Waiting for O

TTC is a waiting game...waiting for O (ovulation) and then the driving-you-crazy 2WW (2 week wait between ovulation and period).

At the mo I'm waiting for O - today is CD (cycle day) 18 and from past charts I usually pretty much consistently O'd on CD 19/20.  Except for the last cycle it happened on CD 23 - I think the vitex agnus castus or increased B6 I've been taking has something to do with that.

Anyway, I've always only used BBT charting to monitor my fertility, but this cycle I decided to give opks (ovulation predictor kits) a try...just to see if they confirm when my charts tell me that I O'd.  So now I'm nervous 'cause I'm worried that the opks won't show any signs of O.

I've always relied on my bi-phasic charts as 100% confirmation that I am O'ing, because they say your temps are really very accurate in this regard, so I'm curious to see what the opk's will be telling me.

If you're not familiar with opk's, read HERE (point no. 3).

I've taken opks on CD 14, 16, 17 & 18 and they're all negative. Although today (CD 18) there was a really faint test line, so I'm wondering if that means that the LH surge is starting up and gearing for O?  Aparently some people get this kind of slow progression to a full positive O reading, and some don't. Anyhoo, time will tell, ish.

Influencing Your Baby's Gender - Yay or Nay?

We all know that the only important thing about babies is that you have a perfect and healthy one.

There are some people however who would like to have a certain gender at a certain stage, for example a boy first and then a girl.  If this is something you're hoping for, there may be something that you can do at home which may increase your chances of conceiving the gender you'd prefer to have at that moment - and it's called the Shettles method.

When we decided to have a baby I said that I'd R-E-A-L-L-Y like to have a girl...'cause they're cute and you can dress them up all cute and girly and decorate their rooms all cute and girly and I could make cute girly jewellery for her and because girl baby clothes are just sooo much more cute...IMHO. :)  So that's when I got to googling the possibility of influencing your baby's gender, and I came across the Shettles method.

It seems to make sense and to be based on reasonable reason...so who knows, maybe you can sway your preferred gender in your favour.  No harm in trying, right?!  Definitely - it's totally safe and natural and need not involve any external items besides you and your husband.  The only negative side of this method though, is that it could decrease your chances of conceiving, and you'll find out why below - so if you're in a hurry to have a baby or you're taking longer than expected to conceive, then this method may not be something you'd want to try.  Also, as you probably know, there will never be a guarantee that you'll get the gender you've been "trying" for.

Here's how it works!...

There are 2 types of sperm - X-chromosome sperm (aka girl spermies) and Y-chromosome sperm (aka boy spermies).

• Girl spermies are slower than boy spermies, but they're larger and more resilient (ie they live longer) than boy spermies
• Boy spermies are faster, but they're smaller and have a shorter life span than girl spermies

Keeping that in mind, here's what you need to do to increase your chances of conceiving a specific gender:

Trying for a boy:

• time intercourse as close to day of ovulation as possible, ie the day of ovulation but no earlier than the day before ovulation.  Since boy spermies are faster, there's a better chance that more of them will reach the egg first and therefor have a chance to fertilize the egg before the girl spermies
• abstain from intercourse 2-5 days before ovulation - you don't want any girl spermies hanging around when the egg is released - since they were deposited a few days before, they'll already be closer to the egg and any boy spermies deposited on day of ovulation may not make it in time to catch the egg
• have intercourse that allows for deep penetration (eg "doggy style") - this will ensure that the spermies are deposited closer to the cervix, which means the boy spermies have less distance to travel so it increases their chances of reaching the egg.  Also, closer to the cervix the environment is more alkaline, which favours boy spermies
• you (the woman) needs to orgasm before or at the same time as your partner - apparently this releases secretions that are more alkaline, therefor favouring the boy spermies once again

Trying for a girl:  (pretty much the opposite of the above)

• time intercourse for about 2-4 days before ovulation - by the time the egg is released, most of the boy spermies will have expired
• have intercourse that allows for shallow penetration (eg missionary position) - this gives an advantage to the stronger longer living girl spermies, since they can endure the long swim better.
• abstain from intercourse from 2 days before ovulation until 2 days after
• you should avoid orgasm so that the environment remains less alkaline (and more acidic), thereby favouring girl spermies

You've probably already noticed the reason why it may decrease your chances of conceiving by doing the Shettles method...

