Advice on Abstinence + One attempt
Hi!
DH (29) and I (27) will be trying for our first in May, and we are therefore very new to anything pregnancy related. This is my first post on this (very very) insightful forum.
We don't have a clear preference for either gender, since this will (hopefully) be our first child - BUT we would really like to end up with at least one girl. :ttcgirl:
As we don't plan on having more than 2 kids, we figured it would probably be best to look into swaying before starting out. Especially since we discovered that we naturally have a very boy-friendly lifestyle (lots of potassium rich foods, no dairy, meat every day, DH goes to the gym, et cetera).
I have been browsing through a LOT of topics already, but there is one thing that is still very confusing to me. I read about the Abstain + 1 Attempt method in this topic by Atomic Sagebush:
Quote:
:princess: Abstain + 1 attempt: If you choose to do abstain, you are pretty much limited to one attempt by definition. I think it is best to time that attempt for maximum odds of pregnancy (timing doesn’t sway!) Your best odds of conception are at O-2 and O-1, and since BD at positive OPK (O-1) tends to be much less stressful for people rather than blindly guessing at O-2, my advice is to BD once at pos OPK with abstain. If you are really sold on Shettles, then you’ll want to try for an attempt on O-2.
DH and I want to practise this method, going for 1 attempt, at either O-2 or O-1 (whatever we'll feel like at the time). :oops:
However, we don't understand the "abstinence" part. This could just be language-related (I'm European, not a native speaker), so please bear with me.
Question: Which of the following methods are meant by "abstinence", and which would be the best option for us?
NOTE: I am fairly regular (cycle 28/29 days) and almost always ovulate on day 15 (have been tracking BBT for 2 years because we didn't want to get pregnant yet, used it as a contraception method).
- DH does not ejaculate at all between CD 1 and our first and only attempt (either on O-2 or O-1). This means that DH’s sperm will be approximately 2 weeks old by then.
- We are free to BD until CD7 (and/or DH is free to “dance” on his own). Thereafter, no ejaculation until our attempt at O-2 or O-1. This means that DH’s sperm will be approximately 1 week old by then.
- No BD until our attempt at O-2 or O-1, but DH can help himself until CD7. This means that DH’s sperm will be approximately 1 week old by then.
- We are free to BD until CD9. Thereafter, no ejaculation until our attempt at O-2 or O-1 (which is around CD13/CD14). This means that DH’s sperm will be approximately 4/5 days old by then.
Could someone please let me know which of the above options is advisable? DH and I are in this together, so either option is fine with both of us.
In addition, we plan to do the following:
- 1000 mg Calcium nitrate daily for both of us
- 200 mg Magnesium nitrate for both of us
- Cut down on salt (we don’t really use much anyway)
- Cut down on potatoes/tomatoes/bananas/meat
- Consume way more dairy. I will start drinking 3 glasses of milk, and also add in yoghurt, cottage cheese et cetera.
- I have been taking prenatal vitamins (containing 600 mg Quatrefolic Folate) for 2 months, and will continue to do so.
- DH will take multivitamins as well
Is any of the above advisable, or could this be overdoing it? We don't really mind, because it kind of seems healthier than our current eating patterns anyway.
I am still in doubt about the following, and would really like some advise on this as well:
- I have read that prenatal vitamins sway boy. Is this information correct, or is it outdated? I really want a healthy baby, and would therefore prefer to keep taking them, especially since I’m not a big eater.
- I have ordered Omega 3 capsules (480 mg DHA/104mg EPA), because we never eat fish (DH hates it). But I also read that these sway boy. Is this info correct or outdated?
Excuse the long post! I would really appreciate some advice on this.
Also sorry in advance if some of these are very obvious to long-time members, I'm trying very hard to read all of the existing topics, but it's quite a lot for this newby to take in... :oops:
-BeatrixPotter
