 45 grams of protein, 62 grams of fat, the rest are carbs (the two cheat weekends are included in this average). I ate an average of 1,600 calories. Is that still OK or do I have to reduce the fat? And could it be that 2 cheat weekends in a row ruined the Sway?

Greetings from Germany! https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211026/64637d4db25700fdb0e7540f4556aeb2.jpg

[atomic sagebrush]

It's up to you if you do the same thing again next month or go to e4d. E4d does have better chances of conception because you're covered if you ovulate sooner or later than you expect. I would suggest, since you have just one more month of Femara, to absolutely do e4d this next cycle. You need to still take the Femara CD 3-7 and you should not assume how long your cycle will be. It may be different this upcoming month.

Having sex CD 17 and 20 is really not bad chances of conception. You would have the CD 17 to cover CD 18 and 19, even early CD 20, and the CD 20 would cover later on CD 20, 21, 22. You would only have a very few hours, if that even, where your coverage was less than ideal.

It is just as likely, if not far MORE likely, to try for one attempt at positive OPK and then ovulate 3+ days after, or to miss your surge at the beginning and attempt too late.

If you want to boost odds of conception more you can do e4d plus one more attempt at positive OPK, but I think that's more blue friendly.

Your diet is absolutely fine. If you're not gaining weight, you are doing the diet just fine (not eating too much). 62 g fat is still really basically 60 g and that is fine. I do not even consider any of that a cheat. Cheats mean you wildly exceed limits and usually comes with weight gain. You are fine to continue.

Cheats on the LE Diet are not only allowed but encouraged. I take occasional cheats into account in the diet. A day off diet now and then is ok.

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh and 1-2 drinks of alcohol does not appreciably affect fertility negatively. If you're concerned go to 1 drink but I think this just wasn't the right month.

[Lanini]

Sorry, I have another question [emoji1]. I'm now on CD 14. My OPK are positive today, my ovulation actually seems to come earlier in this cycle (I suspect because I increased the calories so as not to lose any more weight). Experience has shown that my BBT increases in 2 to 3 days, so that I suspect ovulation tomorrow or the day after tomorrow (CD 15 or 16). We did this cycle e4D. We had an attempt on CD 10 and CD 13 (yesterday). If I go according to plan, the next attempt would be on Saturday, CD 16. Now I'm wondering whether it might not be better to move the BD from Saturday (CD 16) to Friday (CD 15) in the late evening. It would increase my chance of conception, wouldn't it? But it would also increase my chances of having another boy, wouldn't it? I'm torn whether it's worth it. On the one hand, I want nothing more than a girl (that's what I've always dreamed of and it will definitely be our last child!). On the other hand, my desire for a second child is huge and I don't know how many cycles of exercise and diet I can still manage. I know that nobody can make the decision for me. But I would like to hear an opinion on this [emoji4].

Would it be a compromise if we had the next BD on Saturday morning instead of Saturday evening? Or do you think this would be too late? It's a tough decision. I want to get pregnant quickly, but I also want a girl [emoji2372]. How much does one attempt actually sway? Is it that big of a thing? I've been dieting and exercising 6-7 times week for more than 12 weeks now, drinking alcohol, using Fiber and taking Femara.

[atomic sagebrush]

But we do not know if you ovulate at that point or if your temp just takes a few days to go up. We just can't know that. We also cannot predict if this is a true positive or a false one.

If you want to stick to e4d then stick with it. Do not move the days around. It is NOT a compromise to move the days. For all you know, you are moving the day to a day that is going to make it LESS likely to conceive with. The e4d must be set in stone because when people start jockeying it all around trying to make it come out on a certain day, they are often outwitting themselves, ending up having attempts at a day they're less likely to conceive on. Trust me, I've seen gobs of people start changing the days around and not only is it super "control freaky" it's also not helpful to conception, since people end up missing days that they should have had an attempt in favor of a day that gains them nothing. Plus, it may be more blue friendly anyway, so in that case, why not just go to e4d plus one more attempt at positive OPK and ensure you're going to boost chances of conception???

If you're ready to boost chances of conception then please add another attempt either CD 14 or CD 15, but keep going with the e4d schedule as you have it. Yes, this might be more blue friendly, but at least you're for sure going to increase your chances of conceiving.

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic, thanks again for your last reply. Unfortunately I got another negative this cycle. I did not get pregnant. I'm sad. It was our third month of TTC and I'm not getting pregnant. I had a lot of hope this cycle because we did e4D. We didn't use lubes or anything like that. I got pregnant with my son in the first month trying. With him we only had one attempt in this cycle. I do not understand why I am not getting pregnant now.

AF arrived today. So now I'm starting the new cycle. My motivation is no longer that high. The many exercises are difficult for me. I'm getting sloppy with my diet, have had several cheat days in the past two weeks (but my weight stays the same, I'm not gaining weight). I'm going to pull myself together again, but I don't know how many cycles I can go through with the sway program.

Fortunately, I was able to get Femara again. So that I can now start the third cycle using Femara. I'll take it from CD 3 to 7 again. I will do everything like the last cycles, such as alcohol, diet, skip breakfast, exercises, fiber, Femara. I now also drink a cup of coffee a day. How often should my hubby ride a bicycle? Is it enough if he drives every now and then during the fertile week? Or before the attempt? My husband is now too cold to drive more often.

I think we will try this cycle e4D + one attempt at positive OPK. I need to increase the chances of getting pregnant. And that offers the highest chance, right? Do you have any other tips about what we can use or change?

I am showing a diagram of our last cycle.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211128/21fa43dc4c7295fc63d591710dcfee18.jpg

[atomic sagebrush]

Lanini, it takes fully fertile couples doing nothing to sway an average of 3-6 months to get pregnant. If you got pregnant the first month out in the past, that was good luck, not a guarantee that it would always be that way (even without swaying) and WITH swaying, you need to allow for a bit longer to conceive. Though we still have average 3 months to conception even with our pink sways, so it's not by much!

It is normal for people to relax a bit on diet and exercise over time. That STILL gives us good results since these are the people who have success! If you aren't even gaining weight, you are overthinking it anyway as you aren't really even cheating much if at all. You were probably being too strict before, and this is simply changing to a more manageable form of diet in the long term.

However much he's able to bike is fine. It's probably good that he's dialing it back on that, biking can really lower chances of conception so just in case it was harming your chances, less biking may help boost them.

:agree: e4d with one more attempt at positive OPK. I would suggest more attempts than you had, though, in case of late ovulation. At least one more after that would be advisable and many people do the e4d all month long.

Let's go ahead and drop fiber to be sure you can make enough hormones while on the letrozole.

You're not doing shallow release or J and D any more, are you?

Also, when you're laying flat, try to spend part of the time on your tummy. We have seemed to have good results with that.

[Lanini]

I actually know that it can take time to get pregnant. Still, it's hard to get a negative every month. The daily exercises are often difficult for me and therefore every month more swaying is a bit stressful for me. So I hope to get pregnant quickly.

From the amount of calories I stick to the diet. But I tend to cheat on the amount of fat (the percentage of fat is higher, but protein and carbs are less). And I sometimes cheat by eating breakfast or having a snack in between. Should I not use fiber even if a meal is very fat?

OK, then my husband can ride a bike if he wants. It's winter in Germany and then cycling isn't that much fun anymore [emoji23].

OK, we will do the e4D over the entire cycle and we will do an extra attempt at pos. OPK.

Wie did no jump and dump and no shallow release and no FR. We only did that in the first cycle. My husband does regular releases every two to three days.

After the attempt, I lay down on the tummy. Before I was pregnant with my son, my gyn told me that I had a uterus tilted backwards ("Retroflexio uteri") and that I should lie on my tummy. I've already done that in the last few cycles. Should I just lie on my tummy or also on my back?

[atomic sagebrush]

I get that it's hard, but you have to have reasonable expectations going in because otherwise you're going to have a tough time every month if you get BFN and getting overly focused on having success is that sort of "control freak" mindset we want to look out for. Try to be more chill about conceiving every month for the sake of your sway. The more emotionally charged you make this process, the more it can hurt your sway because then you start obsessing over everything, wondering if you should change this thing or that thing, the more swaying and TTC stays on your mind all the time.

How many grams of fat are we talking about here? As a general rule, it's probably best to cheat on carbs vs. fat, but many times people tell me they're "cheating" on fat when they're still in the limits of the day. If you give me specific numbers I may be able to put your mind at ease.

Occasionally having breakfast or a snack now and then is ok. That's all taken into account that sometimes people will need to do that. If your weight stayed the same, it fits into the "cheating now and then is not only allowed, but encouraged" rule.

If you have a huge blowout on diet, like 1000+ calories in a sitting then yes, you can still take a fiber with that sort of meal. But overall I want to be sure you are giving your body the raw materials it needs.

Spend part of the time on your tummy and part on your back.

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic!

We're pretty sick right now so I'm not answering until now. Can an illness at the beginning of the cycle affect the sway or the effects of letrozole?

My fat intake varies a lot. On normal days, I stay in the 30-50 grams range, but sometimes, especially on weekends, I have a large, fatty meal, so sometimes I eat 80-90 grams of fat on those days. On average during the week, despite these fatty meals, I am at 50-65 grams of fat a day, as I often have days when I eat less fat. So the daily amount of fat varies a lot. I don't have these fatty cheat meals every week, but I've had several times over the past 3 weeks. My average fat intake per week was still in the described range. Do you think that could ruin the Sway? I always used fiber before those very fatty meals, I think I should keep doing that, right?

Thank you for your answers. You are a great help to me!

[atomic sagebrush]

We believe that illness may sway somewhat pink. do be aware it can delay ovulation a bit depending on how ill you are and how it affects your body.

Normally I don't like people to use averages (because they often end up inadvertently starving themselves) In your case I think this is fine because you're never going below the minimum cutoff for fat and you're holding steady on weight.

I would still advise dropping fiber to be sure you can respond to the letrozole by making estrogen very quickly when it's needed.

[Lanini]

I got another BFN. I'm really sad. We did e4D + one Attempt at positive OPK. We had really good timing. I stayed on my stomach and back for a long time after BD. We didn't use lubes. No FR or something like that. My husband didn't ride a bike. It was now the fourth cycle where it didn't work and the third cycle with Femara. I'm starting to worry whether something is wrong with us in terms of health.

I only have one cycle left on Femara. I'm not sure if I can still get Femara afterwards. But I think after 4 months with Femara I should take a break anyway? Or can I safely take Femara longer?

This cycle my ovulation came very early. Positive OPK on CD 11, BBT was rising on CD 14. We had attempts on CD 7, 10, 11, 13, 16. Everything was perfect. But still BFN. Really worried I won't get pregnant at all. The daily exercises are very hard for me, I don't know how many cycles I can still do that strict sway. I want a girl so much, but I think maybe I should focus on getting pregnant. The age gap to my son is getting bigger and bigger (my son will soon be 4 years old). I'm torn between wanting a girl and the fear that I won't get pregnant and should try everything.

[atomic sagebrush]

Some months just aren't the month. Even fully fertile couples doing nothing to sway, and everything to optimize fertility, only have a 20% chance any given month. So when you "pull out all the stops" like you did here, you can't expect that then pregnancy is a given, because sometimes it's just not the right egg, not the right sperm, they don't find each other, or something goes wrong very early on and that small ball of cells stops dividing.

Sure, if you'd like a break on Femara I am fine with that. We still see the pink effects lingering in the off month so you can still try that month, and the next month resume the Femara. It's also possible to split the doses so instead of just one dose remaining, you could have two more months of medicine after the month off (and try all three months, plus the 4th month without the Femara)

You need to look at easing off of swaying differently than you are. There is a HUGE gulf of difference between exercising as much as you are and giving up everything just in order to get pregnant. I PROMISE you will come to regret doing that if you end up getting another boy, because of tons of people who have regretted it. So please, here and now, immediately, relax a little. Drop a day of exercise, eat some things you've been craving, give yourself permission to make small changes to make swaying easier rather than putting yourself through the wringer every month. it is ok to do that and is certainly far better for your sway than being completely control freakish sticking to too strict a sway, and then giving everything up all in one fell swoop.

[Lanini]

Thanks Atomic. I actually know that it can take a while to get pregnant. It is still a bit frustrating for me and I actually expected that I would be pregnant after 4 cycles at the latest.