• if trying for a girl: by not having intercourse close to ovulation, you may completely miss the boat there
• if trying for a girl: by having intercourse so far before ovulation, there may not yet be fertile cervical fluid (ie watery, clear, slippery, stretchy, egg white-like) present, which is needed to help the spermies move easily through the cervix and uterus to the fallopian tubes, and fertile cervical fluid makes the environment more sperm friendly, enabling them to live longer.  Cervical fluid which is not fertile-quality (ie thicker or sticky, or no fluid at all) may actually be hostile to spermies and make it difficult for them to swim to the fallopian tubes
• if trying for a boy: abstaining from intercourse until day of ovulation may cause you to miss the boat again, especially if you don't know exactly when you're ovulating

And there you have it!  Decide for yourself. :)

P.S.  I'm not SO concerned anymore about what gender I have, some switch just went off in my head and I one day thought that it doesn't really matter anymore, although I'd still really like a girl 'cause then I'll have someone to do girly and crafty stuff with! Hehe.

Girl-baby dust to me!!!  :D

Cute Camp Cot

I want one of these beds!  Cute, huh?  It can be used for up to 3 years of age.  It comes with.........

mosquito net

toy bar

changing matt

2 level base

wheels with breaks

AND....

a cute carry cot!

I saw camp cots before that had a rocking feature as well, but I can't find one now anymore.  Boooo....  And there are some that have storage space too, but they don't have a toy bar and mosquito net...and I'd rather have a mosquito net anyway! - more useful.

These beds are so much cuter and more fun than plain old wooden cots...which are about double the price and more - no THANK you.

source (out of stock)
source (in stock) 

Natural Fertility Aids - Evening Primrose Oil

Evening primrose oil (EPO) assists in the production of fertile-quality cervical fluid, increasing it's quality (making it more sperm-friendly) as well as quantity.

Fertile-quality cervical fluid is good for fertility in that it:

• aids the sperm to easily move through the cervix and uterus to the fallopian tubes, and 
• helps the sperm stay alive and mobile for several days inside the uterus / fallopian tubes

The longer the sperm remain alive, the better the chance of conception, especially if intercourse happened a day or more before ovulation. 

Fertile-quality cervical fluid is produced around the time of ovulation, during your fertile days.  You should notice an increase in cervical fluid during this time, and fertile-quality cervical fluid should have a stretchy, slippery, clear, egg white quality to it.

I've seen EPO supplementation suggestions anywhere between 1000mg per day, to 3000mg per day, so do your own research to determine what is safe for you.  Important: EPO supplements should only be taken from cycle day 1 up until day of ovulation (ie it is not be taken after ovulation onwards) - this is because EPO can cause uterine contractions during pregnancy, and this is obviously not conducive towards sustaining a pregnancy.

EPO is an essential fatty acid so it has an array of other health benefits.  So if you wish to continue taking EFA supplements after ovulation, use flaxseed oil (also an EFA) between day of ovulation until your period begins again.

How to Monitor Your Fertility

There are some very simple and inexpensive ways to monitor your fertility at home - what this does is tell you, most importantly for ttc purposes, whether you're ovulating or not - some only confirm after the fact that you've ovulated (bbt charting - although sometimes if you've lucky, bbt charting tells you the day on which you ovulate as well), and some tell you in advance when you're about to ovulate (ovulation microscope and ovulation predictor tests).

