Swaying (for hopefully two!) girls - intro and some questions

[Twopinkplease]

Hi!

I'm new here, and wanted to introduce myself and get some tips for my (hopeful!) twin girl sway.

I am 37 and DH is 35, we have three boys, 5, 3 and 1 and really want to add a girl (or two!) to complete our family.

I know swaying for twins is not recommended as twins can come with a lot of complications, but I have had three very easy pregnancies with healthy big babies and I'm starting to get older so I would like to try to get two girls for the price of one pregnancy!

The plan:
I naturally eat a boy friendly diet, don't exercise and I'm a bit of a control freak, so I am trying to get organised early and attempt towards the end of the year with the hope that sorting out my plan now and then zenning my way through it will help the dominance theory!

I was also boarderline with GD in my last pregnancy and my doctor mentioned my last bloodwork was pre-pre-diabetes type 2 (so asked me to watch sugar, etc), so I am looking at:

Me:
* PCOS LE diet (I am quite a bit heavier than my optimum BMI, so was thinking six months before attempt) + skipping breakfast
* Exercise every day (cardio)
* Glass of wine every night
* Clomid - I concieved all three of my children (and my child I miscarried with) the first month of trying every time. DH and I are apparently VERY FERTILE - but I want to up the chance of twins and girls so I have set the scene with my doctor that we are trying again and he mentioned in six months if we have no luck he will give me a Clomid prescription so I can take it for the real first attempt and it will be doctor monitored)
* Fibre supplements
* Folic acid - 5mg

Questions:
1. Olive Leaf Extract for DH - it seemed to have good results % wise for girls, should he take some?

2. Anything else for DH? He is naturally thin and will kill me if I try to take his red meat away from him, he doesn't exercise much, just lucky with his metabolism

3. I don't drink coffee or tea, just diet coke right now for caffeine, is this ok? Please say yes, I neeeeeed it!

4. I really don't think DH will be up for FR, would you recommend every 4 days in this case? Or a cut off? Keeping in mind we seem to get pregnant just thinking about going off the pill!

Thanks!

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi and welcome! You're already doing everything I'd recommend. Clomid is the biggie.

I'd switch to folate if possible.

OLE is fine for DH, 500-1000 mg daily (dry leaf) If he'd prefer liquid, follow dosing instructions on bottle. At BFP, wean off gradually by spacing doses further and further out till down to one per week, then you can drop them.

Most of our husbands would do nothing to sway and we still get good results.

We've had great results with coffee. No need to stop your diet soda, but I don't think it actually sways, unlike the coffee.

Yes I'd just either BD every 4 days or "let him do what he does" and then have one attempt at positive OPK. Since you're on Clomid, if you did try the one attempt, make sure it's only the first month or two, then go to every 4 days, then e4d Plus one more attempt at pos OPK.

[artemisa]

Hi girls!
I'm new here and I wish I had twins. But I don't want to take medicine. (I don't have issues with fertility) I know that this is difficult but I would like to try.
I think to take iso (3-7 cd), maca, green tea, and folate. Should I take something else?
I've read about vitex but I don't know if these (vitex and iso) can be taken together.
Thank you very much and dust baby for everyone

[Twopinkplease]

I got most of my info from the TTCTwins forum - it's pretty quiet but it has a successes section and also a pretty good FAQ on different things to try.

Have a look and see what level of "intervention" you are comfortable with - reading everyone else's protocols can give you lots of ideas

[Twopinkplease]

Thanks for this Atomic - good to know I'm on the right track!

One quick question, with every four days, is DH allowed to do whatever he wants between? Or he should keep his hands out of his pants and only finish every four days inside me?

I was thinking of just going straight there because tracking my O will probably make me a tiny bit obsessive and the maternal dominence theory is really resonating so trying to zen as much as I can.

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi girls!
I'm new here and I wish I had twins. But I don't want to take medicine. (I don't have issues with fertility) I know that this is difficult but I would like to try.
I think to take iso (3-7 cd), maca, green tea, and folate. Should I take something else?
I've read about vitex but I don't know if these (vitex and iso) can be taken together.
Thank you very much and dust baby for everyone

Ladies, the problem is, herbs ARE medicine. They're chemicals that affect your body (and the reason they make twins is because they work in somewhat of the same ways Clomid does), and honestly we know way, way, way more about the risks and side effects of the Clomid medication that has been extensively studied and used by millions of people since the 60's, than some herbs. I just think it's really, really wrongheaded to perceive that herbs are safer than medication when they are not standardized, barely studied, and have potential contaminants in them (this has been proven that many herbs are mixed with other ingredients in them!!)

I don't trust maca at all and never recommend it.

If you drink green tea, be sure you are taking 2000 mcg folic acid or better yet folate as this can block your body's ability to absorb and use folic acid/folate from your diet. I conceived a baby with a neural tube defect because I was drinking green tea every day, this is a real thing that actually does happen to people. I was taking a normal dose of 800 mcg folic acid and it wasn't enough.

I would pick either vitex or soy iso. Soy iso will probably be better for twins. Some evidence indicates vitex may mess with the way both Clomid and soy iso work.

[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks for this Atomic - good to know I'm on the right track!

One quick question, with every four days, is DH allowed to do whatever he wants between? Or he should keep his hands out of his pants and only finish every four days inside me?

I was thinking of just going straight there because tracking my O will probably make me a tiny bit obsessive and the maternal dominence theory is really resonating so trying to zen as much as I can.

I think that the e4d is def. better for not messing with your head that way.

People do it all different ways, have DH do what he does or only do the e4d releases. We don't know if it matters. I do know that too many releases in a row can cut odds of conception though so I'd take that into some consideration if he's a daily releaser, may want to dial that back a bit.

[artemisa]

Ohhh atomic! I didn't know about green tea, I take 1 cup at day and 1800 folic acid.
Thank you a lot for your advice.

[atomic sagebrush]

1800 is probably good enough! I'd stop the green tea at conception (or just go back to 2-3 times a week) and then continue folic till the end of the first trimester, then gradually wean off by spacing doses further and further apart till down to the amount in your prenatal and stay there. Do NOT continue folic past that point as taking it into the 3rd tri may cause or contribute to asthma.

[Twopinkplease]

Thanks Atomic!