I would like to take Femara in the next cycle. After that I took 4 cycles of Femara and would have to organize a new Femara first, where I'm not sure whether it will work. In Germany, as far as I know, it is customary to do a maximum of 3 or 4 cycles with Femara under medical supervision, so I suspected that it would make sense from a health point of view to take a break when my Femara is used up after 4 cycles. Isn't this break necessary? From your point of view, can I safely take Femara more cycles? If so, I would try to get more Femara.

Can you tell me a little more about splitting the doses? That means that it would also be possible to get by for two months with the remaining 5 tablets of Femara? That means I only take 3 tablets of Femara in the one cycle and only 2 tablets in the other cycle? What do you think makes more sense from your point of view: A "normal" cycle with Femara (CD 3-7) or two cycles with Femara with half the dose? From the point of view that I am not sure whether I can organize more Femara for future cycles?

Thanks for your encouragement to continue the sway. That helps me. Yesterday I was just very sad about the BFN that in my first reaction I thought "I'm throwing everything!". I will definitely have another strict sway for the next cycle. With daily exercise and a lot of alcohol. If it still doesn't work in the next cycle, I'll probably reduce the sway a bit. A little less exercise, a little less alcohol. I will probably not give it up completely, and at least I will continue to diet, because this is the part that is actually not difficult for me. Only now in the Christmas week will I pause diet and enjoy life and meals with my family without counting calories.

Can the exercises actually prevent implantation? For example, I jump on the trampoline. Every cycle after ovulation, I ask myself whether I can continue to do this or whether it prevents implantation? What about sport in general, where the pulse can get very high? Is this a problem? Or should I only do light exercises like going for a walk in the 2WW? I prefer to do different exercises, one day on the trampoline, one day walking, one day jogging, one day cycling (OK, not so much in winter now). But I mostly jump on the trampoline. I wonder if that's OK in the 2WW or should I just do the easy exercises there?

Walking is generally okay as exercise, isn't it? I think I'll be walking more and doing hard exercises like trampoline less often because it's easier for me and I don't struggle with daily exercises as much.

[atomic sagebrush]

Up until a few years ago it was the norm to prescribe Clomid/Femara for 6 months before requiring a break. Then all at once they reduced that to 3-4 months, then a break. I am fine with you guys doing it either way. I think that taking a break after 4 months is great, and at the same time I've seen enough people conceive after 6 months even on the harsher Clomid that I'm ok with that, too. Your call to make, entirely up to you.

To split the dose you would need to halve the medicine and still take it 5 days. Taking the full dose 2 or 3 days would not work as well as taking a half dose 5 days. Because the way the medicine works is by suppressing estrogen, forcing your body to basically have to "rev its engines" in order to produce the estrogen it "thinks" it needs. Then after five days, you stop the medicine while your body is still "revving" and then you make a large surge of estrogen quickly. Only "revving" for 2 or 3 days would not be as effective as somewhat suppressing the estrogen for 5 full days, even at a lower dose of medication.

I generally recommend the half-dose approach instead of fewer months at a higher dose. For starters, the full dose may be too much (especially aftr having been on the medication a few months now) and could be suppressing conception a bit, and secondy, even not at full dose it still has an effect for encouraging ovulation and also swaying pink. But it's up to you, either way can still work.

Keep in mind, about your mood and feeling like chucking it all in, that it is VERY common to be hormonally low at that point of the cycle. It happens all. the. time. that I have someone who is ready to quit at this stage of the cycle and then in a day or two they feel upbeat and normal again. It has to do with hormones and so just keep that in mind, that when making a decision about things like that, you may want to sleep on it a day or two to see if you're feeling more positive once your period arrives, or once it's over with.

If exercise prevented implantation the entire human race would have died out a long time ago. While I'm fine with you choosing to do lighter exercise in the 2WW that is not what is keeping you from conception. People get pregnant while doing heavy, intense exercise for MANY hours a day. I got my 3rd son while I was working at a dog kennel, climbing ladders, throwing around bales of hay and huge sacks of dog food, jumping off and on things, lifting 80 lbs dogs into bathtubs and things and I did it for 4-6 hours a day. The human body is just very good at getting pregnant and we just need to get the sperm to meet the egg and it knows how to do everything else.

Walking is GREAT though. I actually prefer you guys do walking because so many people get injured when doing more intense exercise. I also think that were you to do something that felt a bit more "doable" it might help you stick to it longer.

Enjoy your upcoming Christmas cheat season!! I just had coffee and Merci chocolates for lunch LOL and I regret nothing. :)

[Lanini]

Good morning Atomic!

I hope you had a great Christmas. I had a nice Christmas without a diet, I ate a lot and unhealthily the whole last week and now I feel a little guilty that it ruined my Sway. But I just needed it for my mental health. However, I did my daily exercises. I feel better mentally and I am motivated again to continue. Your kind words of encouragement also helped.

OK, I've decided to do the next cycle with half a dose of Femara. That means, I take Femara from CD 3 to 7 as usual, half a tablet a day.

Thank you for your words about exercises and implantation. When I got pregnant with my son, we were building our house, I worked there, was on the move a lot, carried a lot of things, and I still got pregnant. Still, I've been worrying a little now because I am not pregnant even after four cycles. But you are probably right, so I will continue to do exercises as usual in the 2WW. It's great that walking is okay. That really makes things easier for me.

I am waiting for AF now and after arriving I start the next cycle fully motivated. My period is late, it should have come the day before yesterday. I'm 17 DPO today (determined with OPK and BBT) but the tests are absolutely negative so I don't think I'm pregnant. I expect to get AF today as I'm starting to cramp.

----

Update: AF has arrived. CD 1 starts, lets go.

[atomic sagebrush]

Ok. It is VERY unlikely that you are 17 days past ovulation. You all but certainly ovulated later than you think, no matter what the OPK and BBT seemed to be saying. So if you're timing your attempts at the wrong time, it is not surprising you'd not conceive since (at least this month) you likely ovulated at least 3 days later and possibly more days later than you thought you did.

I went back and looked at what you wrote and I have some more thoughts on that. Please continue the e4d longer than you have in the past!

[atomic sagebrush]

I got another BFN. I'm really sad. We did e4D + one Attempt at positive OPK. We had really good timing. I stayed on my stomach and back for a long time after BD. We didn't use lubes. No FR or something like that. My husband didn't ride a bike. It was now the fourth cycle where it didn't work and the third cycle with Femara. I'm starting to worry whether something is wrong with us in terms of health.

I only have one cycle left on Femara. I'm not sure if I can still get Femara afterwards. But I think after 4 months with Femara I should take a break anyway? Or can I safely take Femara longer?

This cycle my ovulation came very early. Positive OPK on CD 11, BBT was rising on CD 14. We had attempts on CD 7, 10, 11, 13, 16. Everything was perfect. But still BFN. Really worried I won't get pregnant at all. The daily exercises are very hard for me, I don't know how many cycles I can still do that strict sway. I want a girl so much, but I think maybe I should focus on getting pregnant. The age gap to my son is getting bigger and bigger (my son will soon be 4 years old). I'm torn between wanting a girl and the fear that I won't get pregnant and should try everything.

Lanini, you MUST continue the attempts longer. Your ovulation came later than you realized it did and by stopping the attempts you may have undermined your ability to conceive.

[Lanini]

Thanks for your suggestions. We'll definitely try to do the e4D longer. My husband works in shifts, so it is often difficult to have an attempt because he often comes home late at night. But we'll get it done.

Can you briefly confirm again that I am now taking half a dose of Femara daily from CD 3 to 7? So, do I break the tablets in two and take half a tablet every day? I don't want to get wrong, the language barrier is not that easy for me.

Then we will do e4D + one Attempt at positive OPK again. We'll probably start at CD 7-8 and then continue longer than the last cycle.

Unfortunately I gained a kilogram over the Christmas period. I hope this doesn't ruin my sway [emoji45].

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, you can either take the month off and then split the pills the following two months (I had thought this was what you planned to do) OR split the pills this month.

You would take the half-dose for five days, CD 3-7 whichever month you plan on trying.

We have not found that small amounts of weight gain affect sways negatively. I would just regroup from here on in.

[Lanini]

It probably didn't work again. BFN at 10 DPO. I'll test again tomorrow but don't think I'll get a BFP. I am very disappointed and sad. It's so hard getting a BFN every month.

I took half the dose of Femara this cycle. Next cycle I will be taking a break from Femara. We did e4D + one Attempt at positive OPK. OPK was positive at CD 11. BBT was rising on CD 12 (quite early I think?). We had our first Attempt at CD 6, then CD 9, then CD 11 at positive OPK, CD 12, CD 15, CD 17 (I know this was one day too early), CD 20.

Is there anything else I can do? Should I drink less alcohol? Take any supplements? Now Sway cycle number 6 begins. I put myself under pressure. The age gap to my son is getting bigger and bigger. I'm discouraged. I'm getting worse with the BFN every month.

I have a suspicion that my uterine lining may be too thin. I haven't really spoken to my doctor about it, but I know that she once told me at a checkup that my uterine lining was very thin. This also fits in with the fact that my periods are always very light. Is there anything that might help build up the uterine lining? Pomegranate juice is always recommended in German fertility groups. Shall I try? Does it hurt the sway because of the vitamins? Or is there something else I can do?

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, BBT is not always accurate. One day of a higher than expected temp can skew the results. We will know more when your period shows up.

You cannot tell the quality of uterine lining based on having light periods. I always have light periods, in fact the month I conceived my daugher I had one of the lightest periods I've ever had, but still conceived. The lining tells you about what happened LAST month, not the next month. And JUST ONE time of your doctor telling you you had a thin lining is meaningless. Firstly because we do not know where you were in the cycle when they looked at the lining, and secondly because your lining can and does change wildly over time.

If you are concerned, you can always go in and have it checked but since you've been on the medication it may not be an accurate reading of what it normally is.

If you did end up ovulating CD 12, you had simply bad luck this month bcause the CD 9 attempt might have been too early, CD 12 may have possibly been too late, and you were in with only the CD 11 attempt. So my hope would be next month you will have better luck.

Tell me everything you're doing, no matter how minor it feels, and I will see what to tweak. Please do not start any supplements, including pom juice (which yes, likely sways blue - and of course it does not really work anyway!) till we go over everything.

[Lanini]

I'm sorry I didn't reply to your last message. The whole Sway thing is getting really hard for me and I just needed a break from all the info.

My desire for a second child is so huge, but the desire for a girl is also huge. I'm not knowing how to continue. I got another BFN today on 11DPO, this was now our cycle number 6. I have the feeling that I have to decide between wanting a second child (regardless of gender) and wanting a girl. The whole sway thing doesn't seem to be working for me unfortunately, I just can't get pregnant and I'm afraid I'll have to focus on getting pregnant instead of girl sway. Because I can't take the BFN every month anymore.

I had this cycle analyzed by my gyno. Blood draw on CD 3, ultrasound on CD 11 and CD 17 and blood draw on CD 27. I don't have the results of the blood draws yet. Ultrasound looked like this: follicle on CD 11 was 16 mm (my uterine lining was at 1 cm at this time). Follicle at CD 17 was 19 mm. So it grew very slowly, ovulation was also rather late. Positive OPK on CD 18 and 19, BBT was rising on CD 21. I didn't use Femara. Sway was like previous cycles: coffee, alcohol, one hour daily exercise, diet, no breakfast, e4D+1. Attempts (I only write the relevant attempts) on CD 15, CD 18, CD 19, CD 21, CD 24.

I don't have the blood results yet, I'll get them in the next few days. However, I know that my vitamin D and iron levels, for example, are still in the normal range but are low and that my doctor says I should supplement them. But I'm afraid that it will sway blue?

My doctor now wants to prescribe Clomid for me (perfect for the sway, haha). But regardless of the Sway, I don't think this will lead to success. After all, I ovulate every cycle (but sometimes very late) and four cycles with Femara didn't bring any success.

Atomic, what should I do? Should I stop exercising, dieting, coffee, alcohol or something? I really want a girl, but I also really want to get pregnant. The BFNs are so hard for me. I'm torn between wanting a second child (gender doesn't matter) and wanting a girl. I don't know how to continue anymore. I really don't know. The desire for a girl has been with me all my life and has always been very big, but right now I'm really at a point where I'm considering stopping the Sway. I would like to go to the fertility clinic, but I'm afraid that I'll no longer have any influence on the gender. I never thought I would get to this point.