I've posted some info about bbt charting and the ovulation microscope HERE.  I like these the most because they're very inexpensive, and they're very accurate as well - so I've read over and over in many different articles.  Bbt charting measures your daily temps, and besides letting you know what's cooking with your fertility, it also tells you a bit about your overall health - it's very useful.  As for the microscope, it's said to be 98% accurate.

The only equipment you need for bbt charting is a digital basal thermometer (a once-off cost of about R100) and bbt charts which you can google and print for free.  If you wish to use the ovulation microscope, you can get that for about R300 (at Dischem - also a once-off cost!), they're usually more expensive if you order them online.

So bbt charting and the ovulation microscope is a really good and very affordable way to monitor your fertility when you're just starting out.  Using fertility monitoring goodies can help you conceive quicker because you know how to time your baby-making sessions more accurately. :)

For more info on how these 2 goodies work and about what they can tell you about your fertility etc, see Monitoring your Fertility.

Cool Portable Food Prep Goodie

How cool is this goodie?

(item can be bought at Calora in my side bar!--->)

It's like a garlic mincer, except there's a bowl to keep the food inside the food squisher goodie, so you use it as a feeding bowl too. And it' small enough, so easy to travel with.  I definitely wanna get me one of these.  I intend to feed baby as much fresh food as I can as opposed to that bottled baby food, so I think this goodie will come in handy.  And if you use it while travelling, you can mush the food as you need it, so it's always freshly prepared!  Coooooool. :D

source (less R)

Kegel Exercises

This exercise is good for everybody (men & women), not just for those of us who are getting pregnant, but it seems to be specially beneficial when planning to become pregnant, or if you're already past that stage, for strengthening your pelvic muscles after pregnancy.

Here's a quick description of what kegel exercises are:

Start with an empty bladder. Imagine that you're trying to stop yourself from passing gas and trying to stop the flow of urine midstream at the same time. The feeling is one of "squeeze and lift" – a closing and drawing up of the front and back passages.

Doing this exercise has a bunch of benefits, but the one most related to pregnancy is: it helps to prevent and treat urinary stress incontinence (aka involuntary wee when you sneeze), especially if your pelvic floor muscles have been weakened due to pregnancy or delivering your baby naturally.

It's also said that kegel exercises assist in making natual delivery easier, as well as controlling hemorrhoids! Cool.

Beginning these exercises before pregnancy could help to prevent or lessen the effects of urinary stress incontinence during the pregnancy, so start doing them as soon as you decide to try for a baby!  I do them everyday while blow-drying my hair - I like multi-tasking where I can.

You should ideally do them in all 3 positions, ie when standing, sitting and lying down.  In the interests of saving some space here (and not at  ALL because I'm lazy...ahem) I'm just posting 3 informative links below discussing kegels in more detail and how to do them:

Kegel Exercises 1
Kegel Exercises 2
Kegel Exercises 3

Preparing for Pregnancy - Folic Acid!

I must admit, there's a teeny tiny part of me that's sort of happy that we didn't get pregnant right from the start.  WHY????? you say?  Well, because since we made the decision to have a baby, I've been doing soooo much research and reading about all things pregnancy related, and it's made me so much wiser on the topic, and as the months went by, I've had the opportunity to learn what I can do *before* conception to help improve my and baby's health.

I've always known that folic acid was a crucial supplement that one should take when pregnant, but what I didn't know at the beginning was that you need to begin taking this at least 3 months before conception...So I immediately began taking that supplement - it's been about a year now since I've started adding folic acid to my arsenal of vitamins, so I'm pretty sure I've built up an extra good reserve for baby. :)  So as soon as you decide to start trying for a baby, start taking folic acid!

And here's why you need to start taking folic acid before conception: according to several studies, taking 400mcg (0.4mg) helps to reduce the chances of neural tube defects in baby by up to 70%.  These defects relate to the underdevelopment and defects of the brain and spinal column...and what's more...these defects occur during the first month of pregnancy...when many women don't even know they're pregnant yet!

So you can see why folic acid is so important and why you need to start taking it long before conception.  With a varied diet we all get in some measure of folic acid, but to be on the safe side, take that supplement so that you can be sure you're getting enough of it.

