Questions to ask yourself when planning a pink sway
Diet
- Are you able to stick to a rigid diet/limited foods? If so, the IG and FGD could be an option for you. If you need more flexibility, the LE diet could be best because more variety is allowed within certain limits.
- Do you have health issues (such as diabetes) to consider? (TODO: add link)
- Do you have time to calorie/nutrient-count? IG or LE would be suitable, the LE diet includes pre-calculated meal ideas so you can pick-and-mix without adding them all up yourself.
- Do you have much weight to lose? (needs a new topic on this really, but about skipping breakfast, etc.) LE diet might be best because you can increase allowances of calories/fat/protein, etc.
- Will family be sharing your meals? The IG and FGD are generally not safe to continue long term and might not be balanced enough especially for children. The LE diet could be adapted easily to be more flexible with food groups. (needs new topic about adjusting swaying meals for families? or family-friendly sway recipes)
- Want a non-swaying diet that sways? A simple vegetarian diet is known to sway pink, skip breakfast especially in the 2ww to keep blood glucose lower, limit colours of veggies and protein if you can.
- Are you breastfeeding? Any of these diets could affect milk supply if you cut back too far, and you might be left feeling even more drained. The LE diet might be most suitable because you can increase cals/protein/fat margins to make sure you (and your milk, and your baby) get the best.
Supps
- Are you doing the LE diet? If so, supplements are not considered necessary and might actually sway blue by increasing nutrients
- What is your pH? [TODO: add link to supps which lower pH]
- Are your cycles regular? [TODO: add link to supps which regulate/de-regulate cycles]
- Do you need to lengthen the LP? [TODO: add link to supps which lengthen LP]
- Do you have much CM? [TODO: add link to supps which dry up CM]
Frequency
- Is your DH over 35? If so, abstianing might not be the best option because it can damage sperm which can increase the risk of birth defects.
- Is your DH capable of releasing daily for over a week? Some men wouldn't be capable of this (or would find it boring and make TTC more stressful). If so, abstaining or compressed frequent release might be better options.
- Is your DH capable of abstaining for over a week? Some men will have an "accident" if they have to abstain, or become more stressed and resentful about TTC. If so, frequent release might be an option or compressed frequent release.
- Do you have regular/short cycles or know what day you'll OV on?
- Do you want to keep testosterone lower? Daily BD is best avoided even with a condom, but compressed frequent release, frequent release and discard, or abstaining might be a better option for you.
- Do you want to keep CM/pH lower? If you have been TTC a long time, you might be best off doing frequent DTD anyway in order to conceive. If you have a history of conceiving quickly and want to keep the CM/pH lower, aim to avoid frequent BD especially without a condom.
Number of attempts
- How long have you been TTC? If you have been TTC a long time and want to conceive sooner, aim for more than one attempt in the fertile window (a few days before, including, and the day after OV)
- Do you need to conceive quickly? If you want to conceive sooner, aim for more than one attempt in the fertile window (a few days before, including, and the day after OV)
- Do you have a history of conceiving quickly? If you have conceived fast in the past, you might only require one single attempt.
- Does your DH have a high sperm count? One attempt would ensure less sperm in total are in there, and this sways pink
- Are you trying for O+12? O+12 is traditionally done with one attempt after abstaining so there are no sperm on the loose before OV that risk getting there first!
- Are you on fertility medication such as clomid? If so, you might want to consider more than one attempt so you can get pregnant faster
Timing
- Are you over 35? If so, you might need to DTD nearer to OV in order to conceive at all
- (O+12): Have you temped for a few months to pinpoint OV? If not, and if you don't get OV pains, try temping for a few cycles before you TTC. The window of opportunity is small when trying for O+12 as if you leave it too late the egg (which lives only 24hrs) will be long gone before the sperm can make it into the tubes and capacitate ready to fertilise the egg.
- (O+12): Do you get ovulation pains? Some women get pains before OV (as the ovary swells), during OV (as the egg bursts out of the follicle), or after OV (as the fluid in the follicle irritates the internal organs) - if you get OV pain and know which type you get, use this to time your O+12 attempt
- (For those that believe in the cut off) Do you have a regular cycle and know when OV day is? If you have regular cycles but don't know when OV is, it's a good idea to temp for a cycle or two before your attempt to learn exactly which cycle day you ovulate on. If you don't but are planning a small cut off (1-2 days) you could wait until you get a positive OPK or see a fade-in pattern and use that to start (or stop) BDing.
- Will you be using OPKs? If you have irregular cycles you can use OPKs to time BDing either around OV if you are BDing through OV, or planning to stop BDing at the first pos OPK, you can use OPKs to help with your timing. Alternatively, if you are doing compressed frequent release you can start releasing (and discarding) when you get your first positive OPK. Some studies show that BDing when oestrogen s not the dominant hormone (i.e. before the fertile window, during the LH surge, and after OV when the EWCM has dried up) sways pink
Douching
- Are you having more than one attempt?
- Is your pH in the good range (pH of 4-5)?
- Does your DH have a high pH (pH of 8+)?
Work in progress - will add more later. DS needs me right now!
Atomic - feel free to tweak/add links as you see necessary!