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, rereading your thread it looks to me like at least one of those cycles you had no chance of conception because you ovulated later than you think. Again , I urge you to continue having intercourse longer than just one time after you think you've ovulated regardless of what your temps appear to be saying.

If you did happen to ovulate later than you think, it may be that it's too soon to see a positive yet.

Just to be on the safe side, but I do not think this is why you haven't conceived yet - what is your BMI right now?

By far and away the most likely reason people do not conceive has nothing to do with coffee, alcohol, or even exercise and diet. The most likely reason for not conceiving is that you're doing things (or even just one thing) that is preventing sperm from finding the egg. So please go over for me anything physical that you are doing - jump and dump, shallow release, lubricant jellies, having your husband do frequent release or wear tight underwear or take hot baths - that could be cutting sperm count or making it harder for sperm to survive in your reproductive tract.

If you're not doing any of those things (and even if you are!! I think it's time to add attempts!) then we need to simply have you continue with e4d plus one attempt at first positive OPK while continuing with the e4d method both before and after. I also strongly suggest continuing your e4d longer because if your ovulation is happening later than you think it is, you're missing the egg entirely by stopping too soon. I believe this happened in a previous month so it is definitely possible.

If your Vitamin D and iron are still in normal range I would not take any supplements. You should try instead to eat more iron-rich foods and get some sunlight every day, 10 minutes, on your bare skin, in addition to drinking/eating dairy with added Vit. D.

[atomic sagebrush]

Also, has your husband ever had a sperm analysis?? Sometimes when people have inexplicably not conceived, it turned out to be male factor infertility so we may want to rule that out. This can happen even if you've had kids already.

[Lanini]

Thank you for your reply.

We will definitely do the e4D for longer next cycle. It can't do any harm ;-). But I thought I was really safe this cycle, since our last attempt was on CD 24, I had EWCM on CD 21 last, BBT was rising on CD 21, OPK was positive on CD 18 and 19. The next attempt would then be on CD 27, do you think that would still have been relevant?

My weight fluctuates between 49 kg and 51 kg. That is a BMI between 19.6 and 20.4. I've been keeping the weight within this range for several cycles now. I stick to the limits. I eat about 1600-1700 calories a day. But I also burn a lot through the exercises.

I don't do anything physical, what is cutting sperm count or making it harder for sperm to survive. No jump and dump, no shallow release, no lubricant jellies, no frequent release and no hot baths. We only did it in the first cycle, the last 5 cycles we didn't do any more of it. After the attempt, I lie down for a while, on my stomach and on my back, as you recommended.

My husband doesn't even ride his bike at the moment (because of the winter weather), but he will start again soon because it's his hobby and he loves it.

OK, I'm not going to supplement iron and vitamin D. That's the problem for me right now: I'm torn between taking steps to increase fertility to even get pregnant, which sways blue, and wanting a girl. It's a difficult dilemma.

My husband never had a sperm analysis. But that's what we wanted to do anyway. We will now make an appointment. I'm a bit scared of the result because if it's bad we'll probably need insemination (ICSI or something) and gender selection isn't allowed in Germany and going to another country isn't an option for financial reasons. I should also mention that my husband already has a child from a previous relationship (a girl, of course). However, that was 16 years ago, he was still very young at that time and it wasn't planned, but it happened right away. It was also the first attempt where I was getting pregnant with my son. That was 4.5 years ago. But of course I know that fertility can also decrease over time.

I've been sick with Covid since yesterday and can't do any exercises for the next few days, maybe 1-2 weeks. Do you think this might ruin my sway for the upcoming cycle?

I will let you know if I have any new information from my blood test or my husband's sperm test.

Thank you so much!

[atomic sagebrush]

It doesn't matter if it would have been relevant last month. It absolutely COULD be relevant in future months. This may just not have been the month. The month I think you missed ovulation was the month where you thought had a 17 day LP (which is very unlikely). I just don't want that to happen in the future and so you need to be sure to continue ovulation even WITH a temp rise because we are seeing temp rises be less of a guarantee than some people hope that it is.

:agree: ok great keep at that level of weight and be sure you're getting at least 40 g fat a day (and more like 50-60 is probably better)

It's ok to take steps to boost fertility (and going to e4d plus one more attempt at positive OPK IS doing that.) But it's important that you don't "take steps to boost fertility" that you do not even need, such as taking supplements when your levels are in normal range!!! Even people in below normal range do not see low iron and Vit. D levels hurting their fertility until they're quite low. It doesn't make any sense that this is the reason you haven't conceived yet, and so I hate to see you treat a problem that is not THE problem.

Yes the next step regardless (even if he had had 10 kids already!) is the sperm analysis. We just need to be sure he's got enough swimmers to get the job done. Don't worry, there are many things we can do naturally without IUI and certainly without doing ICSI!

No, you won't have your sway ruined by a little time off exercise. Just pick it up again when you're able to. Sorry to hear you're sick, and I hope you feel better soon!

[atomic sagebrush]

So Lanini, I went back and reread your old posts and I just wanted to remind you that at the start, you were taking vitex, saw palmetto, and myoinosotol that you did not need to take. This led to your LP being short in September. You were also taking antihistamine at that point which can cut odds of conception, and baby aspirin, which may harm chances of implantation for some people. So I'm not sure you can count that as a true attempt because your odds of conceptiont hat month were probably pretty low.

[atomic sagebrush]

I got another BFN. I'm really sad. We did e4D + one Attempt at positive OPK. We had really good timing. I stayed on my stomach and back for a long time after BD. We didn't use lubes. No FR or something like that. My husband didn't ride a bike. It was now the fourth cycle where it didn't work and the third cycle with Femara. I'm starting to worry whether something is wrong with us in terms of health.

I only have one cycle left on Femara. I'm not sure if I can still get Femara afterwards. But I think after 4 months with Femara I should take a break anyway? Or can I safely take Femara longer?

This cycle my ovulation came very early. Positive OPK on CD 11, BBT was rising on CD 14. We had attempts on CD 7, 10, 11, 13, 16. Everything was perfect. But still BFN. Really worried I won't get pregnant at all. The daily exercises are very hard for me, I don't know how many cycles I can still do that strict sway. I want a girl so much, but I think maybe I should focus on getting pregnant. The age gap to my son is getting bigger and bigger (my son will soon be 4 years old). I'm torn between wanting a girl and the fear that I won't get pregnant and should try everything.

In this cycle, because you had such a long LP (17 or more days, but that is all but certainly not the case) you ovulated later than you thought and missed ovulation. Again, this month really doesn't "count" against you. I know it feels like it does, but you did not have a chance of conceiving if you didn't have sex when you ovulated.

[atomic sagebrush]

My point in mentioning those things is that sometimes when we look back and see "ok, there were two months in there where I really did have quite low chances of conceiving" it doesn't feel as scary as looking back and thinking you've tried so many months without success. At least two of those months was very low chances. We should absolutely proceed with the sperm analysis but that's just something you can keep in mind.

[Lanini]

Good morning dear Atomic!

Thank you so so much for all your replies. It helps me incredibly much! You are really a great help with your tips and mental support. I am so thankful to you.

AF arrived tonight. Hello cycle number 7. Even though I know I haven't had a good chance of conceiving in some cycles, it's been a long time hoping to conceive and especially a long time doing the sway with exercise and diet and alcohol and so on. That's really tiring. But I will continue. The desire to get pregnant with a girl is so huge. I don't really think that exercise or alcohol or anything like that is the reason why I haven't been pregnant yet. So I'll keep doing these things while I still have some strength left. But I find that it's getting harder for me to stick to all of these things with each cycle. I long to finally be able to live "free" again, to eat as much as I like and without being forced to exercise every day. I hope so much to be pregnant soon and to experience this again!

My husband has an appointment to see the doctor in two weeks. After that, the doctor will hopefully carry out a sperm analysis. I'm a little excited and afraid of the result. I would prefer if I was the cause and not my husband.

[atomic sagebrush]

Ok!! I hope you guys get good news and it's nothing of concern.

Let me know how I can help - I understand how frustrating it feels even when there may be some reason for it.

[Lanini]

Cycle number 7 is now over and of course I didn't get pregnant again. I took half the dose of Femara, my BBT curve was perfect, my doctor saw a beautiful follicle, my uterine lining was perfect, I had a luteal phase of 14 days, but unfortunately I didn't get pregnant.

OPK were positive from the evening of CD 12 to the morning of CD 13. In the ultrasound on CD 14, my doctor saw that I had already ovulated. BBT was rising on CD 15. We had attempts on CD 8, 11, 13, 14, 17.

I now have the values ​​of my hormone analysis. I will upload the analysis as an image. I don't know if it's understandable for non-German speaking people, if you want to know anything feel free to ask me. My doctor didn't say much about it. All she said was that the hormone levels were in the normal range. Not perfect, but okay enough that I can get pregnant with it without any problems. She said we should just keep trying.

My husband has his sperm analysis today. I'm a little afraid of the result. I'll get in touch when we know more.

Now cycle 8 starts. I continue the Sway as usual. Coffee, alcohol, exercise, no breakfast, diet (not so strict for the last 2-3 weeks, I've had a few cheat days, the discipline is slowly fading, but I haven't gained any weight). I will not be using Femara this cycle (I used it in cycle 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 but not in cycle 1, 6 and now cycle 8). I probably won't do any OPK or measure BBT either. I need some rest and distance. Since we are waiting for the sperm analysis anyway and a pregnancy this cycle would be a Christmas baby, we are taking it easy this time. We're going to do e4D without any BBT and OPK and stuff like that. I don't think I'll just get pregnant like that anymore.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220328/64089dc27df5edcfde654787223645ce.jpg

[atomic sagebrush]

Your testosterone and Vit. D are a bit low (which is probably from swaying) but other than that it really does look otherwise great. Your iron is low normal.

I would just do exactly what you're suggesting, stay the course, drop the OPK and BBT, don't worry about the cheats. We can go to e4d plus one more attempt at first pos when you want to, but if I were you I'd probably just keep doing e4d for at least another month or two.

Keep me posted on the sperm analysis!

[treens]

Big hugs to you and wishing you a BFP soon!

[Lanini]

I have not been in touch for a long time. Unfortunately, there is no good news. I am still not pregnant. I am now in cycle #10, I can hardly believe it myself. Never would have thought this would happen. I'm not handling this very well at the moment. There is a bit of panic rising about whether I can even get pregnant again - regardless of gender.

My motivation for the Sway is very low. I've given up a lot of things. I am no longer dieting strictly and I have gained 2.5 kg. I am currently trying to lose this weight, but not so much because of the Sway, but because we are going on vacation soon and I need to show myself to the world in a bikini [emoji1]. I am only doing exercises irregularly. Maybe 3-5 days a week. Motivation is gone. I can't and don't want to anymore. It was a burden for me to force myself to exercise every day. I drink coffee and alcohol daily, I skip breakfast, but that's all I do anymore. I don't have the power to do the Sway anymore. It has limited me so much in the past year and has often been a burden for me. It was OK for me because I was doing it for my girl. But now I look at it realistically that I'm sure I won't get pregnant anytime soon and I also have to think about my mental health, so I've kept the Sway to a minimum. We have a great summer ahead of us, we have two big vacations planned and I want to enjoy them completely without limiting food, counting calories and forcing myself to exercise. Not getting pregnant is hard enough, so at least I want to enjoy life.

The decision to give up the Sway has not been easy for me. I still want a girl so badly! And if I knew I would get pregnant in 3-4 cycles at the latest, I would definitely keep going through with it! But I don't know and the chance of getting pregnant is getting smaller and smaller. So I'm giving up on it. It's hard to admit it to myself, but I didn't have the strength anymore for the strict sway I did for so many months.

I escalated a bit when eating in the last few weeks because I was so tired of everything, and I immediately gained 2.5 kg, but there I have now put the brakes back on. I want to lose the 2.5 kg again (mainly because of the thing with the bikini [emoji6]), and after that I try to keep the weight and stay in the limits as often as possible, but I won't strictly count calories and fat anymore.

