New to TTC Boy - Advice?

[boywish]

Hi All,

We are looking at TTC #2 towards the end of the year beginning of next year and hoping for a boy.

We were blessed with our beautiful daughter late last year and lucky enough to fall pregnant with her 1st try. I'm wondering if some of the things I was doing swayed pink or if it was just luck of the draw.

TTC#1:
- had been tracking my cycles with OPKS - postive result D19 of 33 day cycle - dont remember exactly when we BD but it was only once following the + opk
- taking thyroxine for hypothyroidism
- was on DHEA (low dose) and progesterone for adrenal fatigue and estrogen dominance (I do wonder if these helped us fall so quickly)
- taking prenatal, Mega B (I originally had short luteal phase and took this to help lengthen)
- fertility acupunture - helped with luteal phase
- vitamin C approx 2000 day - to help with adrenal fatigue
- ACV & flaxseed every morning
- exercising 5 days week at the gym - cardio and weights
- diet was not great - ate quite a bit of sugar (sweet tooth) and not enough enough during the day (realised this when pregnant and diagnosed with gestational diabetes - followed the plan and lost weight even though I was eating much more food)
- DH didn't take any multivitamins


I already have some plans for TTC#2
- I am 10kg lighter than I was pre-pregnancy - I think the pregnancy help kick my metabolism back into gear
- follow HE diet (which is similar to the gestation diabetes diet except they recommend low fat everything but the eating schedule and requirement to eat carbs at every meal is similar). My issue here is dairy doesnt overly agree with me would 1 serve a day suffice?
- currently taking multivitamin, mega b, thyroxine, probiotic
- general acupuncture - focusing on thyroid will commence fertility acupuncture again closer to TTC
- will put DH on menevit (multivitamin in AUS)
- exercise - pillates, weights and walking 5x week
- will strat tracking cycles with OPKs as of next month (have only had 2 so far since having my DD and they have ben much shorter - 27 days and the bleeding not as heavy or for as long)

I am planning on purchasing a GD plan closer to our attempt time and have been reading through the forums gaining info - just wondering if anyone may have some suggestions/advice of things we can do in the meantime as we have at least 6mths before we start trying.

Sorry thats a long post!

Thank you in advance for your help :-)

[Bommy_7]

Just wanted to wish you luck! We are going to begin our boy sway this summer/fall! It looks like you are off to a good start :-)

[Beau82]

Well the one attempt at pos OPK would have swayed pink but quite a few of those things you did when TTC your first seem like they would sway blue actually. The prenatal vitamin plus extra vit C, I *think* I read that fertility acupuncture sways blue but the only other person I know who has done it is pregnant with a girl as well. The moderate exercise with weights sways blue too unless you were doing 60 minutes of cardio on top of that. I think maybe it was just luck of the draw that you got a daughter first, I would think that all you did (besides 1 attempt) would have given you a son! Although, I'm just reading that again and it looks like maybe your diet was very pink if it was very low-cal.

Your blue sway plan looks great! Getting a personalized plan will be even better IMO. Good luck!

[Throwaway_panther]

Well the one attempt at pos OPK would have swayed pink but quite a few of those things you did when TTC your first seem like they would sway blue actually. The prenatal vitamin plus extra vit C, I *think* I read that fertility acupuncture sways blue but the only other person I know who has done it is pregnant with a girl as well. The moderate exercise with weights sways blue too unless you were doing 60 minutes of cardio on top of that. I think maybe it was just luck of the draw that you got a daughter first, I would think that all you did (besides 1 attempt) would have given you a son! Although, I'm just reading that again and it looks like maybe your diet was very pink if it was very low-cal.

Your blue sway plan looks great! Getting a personalized plan will be even better IMO. Good luck!

I think she had a pretty "pink" lifestyle, honestly.

