question- irregular cycles and sex every 4 days

[littlelotus29]

hi ladies- this forum has been extremely insightful being that i will be swaying pink this fall.

this is my 1st month off bc (again) and i got my +opk this AM. my husband and i are not trying till Sept so right now i am just tracking. that being said, for baby #1 i got pregnant my 4th month off bc and my cycles were slightly irregular. they ranged from 28 days to 35 days. i am just curious on how to attack the "every 4 day" method if my ovulation day might vary. hypothetical- if we were to have sex on CD10 and then I get a + on CD12, what is the correct plan of action? wait? have sex again? i am just tossing days out there to better explain my concerns. my opks indicate the increase in LH from slight to surge but my slight days can linger from 2-4 days so timing is tricky.

background- i have a unicornuate uterus so i can only get pregnant when i ovulate from my left ovary. as for this month i got my + on CD16, CM pH is currently 5.0 without any swaying, EWCM is present, on a diet (not LE) and lost 7lbs in the past month, not too much exercise, take metformin and maca. will be adding in cran/cal/mag supplements from AF to OV starting next month.

my husband has a very high sperm count/good motility and borderline low morphology. RE said his morph isn't a concern since his count is so high. will be checking his semen pH. he is a caffeine lover and indulges in a decent amount of salty sweet foods weekly. takes no supplements, no exercise, no medical issues, has all normal blood labs. he is open to taking supplements so i might give him cran/cal/mag. thought about coQ10 ubiquinol and selenium for morph but am undecided. any advice or insight would help. feel free to toss out questions if you need specifics. thx

[atomic sagebrush]

You don't worry about what day you might ovulate with the every 4 day method. You just start DTD a day or so after you get off AF and just go with that.

It may take a month or two to all fall into place but eventually you will get pregnant with every four days. One month it will just happen from luck that your attempt will be well timed to achieve pregnancy with no efforts on your part (other than the sex LOL)

Some people want to be in with a better chance of conception and then add in another attempt at positive OPK OR if you know O is coming, and you also know that your last attempt was 3 days ago, you might want to have another attempt (or if you're sitting on the fence, flip a coin and do what the coin says). But I wouldn't do that unless you had given it at least a month or two with the every 4 days.

I am not a fan of maca and it would prob. sway blue anyway so I would drop it.

I am also not a fan of cranberry for DW, I do not think it's safe. Fine for DH.

Caffeine swaying blue has been totally debunked so please don't make your husband cut out caff. if he would prefer not to. If anything, caff. probably sways pink.

[littlelotus29]

Thank you for the clarity. I plan to drop maca for our trying months. I tend to take it only when coming off the pill to kick everything back into gear. With my specific case of PCOS it's always a toss up as to whether I will be anovulatory. Thankfully, I was not with #1 and do not seem to be this time around. It's kind of tough because I naturally sway boy on so many levels.

If you get a moment, can you let me know why you're a fan of cranberry for men and not for women? I have a fairly large bottle and before I crack it open, I might return it based on your response.

Also, do the attempts prior to +opk have to be protected? if so, why?

[atomic sagebrush]

Full description of why cran is for guys not gals here: http://genderdreaming.com/forum/ttc-...echniques.html (also note I am moving away from aspirin too as side effects are many and results are disappointing)

Yes attempts before pos OPK should be protected. For reasons we do not know, one attempt is very pink friendly. Among our best stats.

The maca is concerning to me because it's a huge unknown not only for swaying, but for safety. We had some people have some very strange experiences taking it (like hallucinations!) and it just makes me generally nervous.

I have a PCOS alternate swaying diet that may help here: http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...rt-3-pcos.html

[littlelotus29]

Thank you again! Given your research findings, I will save the cran for my hubs haha.

I understand your concerns with maca. In 2013, I was taking it for 4 months. This time around, I only took it for July because as you said, it sways boy. I have a super sensitive system and a bad stomach and I had no side effects both times using it. Granted everyone is different and there is so many different brands and levels of potency that people take so I understand how reviews can be mixed. My dose is 1 tsp per day of non gelatinized organic powder from end of AF to +opk. What I will say is the taste makes me want to gag, so I have to blend it into a smoothie because pudding and yogurt just don't cut it! That is prob my only complaint about it.

Well fingers crossed for Fall! Thanks for your help

[littlelotus29]

Hello all- Atomic, if you're avail, I have another question. I am overthinking this and just want confirmation. If the "every 4 day" was started Saturday 8/1, would our next deed be 8/4 or 8/5. My hubs and I are having 2 different schools of thought as to what qualifies as every 4.

TIA- always appreciated

[XXforhubby]

BD, three day in between, then BD again. So if BD on 8/1, then BD again on 8/5.

[littlelotus29]

Thanks for the reply. I tend to not overthink too much but it's always good to ask. Since you guys have been analyzing best practices for TTC girl/boy, I just want to follow the trend as best as I can. We upped our trying time by one month so I wasn't expecting to engage in a sway attempt or trying till Sept. Let's see how it goes.

Since sex is protected till +OPK, does it make a difference if my husband has a solo performance? 8/1 had to be solo because I strained my back (pretty bad) on 7/31. We will pick up with the normal plan tomorrow because I am a-okay now but just curious about solo release.

[XXforhubby]

He can release on his own if he wants or BD with you, whatever is easiest for you and him, ! The main thing is one attempt in your fertile window. What happens before then doesn't much matter as long as it's protected. If you choose unprotected, then stick to BDing every 4 days.

HTH!

[atomic sagebrush]

Hello all- Atomic, if you're avail, I have another question. I am overthinking this and just want confirmation. If the "every 4 day" was started Saturday 8/1, would our next deed be 8/4 or 8/5. My hubs and I are having 2 different schools of thought as to what qualifies as every 4.

TIA- always appreciated

It's a little bit at the individual's discretion - sooner may be a little "bluer" but better for conception, further may be a little "pinker" but not as good for conception. Err on the side of which aspect is more important to you.

From my mind - I feel that 8/5 is more inline with what got me my little girl so I'd go with that - but remember, I do not have hard scientific data to back that up.