3 boys already and TTC girl attempt Oct 2019
Gender Result:
Boy
DW Age:
34
DH Age:
33
Current Children's Gender(s)
Boy
Boy
Boy
Number of Months TTC
1
Did you purchase and follow a GD Personalized Plan?
Yes
DIET
Did you follow a diet plan?
Yes
If yes to diet, which one did you most follow?
PCOS LE
Comments regarding DW's diet changes-
Things I did for a year or more:
Minimal meat eating - maybe one or two meals per week include meat. Three cups of coffee a day (before I was one or none - not a big caffeine drinker) with sweeteners (before I was using sugar)
Only other thing I drink (apart from wine at the weekend) is diet coke or cordial with aspartame
No breakfast / no food before 11am
500mg metformin and yasmin contraceptive pill
1 hr a day walking (although usually split into 2 sessions)
Things I did for 5 weeks before attempt:
500g fiber supplement per day
An extra 40 mins walking per day (so total walking per day was up to 1 hour 30 mins on average, with at least 1 hour being in one go)
Calorie counting - eating around 1500 calories per day and lots of PCOS LE diet food.
If diet was used, length of time before attempt?
I did a laid back PCOS LE mainly vegetarian diet for around a year. Had a break over the summer whilst on vacation, then back on LE PCOS diet more strictly but only for 5 weeks before attempt.
Did you skip breakfast regularly?
Yes. Didn't eat until 11am.
Did DH change his diet with you?
He also cut back on meat for around a year before attempt
Comments regarding DH's diet-
Drinks alcohol regularly, lots of caffeine
DId you consume alcohol?
Not daily but 2 or 3 times a week
DId you try to limit caffeine?
No, I drank 2 or 3 cups of coffee a day plus a diet coke
Any Diet Details?
My diet was definitely less nutritious and boy friendly than it has been when I conceived my three boys. I was eating a lot less meat (avoiding it mostly), and much smaller portions.
Any Diet Comments/Additional Info?
I know my diet could have been lower in sugar. I have a sweet tooth and find it hard to kerb! Generally eat some chocolate / biscuits most days, and also a lot of empty carbs: bread / potatoes / pasta. Wasn't confident about my weight or my diet, these are the things I find hardest to change. But I had consciously shifted my diet over the past year, and the changes that I've found easy I've stuck to long term. So there were a few big changes overall from when I conceived my other three boys.
WEIGHT AND EXERCISE
What did you weigh/BMI do leading up to O?
Weight was 75kg at ovulation. Had lost 5kgs over the course of half a year, put a few back on over summer, then lost 2.5kg in the 6 weeks leading up to TTC. Weight was annoyingly yoyo, but I didn't want to obsess about it. Definitely not my smallest conception weight, but smaller than I was for my last two boys, and exercising way more. 1.5 hours of fast walking per day, often pushing my 3 year old in the pushchair.
Any Weight/Exercise related additional info/comments?
-
THINGS in VG and CONCEPTION DATE(CD) INFO
pH Before Starting a Sway Program, if known
I think it was 4.5 / 5ish but can't remember exactly
Any VG potions used?
Rephresh approx 12 hours before TTC. Sylk used at attempt
CM pH at attempt
-
DH pH
-
How many BD attempts did you make for the BFP cycle?
1
BD Dates according to Ovulation
1 Day Before O
Any additional comments?
DH had been having warm baths the week leading up to TTC, including one just before we DTD.
THE DEED INFO
DH Info about Swimmers
He just did what he usually does. No FR or abstain.
BD Position
Missionary, shallow release
Did you Jump and Dump?
Yes, after 5 mins
Any relevant attempt details?
SUPPLEMENTS USED
DW Supplements
Fibre
Metformin (750mg daily) been on it for 18 months for PCOS.
Yasmin birth control (caught first egg after coming off the pill)
DH Supplements
OLE but he took it sporadically and forgot to take it with him on a week long work trip immediately before our attempt, so really he didn't take much OLE.
-
Any additional supplement info?
Did you do anything with Ions?
No
Moon Phase during conception?
No idea
Did you use any Old Wives Tales?
No. I sort of "asked the universe" the morning before we TTC. Said out loud how much I wanted this and that I was so ready to meet my daughter, but appreciative of the opportunity to try once more whatever the outcome.
Things that make me feel great about my sway:
The long term changes I'd made to my diet and lifestyle. And that my hormone profile was soooo different than when I conceived my last 2 boys. When bloods were tested in 2018, when I first realised I had PCOS, I had high testosterone and low SHBG. When tested again after 6 months of yasmin and metformin, my testosterone had reduced from 1.7 to 1.4, and SHBG was marked as 'elevated' (not sure if high SHGB is good or bad in this case for swaying pink?). So a lot of change there, hormones-wise. I hadn't been tested in 2019, but I'm guessing levels won't have changed drastically as was still taking all the same meds.
Things that make me nervous about my sway:
I would like to have lost more weight, and have spent more time sticking to the LE calorie limit. I felt I had been better at that before summer, when I got lax. But my DH only gave the green light to TTC in Sept, so I had 5 weeks before our attempt to give it my best shot.
We did a fair bit to make conception more difficult than with my boys (warm bath immediately before TTC, rephresh and sylk, first cycle off the pill, shallow release plus J & D, and just one DTD attempt all cycle (we were actually doing E4D but the second attempt was most definitely a couple of days after ovulation). I had a niggling concern that we should have done even LESS to help conception, as we've always conceived on the first cycle when we've TTCed in the past (including 3 early miscarriages, so this conception takes that total to 7 first cycle conceptions). We did indeed conceive straight away this time (I was surprised with everything we'd tried!), so if I were to change anything, I think I would have either done a 2-3 day cut off, or got my DH to not have released with a full load somehow.
Things worth mentioning:
I wasn't stressed about this attempt. In the weeks leading up, I did a lot of thinking about how I just can't control everything, only give myself the best odds. At the end of the day, it comes down to one moment of science and biology and even the best sway attempt ever cannot ultimately decide which sperm ends up meeting the egg first. After our attempt and when I got my BFP when I really wasn't expecting our first TTC attempt to work, I honestly thought we were in with a really decent chance of getting a girl, probably the most positive I've been about it with all of my pregnancies! Turns out we have boy number 4 on the way, as confirmed by the NIPT test at 10 weeks, and last week the anomaly scan reconfirmed. This was the last try for us, so now starting the long journey towards moving on, regaining perspective, and looking forward to future happiness with my brood of lovely boys.
None of this is particularly easier to write with a positive spin at the moment, but I'm adopting a 'fake it till you make it' attitude. Meanwhile, anyone in my life who has been commenting in disbelief about 4 boys is getting the death stare or an earful about why you shouldn't make those comments - the pregnancy rage is real ; )