But now to the little news: My husband had a sperm analysis. Everything is in order. The values were very good. So we recently went to the fertility clinic. There they did another sperm analysis, the result is still pending. They also checked my hormones again and also those of my husband, the result is also still pending. But I assume that everything will be okay again. Since I measure my BBT, I know that I ovulate every cycle. I don't think it's because of the hormones that I can't get pregnant. But it doesn't seem to be my husband's fault either, his sperm are in great shape.

I will have a laparoscopy and uteroscopy, this is what the fertility clinic recommended as well. I was born with omphalocele, and had many abdominal surgeries as a baby, so it may well be that my reproductive organs have a problem. However, I already have a child and have been pregnant?! We will see. Also, in my first pregnancy I had placenta accreta, had a curettage after birth with high blood loss. Unfortunately, it is quite possible that this will result in adhesions in the uterus that prevent pregnancy. This scares me quite a bit, the diagnosis would be hard because I may then never be able to get pregnant again. So it's uncertain if and how it will go on... That really scares me. I'm so scared of never having another child. I want a sibling so badly for my son [emoji20]. And I want a girl so so so so bad! But this whole thing tells me that I want a child first, whether it's a boy or a girl - and I'd love to have a second boy before I don't have a second child at all.

Unfortunately, everything takes quite a long time with the appointments, and because of our vacations we are also somewhat tied up in time, plus the laparoscopy may only be done in the first half of the cycle. Unfortunately, I don't expect my surgery to take place before September. I have a first appointment to talk to the doctor at the end of June, then I will know more. It makes me sad that it is all taking so long now.... I certainly don't expect to get pregnant in the next few cycles, I definitely suspect that there really is an organic cause and that I can't get pregnant at the moment. The long time of waiting until I have the result and hopefully my problems can be fixed in surgery is bad for me.

We will of course continue to try to get pregnant, but honestly, I can't see that happening anymore. I'm also tired of doing OPKs. I only measure BBT to confirm ovulation. We try to do BDs on an e4D schedule, but we don't stick to it super strictly anymore. Sometimes we do it every other day or so [emoji6].

[treens]

Thank you for sharing. I am so sorry you are going though this. I really hope you get a BFP soon. Big hug to you!!!

[atomic sagebrush]

Can you please bump this for me?? I set it aside wanting to have enough time to give you a good reply, but it's gotten late here.

[onelittlewish]

Hey Lanini, big hugs to you! I feel we are in the exact same boat. I’ve given up diet pretty much and alcohol and skipping breakfast, just coffee and a few exercises a week. Every month I am so disappointed yet relieved at the same time because I felt I’d def get a boy with my level of commitment lol. But it is how it is and like you said we don’t know how much longer this will drag on and something is def better than nothing. But alot of people conceive on holidays when they are distracted and relaxed, so you never know! Best of luck and keep us updated!

[atomic sagebrush]

Lanini, I'm so sorry to hear you haven't conceived yet.

The next step is definitely to take a closer look just to rule out anything that may be physically preventing pregnancy. You can absolutely have had a child and then an issue arises after that (particularly with the placenta accretia in the mix) and it would be good to rule that out.

Did you ever try the e4d plus one attempt?? (edited to add, after I posted this I see you did try the e4d plus one, but I do urge you to continue e4d longer than you think you need to)

Did you ever try the Sperm Meets Egg Plan? While having sex more often is perfectly ok and giving up the pattern if you want to, the reason to be slightly more regimented in your approach is to ensure you're having ENOUGH sex. Just having sex "whenever" even if it's every other day is honestly not a good way to conceive. People who go for every other day often end up having attempts like O-1 and O-3 (and O-3 is for many people a useless attempt) or O-4 and O-2 (O-4 is not a viable attempt the vast majority of the time) and that is one attempt!! So the absolutely first thing I'd recommend is trying either e4d plus one more attempt at positive OPK OR if you feel you've given that a good try, SMEP if you'd like. This will be by far and away a better chance of conception for you than continuing on with e4d alone (I would not have recommended that, would have suggested adding attempts before you've gotten as frustrated as you are!!!), doing every other day, or just having random attempts when you're in the mood.

Sperm meets egg plan is here: https://thespermmeetseggplan.com/the-sperm-meets-egg-plan/

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. I have many tricks to help conception, to make diet and exercise easier, and just in general can give you more support.

[Lanini]

Thank you for your kind words @treens and @onelittlewish.

I am trying to accept the situation and most of the time I am quite ok with not being pregnant yet. But sometimes I have sad moments and I get more and more scared that I won't get pregnant at all. I don't have the strength and motivation to do the strict Sway. I do as much as I can and what I can integrate into my everyday life. More is not possible at the moment. Some exercise, some diet, coffee and alcohol. My problem at the moment is simply that I think "I won't get pregnant anyway" and therefore have no motivation anymore. Maybe I'll manage better once my laparoscopy is done and our vacations are over.

@onlittlewish: I've been following your thread in between and have often thought that we really are in the same boat. Why is this all just so hard? All we want is a daughter, why is it made so hard for us?

@atomic: Thanks for your reply too and for offering to ask for your advice more often. I message so less often because all the thoughts about the Sway and the whole baby thing don't do me so much good and often hurt me and then I just don't want to think about it and actively deal with it.

We only did the first cycle one attempt, and the following two cycles e4D. After that we have already done 5 cycles of e4D + 1 attempt at positive OPK and additionally 1 cycle with three attempts in a row after positive OKP, which is then similar to SMEP.

This cycle we will then do the SMEP plan completely. Today I am on cycle day 10, but unfortunately I still don't have hope that I will conceive. It is worth a try. Even though I know that because I have gained weight, it will certainly sway blue. If I really get pregnant, I'm sure I'll be annoyed that I dared. But my hope is so low that I take the risk.

[onelittlewish]

I hope you get your BFP this cycle and I can follow your steps! I also tried to avoid forums for a while thinking that it will make me less stressed but I still needed someone to talk to and when the people in my real life couldn't understand my frustration I was left more distressed. So here I am again not looking for ways to perfect my sway or to see what works and what not but just knowing that there's a group of people here doing the same things and going through the same journey gives me peace of mind. Good luck and if you need some chat we are always here :wink:

[Lanini]

Dear onelittlewish, I want to thank you for your kind message. I'm having a really hard time dealing with the Sway right now and I feel like it's not doing my mental health any good. But I have thought of you several times and also wish you with all my heart that you will get your BFP soon.

I have the meeting with the doctor from the fertility clinic this afternoon and I will find out the results of the second sperm analysis and blood work. I'm a little excited, but don't think we'll get any bad news since everything was good at the first test. I actually rather suspect that it is due to adhesions in my abdomen or my uterus. But I guess it will be several months before I get a result there.

My ovulation is over, I am 6 DPO today. We did the SMEP plan, knowing full well that this will certainly sway very blue in conjunction with my weight gain. But since I have no hope of getting pregnant anyway, I took the risk. So I am just waiting for AF. We fly out on Sunday for the first of our vacations and I'm really looking forward to that, hoping to clear my head well and not think so much about the Sway and all that stuff.

[onelittlewish]

Keep us updated! I am 1-2dpo and I don't think we did well this cycle. Given hubby's sperm condition and him not fully onboard with the life style changes & timing I don't think we have a good chance this cycle...but I am pretty chilled so all good because I know it will take a while and we need to take baby steps at a time. Enjoy your holiday to the max, you deserve it!

[atomic sagebrush]

If the strict sway is too much it is fine to just relax in all the areas it's bothering you the most. People assume that if they can't do everything, they may as well do nothing, and that just isn't the case. It is fine to relax in many areas and just keep with what feels right to you.

What did you find out at the doctor's office yesterday??

[Lanini]

Well, our first vacation is over. It was a great time without much thought of the Sway. That was good.

During the conversation with the doctor it came out that everything is fine. My hormone levels are all good. The sperm analysis was also OK. The doctor said the levels were in the normal range. Although the doctor said that the values were not first-class but the sperm should definitely be good enough to conceive. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact values, but I trust the doctor's statement. It is also the same statement as the first analysis from another doctor.

Today I had an appointment with another doctor for the laparoscopy and hysteroscopy consultation. I have an appointment for the surgery at the end of July. So I have to keep waiting. All this waiting is so hard.

Of course I didn't get pregnant in the 10th cycle either. Even if I don't have much hope anymore, I'm still a little sad and the fear that I'll never get pregnant again is growing. I'm not doing any Sway at the moment. No exercises, little diet, less coffee and alcohol. I really can't do it at the moment. Especially now, after the vacation, I can no longer find the beginning. I hope to start again in a few days. And then I hope that after the surgery my chances of getting pregnant will be good and that by then I will be so far back in the Sway that my chances of having a girl will be good again.

We are now in the 11th cycle. We will try e4D + 1 again. We did SMEP last cycle and it was a bit exhausting for us. Since I still didn't get pregnant, we will do e4D+1 again. This will be easier for us. Besides, I no longer expect to get pregnant just like that anyway.

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh good, I'm glad you had a nice holiday.

That's wonderful news that nothing is off with the sperm or hormones. I don't need the exact values, I agree that crosses the concern with sperm health off our worry list. Keep me posted about the

So have you guys been doing anything that you can think of, something that seems minor like a jump and dump or shallow release? Do you use any cleansers or wipes? And are you using any lubricants? (sorry if I have already asked this, but sometimes people forget to mention things like that so I just want to be on the safe side) Shallow release in particular, is something that people keep doing for a very long time but has been a massive cause of not conceiving.

if you want, we may want to consider adding in guaifenesin to improve cervical mucus. This is somewhat boy friendly, but it might help conception and people can still get girls while using it.

[Lanini]

I'm 11DPO today and took a test today for the first time in many cycles. Negative. That was cycle number 11. Now I can be sure that my laparoscopy will definitely take place in 2 weeks. I would have wished so much for a miracle that would spare me the surgery. At least my motivation is back and I've completely started to Sway again with diet, exercise, alcohol and coffee. Maybe I'll take Femara again after my laparoscopy, depending on the result.

I'm quite scared of the result of the operation. No matter what result awaits me, it will be tough for me. Even if everything is fine, I'm not happy because I still haven't gotten pregnant for a full year and there must be a reason. But I'm even more afraid of the option that something will be found. How will things go for me then? My biggest fear is that it is Asherman Syndrome and it will take a long time to treat with multiple surgeries with no guarantee of success. Unfortunately, it's possible that it's Asherman syndrome because of my postpartum curretage, because of my placenta accreta. Please keep your fingers crossed for me on July 29th.

I don't think we did anything to prevent conception. Actually, we didn't do much different than when I conceived my son. I don't jump and dump, I even lie down for a long time, sometimes on my back and sometimes on my stomach. We're not doing a shallow realease, I think. My husband sometimes tends to flinch a little bit when he's ready. Don't know how else to describe it. It's not really a shallow release, though, the penetration isn't 'shallow', and he doesn't do it every time. I don't use any cleaners or wipes. Most cycles we didn't use lubes. For the last couple of cycles I've been using a lube that's supposed to help conceiving (which probably sways blue). It is a German product and is specifically designed to help conceive. We do not use lubricants which sway pink and make conception difficult. I should also mention that I have a lot of EWCM on my fertile days and don't think lubes are a thing for me.

I will get a product with guaifenesin. I think it's worth a try. Do I take it the full cycle or only on the fertile days? Or only on days with attempts?

[atomic sagebrush]

I get constant questions about Asherman's Syndrome and no one has ever had it (except one woman who knew about it in advance and had a lot of fertility challenges to start with). It is possible given your history, but until you know for sure I'd try not to worry about it. If it was Asherman's, that would be good news anyway as it's treatable. I'll cross my fingers they don't find anything (or at least it's treatable!)

Ok good, it sounds like you are already doing everything I would suggest. I wouldn't worry about the "flinching" as that has nothing to do with it. (You would not believe the number of people in your situation, and I find out they're doing shallow release as a sway tactic all that time!) Yes please try adding in the guaifenesin! I'd have you take it starting after your period ends, and carry on till 3 days after you think you've ovulated. Most people don't need the full dose and see good effects with much smaller doses than the max (but the max is ok and safe to take too).

[Lanini]

So, here is the update. I had my hysteroscopy and laparscopy yesterday. What can I say, everything is fine. My tubes are clear, my endometrium is normal, I don't have Asherman's syndrome. No diagnosis was found, everything is as it should be. It was tested for plasma cells, but the result is still in the lab.