The things that stuck out to me as possible pink factors were:
- Adrenal fatigue -- that is a huge infertility factor. I full on had my adrenal glands almost fail when I was younger and was told I'd be infertile... but then here I am too, girl on first try trying That being said, she may have lucked out falling pregnant with the treatments for that, but still been recovering, since cortisol is a b!tch to get regulated after adrenal issues
- Not eating a lot during the day -- huge pink factor
- I believe flaxseed is a pink sway fat, though I think ACV is an old school blue tactic
- Overall self-admitted "not great diet"
- Only one attempt during fertile cycle
- Possible too much exercise -- maybe
- Not knowing what boywish did as birth control, but a "first try" pregnancy implies to me some sort of protection used before then -- and I know coming off hormonal birth control sways pink (also guilty of that over here!)

And I was on a prenatal for months before conceiving, with a full month of prenatal DHA, too, and still ended up conceiving a girl because of the larger issues (diet, eating frequency, exercise, etc.)

Anyway, those are my thoughts, boywish! Welcome -- I'll be also hopefully swaying blue at the end of this year/beginning of next year when my daughter is at least 6 months old... if my ovulation has other plans (though I'll be surprised if I don't end up being an "early" bleeder), I'm hoping to be in full sway mode shortly after giving birth this June for any possible accidents leading up to a proper sway.

We have a lot of similar background, too! (Thyroid and adrenal issues; I had a semi-GD scare, but turns out to have been a slight glucose sensitivity which is showing no issues -- but still, like you, I've been following a GD-like diet anyway because it's so similar to the HE lifestyle!)

I think the stuff you're doing so far is a really good start -- I know probiotics are a huge blue sway tactic!

[boywish]

Just wanted to wish you luck! We are going to begin our boy sway this summer/fall! It looks like you are off to a good start :-)

Hi Bommy - thank you! Good luck with your boy sway fingers crossed for you :-)

[boywish]

Thanks Beau82 - now that I know about swaying I think you are right the 1 attempt would sway pink. I think my biggest factor is diet so if I can a head start on that before beginning a full on sway would be great. Will also focus more on doing weights as last time was very cardio based! As you said though it could also have just been luck of the draw!

[boywish]

Thanks for your reply throwaway_panther.

I think you are very right about the girl lifestyle - as I said above I think my diet last time was very much a pink knowing what I know now about swaying. I was soo worried about being infertile as I had been on BCP for 14yrs (stopped 10mths prior to attempt), being hypothyroid plus the adrenal issues it was such a shock to fall 1st go but an amazing blessing too.

I'm going to get back into eating like the GD diet ( I don't think I had true GD as the only factor was my blood results - nothing affecting baby ie size, excess placental fluid & once I started the diet everything regulated & as I said I lost weight), but will do HE. Will also focus on trading more weights etc and still cardio just not as much before. As I get closer to attempting will look at a personalised sway plan too!

Congratulations on your daughter, wishing you all the best for her arrival in June. Fingers crossed for you for your blue sway too :-)

[atomic sagebrush]

I think that some of the things you were eating and taking could certainly have swayed pink for you.

It is fine to do lower fat on HE Diet but just be VERY careful that you are eating more animal sourced fats like butter and less vegetable fats especially those in soy/corn/canola or rapeseed.

No ACV or flaxseed and only the amount of Vit. C in a prenatal. I would be wary of messing around with hormone stuff unless you have a medical doctor's input. A lot of the Aussie naturopaths are very aggressive with prescribing stuff and it has caused lots of problems for people. I would not have you do the Mega B either because it has really messed up people's cycles.

Dairy one serving is fine! Also you can do something like cheese or yogurt instead, many of us who can't do milk or ice cream, can eat cheese or natural yogurt.

[atomic sagebrush]

being on BCP for 14 years could very well have swayed pink and I would suspect (strongly) also at the root of whatever symptoms were being called "estrogen dominance"

Just wanted to clarify about the ACV, while that was originally an old school sway tactic because of pH, pH via diet has not seemed to work really and ACV lowers blood sugar (proven) and so I think that it could possibly sway pink in anyone who is eating anything less than full HE Diet. If you're eating HE Diet, your blood sugar will stay up because you're always eating, but if you weren't eating HE, and in fact skipping meals and eating lower protein, it could make your blood sugar drop low between meals inadvertently swaying pink.

[atomic sagebrush]

^^ that's why we use lemon water instead - if pH works (which it doesn't, but if it does haha) then that is supposed to do the same thing as the ACV anyway and it does it without the risks to the blood sugar taht the ACV has.