Natural Fertility Aids - Vit. B6

I started taking Vit B6 supplements about 3 cycles ago when I realized that I *may* have a luteal phase defect - fortunately LPD is one of the easiest fertility issues to cure!

Vit. B6 helps to regulate your reproductive hormones, thereby improving any LPD problems.  LPD makes it more difficult to systain a pregnancy and can result in an early miscarriage.  B6 (or maybe it's the entire B-complex) also makes your wee like a neon yellow colour...so don't get worried if you see that, hehe.

It's recommended to begin supplementing with about 50mg of B6, and then you need to see if that helps, otherwise the dosage can be increased bit by bit until you begin to see some improvement.  The max amount of B6 you should supplement with is 200mg, because I've read that taking too much B6 can actually cause damage.

I began supplementing with 25mg B6 - it was included in a Mega B-Complex supplement I was using.  Then I realized that the zinc I was taking also included 10mg of B6, so I was getting in 35mg B6.  After using it for just 1 cycle my luteal phase was increased from about 9-10 days (on average) to about 14 days - wow! :D  However during the 2nd cycle of use, it went down again to 11/12 days...I'm now in my 3rd cycle of using B6, but I've upped the dosage to 85mg in total, so I'll have to wait and see what happens!  I have read though that it can take a while for some supplements to have an effect on your fertility, so I won't be jumping to any conclusions just yet, maybe it's too early for that.

As a side note - I began taking B6 and vitex agnus castus at the same time, and during the 2nd cycle of use my ovulation was delayed by 3 days (and my ovulation is always on the same cycle day).  So I don't know who's to blame for this, but some have said it's the vitex and someone was of the opinion that it was the B6.  I think next cycle I'm going to stop with the vitex, and until then.....the mystery remains.

Baby Changing Bag

I think the thing that I'm most impatient about at this point is the shopping!

..........What?!?!........ I'm a girl afterall, I can't be held responsible for my shopping cravings.

I don't want to go overboard with baby-stuff shopping yet, so I'm filling up my online wishlist cart. :)

Here's a baby changing bag that I like.  I love bags...especially cute handbags with lots of compartments for storing things.  And baby is a perfect excuse to add another cute compartmentalized bag to my handbag collection. :D  But seriously, who can say NO to this bag set....

(item can be bought from Calora in my side bar --->)

Definitely not meeeeeeee!!

Let's hope this pretty bag is still in stock by the time I need to order it!

 

Fertility Problems - Luteal Phase Defect

I've been charting my bbt's since April 2011, but I never thought to check my luteal phase (LP), but when I did, I realized it seemed a little too short and that it could be why I had a miscarriage and even why we haven't got our bun in the oven yet.

Basically, from what I can gather, having luteal phase defect (LPD) means that there's just not enough time for the fertilized egg to implant into the uterine lining before your period begins.  Hence you get a very early miscarriage.

In short, here's some more info on LDP:

(source of article)

The luteal phase refers to the time in a normal menstrual cycle that begins after ovulation (when a mature egg is released) and continues until the start of your next menstrual period. The average luteal phase lasts for 14 days, but 10 to 16 days is considered normal. The length of the luteal phase varies from woman to woman, although for each individual woman the length is fairly consistent from cycle to cycle.

Luteal Phase Defect (LPD) leads to a disruption in progesterone production. You are considered to have a luteal phase defect if your luteal phase lasts fewer than 10 days. Some doctors, however, believe that a luteal phase of less than 12 days indicates LPD.

If you do not produce enough progesterone, you will be unable to sustain a pregnancy. The endometrial lining of the uterus will break down, which may trigger menstrual bleeding and cause an early miscarriage. If you produce enough progesterone but your uterus does not respond to it, the lining is not adequately prepared or thick enough for the embryo to attach to it.

