TTC Boy: Alkaline Water

Hi everyone!

I am currently 20 weeks pregnant and an ultrasound 2 weeks ago revealed that we are having a BOY!

Two years ago, we travelled all the way to the US to undergo IVF/PGD under Dr. Potter. We did two cycles about 6 months apart and were unsuccessful both times. Those experiences left DH and I completely heartbroken. We then decided that we would just try our luck naturally. As we were busy with our careers and raising our 2 girls, we were not really able to give our 100% (diet, supplements, etc.) on TTC a boy. DH and I are naturally "acidic" as confirmed by the pH strips I bought. Also, DH suffers from acid reflux.

Last year, I overheard a co-parent at my daughter's school tell someone that she conceived her boy (3rd child after 2 girls) just by switching herself and her husband to drinking bottled alkaline water. So I researched and found a local company in our country that delivered bottled alkaline water (pH 9.0).

DH and I had been drinking alkaline water (and even brought bottles to work) for about 8 months when we found out in March that we were pregnant. Before then, after 1.5 years of trying to get pregnant, we had already resigned ourselves that we probably won't conceive a 3rd child. And so we did not follow the boy diet, we had stopped our supplements for almost 5 months, and I just decided to take care of myself and lose some weight. (I was about 40lbs overweight).

Aside from the alkaline water, I only did 2 rounds of juice cleanses (3 days each time) and lost a total of 7 lbs two months before I conceived. DH also took Alka Seltzer Gold almost daily for his heartburn/acid reflux.

DH and I swayed twice that cycle. If I remember correctly, it was the evening when I thought my CM was watery and we did again 2 days later. (I was not charting, sorry!) I also placed a pillow under my butt after both times.

I found this article online today and thought it interesting:
Kangen Water Malaysia Brings Interesting News On Control Of The Sex Of A Baby

Just to make it clear: I do not endorse this company, nor have I tried their products. And this is most definitely not the source of the alkaline water we had delivered to our house. Also, I am not from Malaysia :-)

I am happy you're getting your boy!

Reputable sources debunk the acidic vs. alkaline diet Acid/Alkaline Theory of Disease Is Nonsense

I have an essay about drinking water and swaying here for anyone interested. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...pink-blue.html

While I personally do not believe it ever comes down to something as simple as changing one's drinking water, I totally appreciate your sharing what you believe worked for you. People get their DG every day without swaying! :)

Although I'm not a big fan of quackwatch (they seem to think everything is bunk), the article does make some sense. But one thing I didn't see mentioned (for obvious reasons) is the effect alkaline/acidic foods have on CM. They mention that it can affect urine acidity - I just remember everyone over on IG trying to change the CM with diet. Still impossible? :think:

That's because that article is not addressing gender swaying, it's addressing the idea that one's body can be acidic or alkaline (which the OP was thinking she and her husband were because they peed on some pH strips.)

I ~personally~ do not believe that CM can be changed in pH from foods/drinks. I know a lot of very trustworthy people who swear to me that their CM changed in pH and I don't mean to doubt them but the process that creates cervical mucus is totally divorced from the digestive tract. The body makes CM, and if the foods you eat have some effect on that, I believe it to be coincidental - your pH drops when you eat crappy foods because making less CM with lower pH is bascially the body's method of birth control when conditions are not ideal for pregnancy. And when a person is eating more healthy foods, their body may decide, "now is a good time for a baby" and make more CM. Net result is pH changes but it is NOT because the body is acidic or alkaline, it is completely, totally, 100% impossible because it would kill us if it happened.

Semen, on the other hand, the same pipe is used for urine and semen delivery so semen may be possibly affected by things that DH drinks because there would be "leftovers" from urine in the mix.

On IG, what would happen is that people would start off testing their pH when they were starting their sway and I saw firsthand oh, I don't know a zillion posts from pink swayers panicking because their pH had started off so low and now that O was approaching it went up, and blue swayers so overjoyed that their sways had worked because their pH went up at ovulation. This leads me to believe that many people think their pH changed from diet, when really it was part of the body's natural cycle - low when not ovulating, high at ovulation. :) And what swaying ~really~ does is alter the amount of CM the body makes. pH will go up/down according to more or less CM being made, and people interpret that as happening as a direct result of diet, when really it's an indirect result (hope that makes sense)

Makes perfect sense. Thanks Atomic :)

Interesting - we have alkaline water here in my hometown and my friends own the store!!!

I strongly suspect that the original poster actually was selling something despite her protests to the contrary.

I personally doubt this does anything but if you want to give it a go, I don't think it's harmful