So now I don't know what to do. We had the following checked: 2 x hormone levels from me, 1 x hormone levels from my husband, our chromosomes were tested, 2 x sperm analysis, laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, several cycle monitoring with ultrasound. All without findings. Sperm analysis showed that the values are in the norm, but rather on the lower edge. Does it make sense to pimp the sperm with supplements? Should I also take supplements myself? I am absolutely unsure how to proceed. I have an appointment at the fertility clinic next week for discussion. The fact is, we want to try the normal way for a few more cycles first and if I'm still not pregnant in 3, 4, cycles, we'll consider insemination, do you think that makes sense? Is it still possible to influence the gender a little bit with insemination? Because Fertilization still takes place naturally?

And what advice do you have on how we should try the next few cycles? I measure BBT, do OPKs, I definitely always ovulate, that was also evident in several ultrasounds. We tried with one attempt, with e4D, and quite often with e4D+1 (most cycles) and twice with SMEP. Without getting pregnant. I have a lot of EWCM on my fertile days, yet many cycles we used a lubricant meant specifically for conception. I took multiple cycles of Femara, multiple cycles of full dose and multiple cycles of half dose. No jump and dump, no shallow release, no "pink lube". I do exercises 6-7 days a week, drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day (before Sway I never drank coffee), I drink a glass of vodka a day, fiber after fatty meals, but diet is not going so well right now. I gained some weight in the last few weeks (I weigh between 51-52 kg, a few months ago it was 49 kg), but I do not eat breakfast, but at lunch and dinner I sometimes snack in between and often I eat again a little too much and too much fat, but I do not manage to motivate myself at the moment. I've been doing the Sway for a full year now and with the diet struggle I pretty much, I just don't get motivated anymore. I try hard, but it's not as strict as it was for a long time and often I do cheat or fall out of the pattern.

How should we try the next few cycles to continue to have a good chance of having a girl, but also increase the chance of conception? Under the point that we are now in cycle #12 and I am not pregnant yet. I'm so unsure and over questioned. Don't know what to do next. I really want a sibling for my son. But I also want a daughter. I don't know where the focus is myself: On the one hand I definitely want a baby no matter what gender, but on the other hand I still want to have a good chance of having a girl. Just because I didn't get pregnant after such a long time, my dream for a daughter didn't disappear.

Unfortunately, I was ovulating yesterday on the day of the surgery. Stupid timing. My OPK was positive at CD 12 in the evening and CD 13 in the morning. We had one attempt at CD 12 in the evening. I then had my surgery on CD 13 in the morning (yesterday). Today at CD 14 was my BBT rising. They flushed the tubes yesterday and also looked in the uterus so I think there was nothing left of my husband's swimmers so unfortunately there is zero chance this cycle. I am now trying to do the Sway as motivated as possible until the next cycle and then hope so much that I finally get pregnant! Do you think I should try another cycle with femara? I will also take the guaifenesin next cycle.

[atomic sagebrush]

I know it doesn't feel like it, but that is great news! I know we all feel like "if only there was something obvious we could fix" but it's actually much better not to find anything obvious wrong that requires surgery to repair.

If your husband has normal range sperm, this isn't strictly necessary but if you wanted to give him a male fertility supplement like Proxeed or 1000 mg carnitine/500 mg arginine/100 mg coq10, plus Men's One a Day over 50 (this would be INSTEAD of Proxeed, not along with it) then that is fine. May help you conceive, even if it is slightly more blue friendly (altho we don't actually know that to be the case)

Have you had your nutrient levels tested?? If not, I would try that just to see - particularly Vit. D, iron, B12. If none of your levels are low, then there's no benefit to taking the supplements. DO NOT add in any herbal supplements or anything else without talking to me about it. Everything we're seeing here indicates this is not an issue that would be solved by supplements *unless you are found to have a deficiency*.

The insemination really doesn't work well. Rates of conception with IUI are lower by far than natural. You will still need to continue having sex on your own in addition to the IUI. So don't be tempted to just use the IUI as your attempt, have sex as well.

We believe IUI may be somewhat blue friendly (we think because the vaginal environment is bypassed and a lot of sperm that is already capacitated is inserted all at once) but people have still gotten girls with it. You may be given Clomid or Letrozole along with the IUI, and that may help sway pink.

Let's try leaving out the lubricant if you have a lot of EWCM already. EWCM is superior to those lubricants, even though they're better for conception than a pink friendly lube would be.

What is your height and what is your level of calories, protein, and fat intake? 49-52 kg is quite thin, depending on your height and if you're too thin, your body sometimes just won't seem to get pregnant. We need to make sure your body isn't just too "nervous" to conceive.

It is well past time to drop the fiber, didn't we talk about that already?? No more fiber. Let it go. You need those raw materials to make sex hormones.

How many months in total have you taken the letrozole?

I would keep going with either SMEP or e4d plus one. Since you do still want to sway I'd do e4d plus one.

[Lanini]

Thank you for your reply Atomic.

First I answer all your questions:

I will give my husband the vitamins. Do you think it makes sense to give maybe half the dose? So that the sperm gets some support but maybe it doesn't sway as much blue? Does it make sense?

My nutrient levels were tested in October last year when we were on our second cycle. Vitamin D: 35.8 ng/ml, Ferritin: 36.2 ng/ml. B12 has not been tested.

Thanks for your words about the IUI. This helps me to classify this procedure better.

I will not take any more lube next cycle.

I am 158 cm tall and weigh 51-52 kg. The BMI is between 20 and 21 and therefore actually OK, right? When I got pregnant with my son, I weighed about 60 kg (BMI 24) and I ate a lot, very unhealthy and a lot of sweets. I was in a phase of gaining weight and therefore swayed blue without knowing it. From January 2021 to July 2021 I lost weight from 60 kg to 52 kg with a normal diet. In July 2021 I started the LE diet and lost weight by December 2021 until I weighed 48-49 kg. I've maintained this weight for a few months and since April/May 2022 it's been a constant up and down with gaining weight (no motivation for the diet) and losing weight (motivation is back), so my weight is between 51-52 kg most of the time, and that's also my feel-good weight.

Yes, I stopped taking Fiber for several months, by the time I was also off the diet and unmotivated for the Sway. I started fiber again a few weeks ago, but I really only took it to compensate when I was escalating in my food and eating extremely high fat. Unfortunately, I can't say exactly how many calories, fat and protein I'm eating because I'm so unmotivated with the diet right now that I don't even track it. But since I counted calories for a very long time, I can estimate it quite well, I think. I have days where I eat about 1500 kcal and about 40-50 g of fat. These are the good days! But then unfortunately I have far too many days where I eat out of control and then it's probably 2000-2500 kcal a day and 70-80 g fat. I know this is very bad for the pink sway and I'm trying to cut down on those days! Luckily they do too! And at least I haven't gained any more weight, I'm at about 51.5 kg for several weeks. I usually eat between 40-60 grams of protein per day. That's the only thing that always works.

I took letrozole for a total of 6 cycles. I used it in cycle 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9. I think cycle 2, 3 and 4 I took the full dose and in cycle 5, 7 and 9 the half dose.

I think we'll try e4D+1 now. SMEP was not easy to do for us as my husband works in shifts. e4D fits better into our day.

I had an appointment at the fertility clinic today. My doctor said again that everything looks great and no abnormalities were found. Hormone levels were normal, sperm analysis was normal, laparoscopy and hysteroscopy were without abnormalities. She now recommended supporting the next cycle with hormone injections. I got a prescription for "Gonal F". As I don't know if this is known in the US, here is a translated excerpt: GONAL-f contains the active ingredient 'follitropin alfa'. Follitropin alfa is a “follicle stimulant hormone” (FSH) and belongs to the group of hormones known as “gonadotropins”. Do you know this drug and can you say something about whether it sways and if so, whether it is blue or pink? I think it's an alternative to Clomid or Femara, but in which way does ist sway? I'm a bit concerned that it might be a blue sway hormone. I would otherwise like to do this and I feel good about trying it with hormone support.

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic, I bump this. I have to start Gonal F in a few days and would be happy if you could tell me something about it and if you know if and in what way it sways.

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh gosh I'm so sorry, I read this and then since it was long, I must have closed without answering. Thanks for bumping.

I would just give him the full dose. I see no point in taking SOME nutrients (which could possibly sway blue) only to not take ENOUGH of them to help with conception.

Oh good, yes that's not a terrible BMI.

Ferritin seems a bit low, let's add in 30-60 mg iron 3x a week.

I don't want you back on the fiber. It's time to let that go. If you're not making enough of the right kind of hormones to conceive we need to eliminate that from the equation.

I would also let the letrozole go now too. That's long enough. I have had a few clients who, even though most people get pregnant easily on letrozole, did not seem to conceive while taking it. So since you're not getting pregnant for seemingly no reason, let's try without the letrozole.

:agree: to be honest I prefer e4d plus one anyway as I think it's much easier for people to succeed with it and the odds of conception are still good.

We don't know how Gonal sways. It very likely sways pink if it sways at all since it works similarly to Clomid and Letrozole, but I just haven't seen enough people use it to know for sure.

[Lanini]

Thank you for your instructions. That helps me alot.

I'm on CD 9 today and have been injecting Gonal F in low doses since CD 2. An ultrasound was done today and my follicle is 16mm. I also have EWCM since today. Doctor took blood and said I'll get a call tomorrow when to induce ovulation with Ovitrelle and then my hubby and I should DTD the day after Ovitrelle. What would you advise me to do, should I follow this plan or should we have our attempt at a different time, or do you think we should have multiple attempts? Does it make sense to do e4D+1 even if ovulation is triggered by injection or should we have only one BD after the injection?

Unfortunately, I've gained a little weight again because we were on vacation again and so I want to have as much pink influence as realistically possible, because I'm already messing up with the diet. Alcohol, coffee, skip breakfast and exercise are still going very well.

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, sometimes the egg will drop before the Ovitrelle is administered (not everyone gets as high a level of care as they deserve, and doctors sometimes miss things) so as a general rule I do like to see you guys having e4d attempts just in case something goes awry. But I'd probably not worry about that for now and have two attempts at trigger as long as you feel you won't miss the egg.

I think you need to have at least TWO attempts at the trigger shot. It is time to get you pregnant and so I'd have an attempt the day of the trigger and the day after. Or even more if you really want best chance of conception, but I understand wanting to stick with just two for the sway.

Weight gain has really not been that predictive of whose sways work and whose don't. I would just be trying to get pregnant now as the medications can be hard on you, so please don't worry about the sway and be in with 2 attempts at or around the trigger shot. The day of, the day after.

[Lanini]

Atomic, quick question in between.

The fertility clinic just called me to inject the Ovitrelle at 8 pm today (CD10). They said we should DTD tomorrow (CD11). Follicle was yesterday (CD9) at 16mm. EWCM since yesterday. My OPK are negative so far (I just did another OPK now, it's 6.30 pm in Germany). We had an Attempt yesterday (CD9). Do you think we should do more Attempts today and tomorrow (attempts then CD 9, 10, 11), or tomorrow and the day after (attempts then CD 9, 11, 12)? Doctor told me ovulation would be about 36 hours after trigger, that would be the day after tomorrow (CD12 in the morning).

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Update: We had a BD this evening and will have another BD tomorrow. Then we have three attempts in a row (CD 9, 10, 11) and I'm not that comfortable with it in terms of the Sway, but it's still important to me to have a good chance of conception and I'm just taking the risk now that it will be a boy (Even though I know that I will be very upset if I actually conceive a boy now). To be honest, I don't think I'm going to get pregnant now.

[atomic sagebrush]

I would probably just have the attempt you've had and then one more. But if you WERE to have attempt say CD 12, the odds would be just two attempts (because you'd already have conceived with the earlier attempts before the last one could capacitate) and you'd be covered in case the first two didn't make it for some reason.

[Lanini]

Sorry, I have to check again because of the language barrier. We had now attempts on CD 9 and 10, according to the doctor we should definitely have an attempt on CD 11 today. Do you now think that we should give up this attempt and leave it at the two attempts on CD 9 and 10 and if we want to try again on CD 12? Or do you think we should also do the recommended attempt on CD 11 today? I think today CD 11 is the most important attempt as I injected the Ovitrelle last night. But then it would be three attempts in a row. I'm torn between having a high chance of conceiving and wanting a girl. My feeling is that we should still have an Attempt today. Because I just want to finally get pregnant. Still, I want a DD so badly. I'm not 100 percent comfortable with that, but I think we'll have an Attempt today as well. I feel like I just have to try everything and not doing it on this important day gives me a stomach ache too.