From my bbt charts, it seemed that my LP may be a little short, and never longer than 12 days, so I researched natural remedies to fix it and found out about vitex agnus castus (chasteberry) and increased doses of vit B6 - the first cycle that I took these supplements, my LP increased to about 14 or 16 days - yay!  Month 2  however it was down to about 11/12 days (bummer), so I'm in my 3rd month of taking these and I'll see what happens this time!

The good news about LPD though is that it's one of the easiest fertility issues to fix, and only with natural remedies!  See HERE for more info.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer - please note that I'm in no way, shape or form a medical or health expert or advisor in any sense.  Everything posted here is only what I've found on google, some of which I've used after satisfying myself that it was safe for me to do so.  You have to do your own research and consult your own medical & health experts before applying anything you find on my blog, or on anything contained in any links on this blog, or anywhere else on google for that matter.  I accept no liability or responsibility for any loss or damage caused to anyone from the use of this website.

All informative info on this site is what I've obtained from online research and reading - I'm not an expert in biology or fertility.

Now that all the formalities are out of the way, we can continue on our journey! :)

And the journey begins...

Well, actually it began about 13 months ago, when we decided we want a baby!

Who’d ever have thunk it.  I never wanted kids and husband just went along with the flow, but when I think back on things, for the last while me (aka Noob Mum) and my husband (aka Noob Dad) have more and more begun saying things like “if we had kids we’d do this or we’d do that, or we’d NEVER do THAT, what’s wrong with those people?!”.   Haha.  Oh, and we’d talk hypothetically about the day where our kids can do whatever boring house chores we didn’t feel like doing in exchange for some or other bribe...ahem, I mean pocket money. ;)

We have many opinions on how one should raise one’s kids (like it or not :P ), and I think with the little bit of life experience we’ve gathered along the way, we’re better equipped to be parents at this point in our lives than we were in our 20′s.  Which is why I’ve already given ourselves the titles of Noob Mum & Dad – I kinda already feel like a parent, just waiting for the kid to arrive now, hehe.

Anyway, so the decision was made in Feb 2011.  Almost right from the get go (about 2 months into baby-making mode) I decided to monitor my fertility via bbt charting and using an ovulation microscope.  I knew my age may not be in my favour, so I didn’t waste any time.

In July 2011, about 4 days past ovulation, I suspected something was a-brewing, so a few days later I took an hpt and got a positive. Yay!  Shortly afterwards I went for a blood test to confirm, but on the very day I went for the test I had a miscarriage, at 5 weeks.   And, since then there’s been nothing baking in the oven again.

A couple months ago I decided to look more closely at my bbt charts, and that’s when I noticed the luteal phase (LP) of my cycles were a tad too short (known as a luteal phase defect) – so I began looking for natural remedies to fix this problem, and I believe I’ve found them.

My homoeopath also mentioned, based on certain things that I told her, that it could be possible that I have endometriosis, which, as I have read, may or may not hinder conception – no tests have been done to confirm whether  I have endo.

I’ve also recently begun taking supplements to increase the quality of cervical mucus, making it more sperm-friendly and nourishing them for a few days until they reach their destination (ie the egg).  I have no idea whether there’s a problem with mine, but I thought there’s no harm in taking it anyway – things can only be go better with supplements…

I take a number of vitamin supplements to assist in general health and well-being, which can also only aid fertility…and I’ve gotten Noob Dad to take Vit C and zinc since those are good for the spermies.
Anyway, that’s about the whole story and this is where we’re at now.  I’ll be posting some more informative bits on natural fertility aids, which is also where I’ll be discussing the remedies I’m using for the issues mentioned above.

I’ve decided to give it a few more months and if there’s still no cake in the oven, we’ll have to think about going to see a fertility specialist to see what the problem is.  Boo.

Baby dust to us! :)

Oh, and as you may have guessed, the names we've chosen are Danielle or Aidan.  I don't know if we're going to have more than one baby, but I sort of wish we were having one of each, that way we get to use both names! Hehe.