Addition: I have to add my text again. I'm kind of upset, I want to do everything right and still have a good chance of having a girl. But I still want to have the chance to get pregnant and not miss the chance. I'm just thinking about how to do it properly. I think the attempt last night (CD 10) was a mistake, we should have only done the Attempts on CD 9 and then CD 11 (today) but I was so unsure and that's how the attempt happened yesterday on CD 10. I just don't know what to do now. Have an Attempt on CD 11 today or not? Do you think it's a good idea not to attempt today and instead tomorrow on CD 12 in the afternoon? So we would have Attempts on CD 9 and CD 10 in the evening right after the Ovitrelle injection, and then CD 12 at noon? By that time, O will already have happened. Do you think our attempt last night, which was about 36 hours before ovulation, has a good chance? And an Attempt on CD 12 in the afternoon, probably about 7-8 hours after ovulation, would then still be a good option if the BD on CD 10 missed the egg? But then would we have no attempt at all on the day when the odds were highest (today on CD 11). But if we DTD today we have three Attempts three days in a row and I'm afraid this will sway too much blue also because I messed up the diet and gained weight. But if we don't have an Attempt today, the chance of conception is much less or what do you think? My hubby's semen is within normal limits, but according to the doctor it's more in the lower range of normal values.

I'm not feeling well at the moment, everything puts me under so much pressure and I don't know what to do, I'm caught between wanting to get pregnant and wanting a daughter. I could cry. Been so easygoing and relaxed for the past few cycles but now I'm slowly getting to the point where I'm putting myself under pressure again and wanting to do everything perfectly to finally have my girl.

[atomic sagebrush]

I'm sorry, this came through later at night for me and I only just now saw it.

The CD 9 attempt is probably too early to count. I think it's unlikely that anything will survive that long. The earlier in the fertile window, the more sperm die very quickly, and even with the timing of your Ovitrelle, I suspect everything from CD 9 will be dead and gone.

Have the attempt CD 10 and 11. Don't worry about having three in a row. I think it would be best to have one CD 12 too but if you don't want to, that's your call to make.

I hope you had the attempt, because I agree with you that attempts CD 9 and 10 without one CD 11 is very low. If you didn't, have one as soon as possible on CD 12.

[Lanini]

Thanks for your answer, it wasn't too late. We had the attempt on CD 11 yesterday, so we now have attempts on CD 9, 10 and 11 with a trigger shot on CD 10 in the evening. I don't know yet whether we'll do another Attempt on CD 12 today. My husband and I don't have a high sex drive and now we've had attempts for three days in a row and the motivation isn't that high anymore. If it fits tonight, we'll do another attempt in case the previous attempts didn't get the egg.

So and now it's time to wait and pray. I don't have much hope, but more hope than the last few cycles. Doctor told me that the chances of conceiving after laparoscopy and hysteroscopy are slightly increased, even if there is no diagnosis. I hope so much.

I don't know what to do if I don't get pregnant with hormonal stimulation. You've already said that insemination doesn't make much sense. What if I am not pregnant after 2-3 cycles of hormonal injections, what do you recommend as a next step? IVF? Or is there anything else we could try before that? And if IVF, is there still a way to influence the gender? With IVF, the egg still chooses the sperm, but it's just not "natural" anymore? Can I still sway a bit or is that not possible? With an ICSI I think there is definitely no influence anymore, but I don't think that's necessary because the sperm is good. Unfortunately, gender selection at ICSI is not possible in Germany, and going to another country is not possible for financial reasons.

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes we do sometimes see conceptions after hysteroscopy and/or laparoscopy. No one really knows why.

I'm not sure why you'd do IVF, to be honest. If nothing is wrong, and sperm and egg quality, plus your tubes and uterus are normal, then the only benefit to IVF would be to weed out some genetically defective embryos. But if your egg quality is normal, then there's really no genetic reason why you're not getting pregnant (usually if there's a genetic issue, people have lots of miscarriages, and often have tested their losses and found genetic issues in them). I don't understand why doctors would suggest IVF when nothing would appear to REQUIRE it. Plus, in order for the genetic testing, it's recommended to do ICSI anyway, so that would still be a necessity.

You can't sway when doing IVF. In order for IVF to succeed, you need LOTS of eggs to be fertilized by LOTS of sperm - maximum numbers - and we also need for your physical self to be in the best shape possible for pregnancy. So you simply can't be messing around with swaying because we need the absolute best results, which means a really healthy diet, vitamins, some fertility supplements (especially for DH), and not exercising to extremes. That having been said, sometimes, occasionally, a doctor will let you "pick the embryo" for family balancing, after dropping a hint about the gender, but I would certainly not count on that. In the vast majority of cases, particularly in Germany, the doctors are completely unwilling to give any such information and react very negatively so it's not really something you can just mention casually beforehand.

Some people do give their husbands the olive leaf extract, with or without Vitamin C. I am highly skeptical of the Olive Leaf (there's a big explanation as to why, if you want to know) but I have people use it for swaying simply because it seems harmless, even though I don't think it actually works.

So what to do next? I would personally simply start doing whatever I could to conceive, without worrying about swaying any more. We can do this gradually over the course of time, to try to get you pregnant before you give up everything and start boosting your fertility through the roof.

[Lanini]

As always, thank you for your replies, it's a great help and support.

My doctor hasn't said anything about IVF yet, it was more my own thoughts on how to proceed if I don't get pregnant in the coming months. Unfortunately, I found out that my health insurance doesn't support me as much as I thought, so IVF and something like that are currently not possible for financial reasons.

Atomic, honestly, do you think I can still have hope of conceiving naturally? I'm slowly thinking about whether it still makes sense to do the Sway with all the restrictions, because I have the feeling that the chance of getting pregnant after such a long time is almost zero. We've been trying for over a year. I read a few studies and they took away a lot of hope that it could still work. Are there any medical tests I should still do? I think there must be a reason I'm not getting pregnant. It worked with the first child on the first try. And now we've been trying for over a year. There must be a reason! Or?

And what's your advice, how should we proceed now? We'll have to keep trying the natural way for a while. There will be no IVF or ICSI for now. What would be your advice on what to do now? Are there things I can still improve without completely ruining the Sway? Are there things I should drop? How about alcohol, do you think that could be a reason I'm not getting pregnant? And what about the exercises? I try to go for a walk as much as possible because it's not that heavy. But when the weather is bad, I like to jump on the trampoline, like Jumping Fitness. So I'm wondering is this ok during the 2WW or could it be that the jumping motions are preventing fertilization or implantation?

I requested the test results from my doctor. I show them to you here (one side is translated with google translator, the other side is original). It's the sperm analysis and the blood test from me and the blood test from my husband. The blood values ​​are all in the normal range. The sperm is also in the normal range almost everywhere, only the number of normally shaped sperm is slightly lower than normal. Could that be the problem? The analysis was done before my husband started taking supplements.

(Sorry I don't know how to resize the images here.)


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[atomic sagebrush]

There are two answers to your question:

a) Yes, I absolutely do think you still have hope of conceiving naturally. You have been checked out thoroughly and nothing appears to be amiss. The slightly abnormal sperm shape on your husband's side shouldn't mean anything, it's barely less than normal, and it's only when that finding is found alongside many other things that it causes a problem. Many men have one parameter that's a little off and conceive normally. He's welcome to take the supplements if you want him to but that is not the issue (if there is an issue at all)

BUT

b) You are quite right that it makes absolutely no sense to continue swaying with (as you put it) "all the restrictions". Like I said above, we need to gradually lighten up on whatever you've been doing for a sway, and then eventually you will catch the egg.

EDITED - I know, I know, I said all this before but I just have to say it again to hopefully reassure you!! In months we sway too hard, those just don't "count".

I don't have all your information in front of me, but the odds are that at least some of your months, back at the start, you were possibly swaying too hard, and now, maybe it has to to do with having been very strict on diet/exercise for a very long time. So my thinking would be to be sure that you're not swaying too hard in ways that don't even work (timing, pH, etc) while GRADUALLY relaxing on things like diet and exercise, so we can be sure that your body feels safe in conceiving. Because if your body "thinks" that you're on the brink of starvation, it will not take a chance on pregnancy, and this can happen even if you feel you're not terribly thin or that you're not dieting too strictly.

I don't think that either the alcohol or the jumping is the issue, but it is time to start letting things go. You certainly don't NEED to jump on a trampoline, and I would like you to cut back exercise to 4 days a week anyway - regardless of the kind of exercise you're doing, too much exercise, for a long time, while you're dieting the entire time, is the sort of thing that may make your body too "nervous" to conceive. You also don't NEED alcohol, so let that go, or compromise and cut that back to only on weekends. I don't think that's "the" problem, and in fact I don't think there is one single problem, but simply that it's been too much for too long and now your body just doesn't "think" it's the right time to get pregnant!

I'm going to reread your thread and see what jumps out at me.

[atomic sagebrush]

First thing - in one of your posts, you refer to "fasting as long as possible" and I told you I did not want you to fast longer than 12-16 hours. How long are you fasting now, or have you given that up??

[atomic sagebrush]

Second thing - as we already talked about, the first month you were doing a lot to sway, and then by the second month, you lost weight and developed a short LP. At that time I tried to express that even IF you haven't had a cycle disruption from diet and exercise in the past, it can develop at any time, and I think that may have been a sign that your body was not happy with the direction things were going, with the diet and exercise plus weight loss. You also took saw palmetto that month (in addition to some other supplements) which might have aggravated cycle disruptions.

My point in bringing all this up is that it may be that the first month, you were being too strict and couldn't conceive, and then the second month, there were the supplements which might have interfered with conception (and these supplements can have effects that last weeks or even a month or two after taking them). But before you could conceive, it may very well have been you'd cut back too far and it takes some time to fix those issues.

I'm going over all this to reassure you that this is all fixable! This is fixable stuff, not forever, not infertility (your test results prove that). If what this is boiling down to is just too long on diet and exercise, cutting back too far, that is such an easy fix, we can have you pregnant in no time.

[atomic sagebrush]

Are you taking any supplements now? Even things that people have said is good for conception? What is your husband taking for sperm health?

[atomic sagebrush]

Another thing that jumps out to me is that you were using averages. You were NOT eating enough some days, and then eating MORE other days, and figuring the average between them. I said that this was fine because you were eating above the limits of fat on the off days, but if you're still doing that, alternating between eating high levels and near starving other days, then that needs to stop. Eat consistently 50 g fat or more every day, don't alternate between 30 g and 80 g and average them out. I have seen several people get disrupted cycles when they try to "average out" their diet rather than being sure to eat enough every day.

[atomic sagebrush]

Be sure you're continuing the e4d all month in case of delayed O!

From here on in, let's avoid doing any more Femara or Clomid just in case it's having some sort of negative effect.

[atomic sagebrush]

Ok. I've now read the whole post start to finish and here is what I think - we need to try without having you on any fertility medication, without alcohol (or just on weekends), reduced exercise (4, being sure you are eating 50-60 g protein and fat and more like 1800 cals daily, with the guaifenesin.

Are you still taking myoinositol? let's drop that, and add in prenatal (that has about 100% of daily vitamins, including iron and Vitamin D. Take that 3x a week.

My best guess as to what is going on is that you got a bit too depleted over the course of time, then your body maybe couldn't make enough hormones when you were on the Femara and Gonal to get pregnant. This has happened from time to time (but typically in people who are dreadfully thin - BMI 15-17 - which is why I really did not suspect that happening to you before) So the remedy is to go off the medication, try to get your stores built back up a bit more, and keep trying.

Still let's ditch the alcohol just in case and also cut back on the exercise.

Then I'd continue with e4d plus one or SMEP at your discretion.

[Lanini]

Thank you very much for your very detailed answer. I've already read it, but I don't have the time and strength to answer right now. I will implement your tips and also give you an answer in the next few days if I have enough time (it's always time-consuming for me to write in English).

I'm feeling very bad right now. Today is my birthday and I got a BFN. Another year older, which certainly doesn't make it any easier to get pregnant. I'm so sad. Cycle #13 without BFP. Why?!

[atomic sagebrush]

Lanini, you don't need to answer if you don't think you can. I understand I went over things that happened a long time ago, you probably changed them along the way, I do that just so I can help reassure you and not because I'm trying to criticize you or anything. Most of that stuff was ages ago. It's not necessary to go over it all again, I only do that if I think it might help, and because you were wondering what I had thought might have happened. I don't expect people to reply - it's fine not to. Let's try the changes in the last post and go on from here.

Your body doesn't know you have birthdays. There's nothing any different now than there was last month, six months ago, or even a year ago. I know it's hard to believe when the media makes it sound like every year older is dramatically lower fertility, but it's really not true.

[Lanini]

Atomic, I need another quick tip and I hope you're still reading it today! I'm sorry I really haven't written anything more, the whole thing still worries me a lot, but I'll definitely give an update one of these days. Even if there is actually no news. I'm still not pregnant.

I am in the middle of my second cycle of hormone stimulation with Gonal F. Today is CD 11 and my follicle is 20mm. I got the trigger shot this afternoon. Doctor said we should DTD tomorrow evening (about 30 hours after trigger shot). I'm unsure if we should also have another attempt tonight (about 6 hours after trigger shot) or if it's better to wait until tomorrow. I'm kinda worried that if we only have an attempt tomorrow we'll miss the egg. I don't want to reduce sperm quality by another Attempt, but I also want a good chance of catching the egg. There are no Attempts this cycle yet because I was ill. My husband's last ejaculation was more than 5 days ago, which isn't good for the quality either? Atomic what do you advise? Attempt only tomorrow night (30 hours after trigger shot)? Or Attempt tonight (6 hours after) + tomorrow night (30 hours after)?

This cycle is so strange. I have no cervical mucus at all and no EWCM either, which I usually have a lot of. My OPKs are also not conclusive (neither really positive nor really negative). I don't know what makes sense at all.

The focus is to get pregnant - gender (almost) irrelevant.

[atomic sagebrush]

I think you should have as many attempts as possible between now and then. Absolutely attempt tonight and tomorrow. The advice the doctor is giving is not the advice that most doctors would give in that situation - typically it's night of trigger and the next day.

[Lanini]

Thank you for your advice. We had a BD yesterday evening (the day of the trigger injection) and will also have an attempt tonight and if possible also tomorrow evening - to be sure.

I want to thank you again for your great detailed answers in September, they helped me a lot. I try to implement them as much as possible. I didn't take any medication in the last few cycles, we tried to get pregnant naturally. I'm still not pregnant. But I had the feeling that I had to actively do something again to increase the chance, so we try another cycle under Gonal F and control by the fertility clinic. I don't have much hope of conceiving naturally anymore and I'm trying to accept that there may not be a second child, but it's very hard for me. We're now in cycle 17 or so, I've lost count.

I have almost completely given up the Sway. I've gained some weight (about 54 kg now, BMI 21.6) but the weight hasn't changed for a while now and I'm eating so many calories that I'm neither gaining nor losing weight. I continue to skip breakfast, but because it's good for me and I like it. I no longer do hard exercises like trampoline jumping. I only go for walks irregularly 3-4 days a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Alcohol only on weekends. My hubby takes supplements for sperm quality. I take prenatal supplements about 3 times a week. In the natural cycle without medication we do e4D+1. We use a sperm-friendly lubricant when necessary. No jump and dump or things like this.

I still want a girl with all my heart. But the desire for a certain gender has receded into the background. First and foremost, I just want to get pregnant. I want my son to have a sibling. That has absolute priority. Of course I'm still hoping for a girl, very much so, but I'm so scared that I won't get pregnant at all, that the focus will be on getting pregnant and not on the girl sway anymore. So I dropped almost all things. It wasn't easy for me. But I had to drop it, also because I couldn't make it anymore. Daily exercises, constant dieting, that was no longer manageable for me, I was under so much stress because I wanted to do everything well, it was no longer good for me and it was no longer good for my family. If I knew I was going to get pregnant in a cycle or two or three, I'd go all-out on the Sway again. But I don't know, and I can't do all this indefinitely anymore. So I let the girl sway go. Also to increase the chances of getting pregnant.

But the biggest factor for me is still that there must be a reason why I won't get pregnant anymore. That gives me so many thoughts. There must be a reason, but I don't know how to find out. Last week I had a glucose load test to rule out diabetes or insulin resistance. Since I had gestational diabetes and also had PCO tendencies prior to pregnancy, this may be a possibility. I don't have the result of the test yet. I already know that I definitely don't have diabetes, but I don't know the result for insulin resistance yet.

Gesendet von meinem SM-G991B mit Tapatalk

[treens]

I really hope this is your month! Sending you healthy pink dust you way! I think your attempts sounded great :)

[atomic sagebrush]

If you would like to, go over all the testing you have had by doctors so far.

Oftentimes, when we have someone go this long not getting pregnant, it is an external reason that actually had nothing to do with the sway.

Some people have felt that even the sperm safe lubricant seemed to be preventing conception. You might want to try skipping it in the fertile window and seeing if it helps at all.

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic,

I did not get pregnant even in the second cycle with Gonal F.

I'll list all of the test results here:

- I had several cycle monitors. Everything always looks great. An ultrasound always shows a nice, large follicle, the lining of the uterus is well built up (about 10 mm just before ovulation).
- No abnormalities in the hormone levels. All hormones (according to the doctor) are in the normal range. I already showed them in post #109 (https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum/trying-to-conceive-a-girl/82126-pink-sway-questions-about-le-diet-exercise-post1075241.html#post1075241).
- I track my cycles with OPKs and BBT. I have positive OPKs every cycle and a temp rise a few days later. I have a lot of EWCM in the fertile window. At the same time, the ultrasound shows a follicle ready to rupture. My ovulation is usually between day 12 and day 16. My luteal phase is 13-15 days long. My temperature curve always looks perfect.
- I had a laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and fallopian tube patency test. No abnormalities were found. Only a hydatid cyst was found on the ovary and removed. Both fallopian tubes are permeable. Uterus is normal. No abnormalities are found in the abdominal cavity.
- Two sperm analyzes by two different doctors. Both doctors said everything is fine. The sperm is in the normal range almost everywhere, only the number of normally shaped sperm is slightly lower than normal. The results are also in post #109 (https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum/trying-to-conceive-a-girl/82126-pink-sway-questions-about-le-diet-exercise-post1075241.html#post1075241).
- I've had several cycles of letrozole without a doctor, but I've had random ultrasounds several times and it's always shown a great follicle.
- I had two cycles with Gonal F with medical support, here too a great follicle was always visible in the ultrasound, ovulation was triggered with Ovitrelle.
- Of course, I also had a lot of cycles without medication, where great follicles were also visible and my BBT and OPKs were perfect.
- We have been trying to conceive since September 2021 with no success. We have done many cycles with e4D+1 and also several cycles with SMEP.
- We tried a lot: cycles with a sperm-friendly lubricant, cycles without lubricant. After the BD, lie on my back and on my stomach. And so much more. I tried everything Dr. Google me names to get pregnant faster. We both take supplements. I gave up the Sway completely.

I do not get it. With our first child, I got pregnant on the first try. Back then I had long, irregular cycles (PCO tendencies I think) and I still got pregnant in the first cycle of trying. Ever since my son was born, I have had fantastic cycles, regularly and according to several doctors, everything always looks perfect. But I just can't get pregnant. Even my doctor at the fertility clinic now told me I was puzzling her. It's strange that I get pregnant with my first child without any problems on the first (!) attempt and now with the second child, it just doesn't work out and no cause can be found. There is proven regular ovulation, great uterine lining, good sperm, the fallopian tubes are free and so on.

I told you in the last post that I did a glucose tolerance test. I now have the result. My blood sugar levels were in the normal range and not too high. I definitely don't have diabetes. Regarding insulin resistance, I was told that my readings were slightly off. My Homa Index is a little over 1, which is probably just in the range between "normal" and "suspicion of insulin resistance". My doctor said that she recently attended a training course and it said that if the Homa Index was 1 or higher, metformin could be used to improve fertility. So she gave me metformin, which I've been on for about two weeks now. I don't know if this makes sense as my Homa Index isn't that high and I ovulate regularly, but I figure it sure doesn't hurt and is worth a try. To improve the Homa Index, the doctor advised me to eat little sugar, lose some weight and exercise a lot. Ha ha, good joke. I did this for over a year while I did the Sway. It didn't help getting pregnant. And I don't have the strength for it anymore.

I am so desperate and sad. My son is so crazy about babies and really wants a sibling. He often asks me about it and pretends his stuffed animals are babies. And it breaks my heart.

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic, I did not get pregnant even in the second cycle with Gonal F. I'll list all of the test results here:

- I had several cycle monitors. Everything always looks great. An ultrasound always shows a nice, large follicle, the lining of the uterus is well built up (about 10 mm just before ovulation).
- No abnormalities in the hormone levels. All hormones (according to the doctor) are in the normal range. I already showed them in post #109 (https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum/trying-to-conceive-a-girl/82126-pink-sway-questions-about-le-diet-exercise-post1075241.html#post1075241).
- I track my cycles with OPKs and BBT. I have positive OPKs every cycle and a temp rise a few days later. I have a lot of EWCM in the fertile window. At the same time, the ultrasound shows a follicle ready to rupture. My ovulation is usually between day 12 and day 16. My luteal phase is 13-15 days long. My temperature curve always looks perfect.
- I had a laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and fallopian tube patency test. No abnormalities were found. Only a hydatid cyst was found on the ovary and removed. Both fallopian tubes are permeable. Uterus is normal. No abnormalities are found in the abdominal cavity.
- Two sperm analyzes by two different doctors. Both doctors said everything is fine. The sperm is in the normal range almost everywhere, only the number of normally shaped sperm is slightly lower than normal. The results are also in post #109 (https://www.genderdreaming.com/forum/trying-to-conceive-a-girl/82126-pink-sway-questions-about-le-diet-exercise-post1075241.html#post1075241).
- I've had several cycles of letrozole without a doctor, but I've had random ultrasounds several times and it's always shown a great follicle.
- I had two cycles with Gonal F with medical support, here too a great follicle was always visible in the ultrasound, ovulation was triggered with Ovitrelle.
- Of course, I also had a lot of cycles without medication, where great follicles were also visible and my BBT and OPKs were perfect.
- We have been trying to conceive since September 2021 with no success. We have done many cycles with e4D+1 and also several cycles with SMEP.
- We tried a lot: cycles with a sperm-friendly lubricant, cycles without lubricant. After the BD, lie on my back and on my stomach. And so much more. I tried everything Dr. Google me names to get pregnant faster. We both take supplements. I gave up the Sway completely.

I do not get it. With our first child, I got pregnant on the first try. Back then I had long, irregular cycles (PCO tendencies I think) and I still got pregnant in the first cycle of trying. Ever since my son was born, I have had fantastic cycles, regularly and according to several doctors, everything always looks perfect. But I just can't get pregnant. Even my doctor at the fertility clinic now told me I was puzzling her. It's strange that I get pregnant with my first child without any problems on the first (!) attempt and now with the second child, it just doesn't work out and no cause can be found. There is proven regular ovulation, great uterine lining, good sperm, the fallopian tubes are free and so on.

I told you in the last post that I did a glucose tolerance test. I now have the result. My blood sugar levels were in the normal range and not too high. I definitely don't have diabetes. Regarding insulin resistance, I was told that my readings were slightly off. My Homa Index is a little over 1, which is probably just in the range between "normal" and "suspicion of insulin resistance". My doctor said that she recently attended a training course and it said that if the Homa Index was 1 or higher, metformin could be used to improve fertility. So she gave me metformin, which I've been on for about two weeks now. I don't know if this makes sense as my Homa Index isn't that high and I ovulate regularly, but I figure it sure doesn't hurt and is worth a try. To improve the Homa Index, the doctor advised me to eat little sugar, lose some weight and exercise a lot. Ha ha, good joke. I did this for over a year while I did the Sway. It didn't help getting pregnant. And I don't have the strength for it anymore.

I am so desperate and sad. My son is so crazy about babies and really wants a sibling. He often asks me about it and pretends his stuffed animals are babies. And it breaks my heart.

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic, I did not get pregnant even in the second cycle with Gonal F. I'll list all of the test results here:

- I had several cycle monitors. Everything always looks great. An ultrasound always shows a nice, large follicle, the lining of the uterus is well built up (about 10 mm just before ovulation).
- No abnormalities in the hormone levels. All hormones (according to the doctor) are in the normal range. I already showed them in post #109.
- I track my cycles with OPKs and BBT. I have positive OPKs every cycle and a temp rise a few days later. I have a lot of EWCM in the fertile window. At the same time, the ultrasound shows a follicle ready to rupture. My ovulation is usually between day 12 and day 16. My luteal phase is 13-15 days long. My temperature curve always looks perfect.
- I had a laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and fallopian tube patency test. No abnormalities were found. Only a hydatid cyst was found on the ovary and removed. Both fallopian tubes are permeable. Uterus is normal. No abnormalities are found in the abdominal cavity.
- Two sperm analyzes by two different doctors. Both doctors said everything is fine. The sperm is in the normal range almost everywhere, only the number of normally shaped sperm is slightly lower than normal. The results are also in post #109.
- I've had several cycles of letrozole without a doctor, but I've had random ultrasounds several times and it's always shown a great follicle.
- I had two cycles with Gonal F with medical support, here too a great follicle was always visible in the ultrasound, ovulation was triggered with Ovitrelle.
- Of course, I also had a lot of cycles without medication, where great follicles were also visible and my BBT and OPKs were perfect.
- We have been trying to conceive since September 2021 with no success. We have done many cycles with e4D+1 and also several cycles with SMEP.
- We tried a lot: cycles with a sperm-friendly lubricant, cycles without lubricant. After the BD, lie on my back and on my stomach. And so much more. I tried everything Dr. Google me names to get pregnant faster. We both take supplements. I gave up the Sway completely.

I do not get it. With our first child, I got pregnant on the first attempt. Back then I had long, irregular cycles (PCO tendencies I think) and I still got pregnant in the first cycle of trying. Ever since my son was born, I have had fantastic cycles, regularly and according to several doctors, everything always looks perfect. But I just can't get pregnant. Even my doctor at the fertility clinic now told me I was puzzling her. It's strange that I get pregnant with my first child without any problems on the first (!) attempt and now with the second child, it just doesn't work out and no cause can be found. There is proven regular ovulation, great uterine lining, good sperm, the fallopian tubes are free and so on.

I told you in the last post that I did a glucose tolerance test. I now have the result. My blood sugar levels were in the normal range and not too high. I definitely don't have diabetes. Regarding insulin resistance, I was told that my readings were slightly off. My Homa Index is a little over 1, which is probably just in the range between "normal" and "suspicion of insulin resistance". My doctor said that she recently attended a training course and it said that if the Homa Index was 1 or higher, metformin could be used to improve fertility. So she gave me metformin, which I've been on for about two weeks now. I don't know if this makes sense as my Homa Index isn't that high and I ovulate regularly, but I figure it sure doesn't hurt and is worth a try. To improve the Homa Index, the doctor advised me to eat little sugar, lose some weight and exercise a lot. Ha ha, good joke. I did this for over a year while I did the Sway. It didn't help getting pregnant. And I don't have the strength for it anymore.

I am so desperate and sad. My son is so crazy about babies and really wants a sibling. He often asks me about it and pretends his stuffed animals are babies. And it breaks my heart.

[atomic sagebrush]

I'm so sorry it hasn't happened yet.

Can you fill me in on the supplements you guys are taking? Dr. Google can sometimes suggest things that aren't necessarily good. Some of the supplements that are advised on the Internet are worse than nothing. I would really love to take a look at them and see if there's anything in there that may actually be hurting your chances.

Metformin can help some people, although I agree it's a bit of a stretch to assume that you will be in that group as it's such a trifling finding. Most of the time, when people have insulin issues it's very obvious and they have a lot of markers. But metformin doesn't hurt. I don't think you need to get too serious about changing your diet though.

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic, after a long time I'm back in touch. Unfortunately with a sad result. We are at the end of our fertility journey. Sadly, I didn't get pregnant. I have no idea why. I am sad. But I'm at the end and don't want to go any longer. I have no more energy.

I gave up the Sway a very long time ago. My absolute dream was always to have a daughter. But for a long time now, I haven't dared to think it was even possible. At some point you get to the point where you just want to get pregnant. I would have taken a second boy with a kiss, as long as I got pregnant again. The most important thing was that my son had a sibling.

Over the last one and a half years, we have had several fertility treatments. 3 inseminations. 1 round of IVF. 1 round of ICSI. A total of 2 embryo transfers. There was never an implantation. Yesterday I had the last BFN. There is still no explanation as to why I am not getting pregnant. All medical examinations showed no cause for the infertility. The doctors don't know what the cause is either. The only thing that was noticeable was our poor rate of fertilized eggs. During my first IVF, 14 eggs were retrieved, but only 4 of them fertilized. One good quality blastocyst remained at the End. But there was no implantation. We then decided on ICSI, hoping that there would be more fertilized eggs. We were able to retrieve 10 eggs, but only 4 of them were mature. 3 had been fertilized by ICSI. One blastocyst of very good quality remained. Due to hyperstimulation syndrome, it was frozen and transferred in a cryo cycle. I received the result yesterday: Negative. No implantation again.

We do not know the reason for the many immature eggs that cannot be fertilized. I have done everything in my control. We took all the additional services that were available for ICSI. I read the book "It starts with the Egg" by Rebecca Fett and acted accordingly. My husband did too. I gained weight, lost weight, exercised a lot, didn't exercise, I ate well, I tried EVERYTHING.

It is unexplainable to us why we are not allowed to have a second child. All medical examinations showed good results. Good sperm, the fallopian tubes are clear, the uterus looks good, the uterine lining is building up well, all hormone levels are normal, my cycle is regular, I always have nice follicles, I respond well to the medication, there is no coagulation disorder and so on. It remains a mystery.

So, unfortunately, we will now draw a line and close the "second child" chapter without success. I'm very sad about it, but I can't do it anymore. Without knowing what the reason for the infertility is, there's no point in continuing anyway. I will soon be 35 years old. We have been trying to get pregnant for 2.5 years. My son will soon be 6 years old. For us, the biggest mystery and at the same time the greatest luck is that we were able to conceive him naturally in the first cycle without any problems. That is my miracle. I am so grateful for that!

That's why I'm now saying goodbye here for good. Thank you for all your advice and tips, Atomic. You have supported me on my journey for a long time and I am so grateful for your work. And I'm sure that if there wasn't some unknown barrier preventing me from getting pregnant, I would have had my little girl thanks to your help. THANK YOU!

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic, after a long time I'm back in touch. Unfortunately with a sad result. We are at the end of our fertility journey. Sadly, I didn't get pregnant. I have no idea why. I am sad. But I'm at the end and don't want to go any longer. I have no more energy.

I gave up the Sway a very long time ago. My absolute dream was always to have a daughter. But for a long time now, I haven't dared to think it was even possible. At some point you get to the point where you just want to get pregnant. I would have taken a second boy with a kiss, as long as I got pregnant again. The most important thing was that my son had a sibling.

Over the last one and a half years, we have had several fertility treatments. 3 inseminations. 1 round of IVF. 1 round of ICSI. A total of 2 embryo transfers. There was never an implantation. Yesterday I had the last BFN. There is still no explanation as to why I am not getting pregnant. All medical examinations showed no cause for the infertility. The doctors don't know what the cause is either. The only thing that was noticeable was our poor rate of fertilized eggs. During my first IVF, 14 eggs were retrieved, but only 4 of them fertilized. One good quality blastocyst remained at the End. But there was no implantation. We then decided on ICSI, hoping that there would be more fertilized eggs. We were able to retrieve 10 eggs, but only 4 of them were mature. 3 had been fertilized by ICSI. One blastocyst of very good quality remained. Due to hyperstimulation syndrome, it was frozen and transferred in a cryo cycle. I received the result yesterday: Negative. No implantation again.

We do not know the reason for the many immature eggs that cannot be fertilized. I have done everything in my control. We took all the additional services that were available for ICSI. I read the book "It starts with the Egg" by Rebecca Fett and acted accordingly. My husband did too. I gained weight, lost weight, exercised a lot, didn't exercise, I ate well, I tried EVERYTHING.

It is unexplainable to us why we are not allowed to have a second child. All medical examinations showed good results. Good sperm, the fallopian tubes are clear, the uterus looks good, the uterine lining is building up well, all hormone levels are normal, my cycle is regular, I always have nice follicles, I respond well to the medication, there is no coagulation disorder and so on. It remains a mystery.

So, unfortunately, we will now draw a line and close the "second child" chapter without success. I'm very sad about it, but I can't do it anymore. Without knowing what the reason for the infertility is, there's no point in continuing anyway. I will soon be 35 years old. We have been trying to get pregnant for 2.5 years. My son will soon be 6 years old. For us, the biggest mystery and at the same time the greatest luck is that we were able to conceive him naturally in the first cycle without any problems. That is my miracle. I am so grateful for that!

That's why I'm now saying goodbye here for good. Thank you for all your advice and tips, Atomic. You have supported me on my journey for a long time and I am so grateful for your work. And I'm sure that if there wasn't some unknown barrier preventing me from getting pregnant, I would have had my little girl thanks to your help. THANK YOU!

[treens]

I am so sorry, I am sending love and hugs and wishing you all the best in your future!

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh gosh Lanini I'm so terribly sorry to read this. Best wishes on your future life, wishing you every joy with your husband and son!

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic,

I didn't expect to report here again. But after 2.5 years and countless cycles of TTC, as well as 3 inseminations and 2 ICSI, I unexpectedly had a BFP a few weeks ago. I'm in the 7th week of pregnancy. We could already see the heartbeat. The baby was conceived without medical assistance. I wouldn't have expected that. I thought I would never get pregnant again. Now we are of course very happy that this surprising miracle has found its way to us. But since it's a surprise, I didn't do any pink sway. After this long time, I desperately want a second child, even if it is a second boy. Still, I hope that somehow luck will be on our side and give us a little girl.

In the months before conception I actually did regular exercise. in January, February and March I actually did exercise quite often (5-6 days per week), mainly going for a walk, but often not for a whole hour at a time, but several small exercises spread throughout the day. I averaged 12,000 steps per day. In April I did almost nothing (exercises only 1-2 times a week or less). Conception was in mid-April. I didn't go on a diet. I haven't lost or gained any weight in the last few months, although I did gain a few kilos in the fall last year (from about 53 kg to 57 kg), but I've been maintaining this weight since November/December. I've been eating about 1800 calories a day for the past few months, some days less, some days more. However, I always skipped breakfast. Unfortunately, I didn't drink any coffee or alcohol.

Until the middle of March I was taking a lot of supplements and vitamins because of our embryo transfer in February. After this one was a BFN I stopped taking vitamins. The last time I took Femara was in February, before the transfer of our embryo, which was a BFN.

We had 2 attempts in the fertile window. Coincidentally, it was in the rhythm of the e4D (Tuesday and Friday, ovulation was probably on Saturday). In addition, I was very sick during the conception period, I had tonsillitis and took antibiotics.

What do you think my chances are for a girl? I didn't do any sway, didn't pay any conscious attention to anything, because after such a long time (2.5 years) I no longer expected conception. Do you think my chances are simply 50/50 or did I subconsciously sway pink or blue?

A girl would be so great! Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
But a boy is also OK and will be loved with all our hearts.

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh gosh, that's wonderful news! I am so happy for you! My fingers and toes are crossed for pink, but most of all for a healthy pregnancy and safe and easy delivery!

The truth is, I can't tell anyone what their chances are of a boy or girl. I just can't know that, and I don't feel comfortable making up numbers that are not based in reality beyond just my gut instinct. You did a lot of pink friendly stuff, but in terms of mathematical odds, I just truly can't say.

Wishing you all the best for this unexpected addition and in your life!

[Lanini]

Hello Atomic. I am now 14 weeks pregnant. The baby is developing right on schedule. Everything looks good. We found out the sex today. It's a girl ♥️. Confirmed with NIPT Test and Ultrasound. I can hardly believe it. I'm over the moon. After all this time, I haven't dared to believe it for a long time. I'm going to have a daughter. A dream come true!