Is anyone else trying to conceive?

[spa_girl]

Just curious. My hubby and I have been sort of preparing for it the last couple months, and this week sort of marks the beginning of our efforts.

[Erin_S2S]

Good luck! :)
I hope you have a lot of fun trying and don't have to wait too long.

[spa_girl]

Thanks!! I hope so, too :)

If anyone knows of any veggie pregnancy sites, I'd love it if you could pass them on.

I'm seeing my doctor in a couple weeks and nervous to tell her that I'm vegetarian... (it has never come up before) But she is Chinese American so I hope that means she is more open to a diet that isn't meat-centric.

[lijahbaby]

vegfamily.com is an excelent site for pregnancy and raising veg children.There are message boards and articles.I visit it almost every day(I have a 2 year old).You should check it out.Good luck!

[AuroraLily]

Congratulations. I just got married and am in grad school so we figure we'll start trying in about 3 years. So I'm vowed that over the next three years I am doing everything I can to get my body ready. I consider it a three step plan. I don't smoke and I drink minimally. I am eating really healthy. I am going to get in really good shape and start taking up types of exercise that I can continue during pregnancy (yoga). I'll start taking prenatal vitamins and lastly, I'll keeping my husband healthy. More and more research shows the father's health is just as important.

Good luck with conceiving. Relax and don't stress about. It can take awhile. Are you using an ovulator predictor?

[spa_girl]

Thanks for the support! :) I'll definitely check out vegfamily.com.

Since we're just starting out and I don't (yet) have any reason to expect unforeseen difficulties, I've just been sort of guesstimating when I'm ovulating based on reading signs from my body and keeping track of my cycle with a calendar.

I, too, have done a lot to get healthy. It's fun! I just had my last glass of wine a few days ago, and before that, I was only having one or two glasses with dinner a couple times a week. I've been doing yoga pretty steadily for the last couple months. I've been taking vitamins for a while now too.

We'll see how it goes! Waiting sucks! ;)

Congrats on your marriage, Aurora!

[MsRuthieB]

Elevate your pelvis with some pillows and don't move around for at least a half hour afterwards. This will increase your chances of conception.

Take your temp prior to getting out of bed every morning and write it down. A spike in your basil body temp is an indication of ovulation (taking into consideration that you aren't sick).

Good Luck!

[AuroraLily]

I've also heard not to have sex too often, like 5 times a day. The concentration of sperm in the fluid becomes minimal. Just relax and have fun. Don't make it a chore. I'm glad you're healthy. I think it's one of the best gift you could give your future child. Good luck and keep us updated.

[dotnetdiva]

It took my husband and I five months to get pregnant. That was with him traveling during the week for half that time. If you do have problems, like are trying for more than 6 months, make sure you are tracking your ovulation cycle. We never had to do this, but friends told us we would be expected to do this if we wanted to go to the doctor for help conceiving. MsRuthieB describes a method of tracking this.

The first month we figured out when my ovulation occurred, we had sex a few days before it, on that day, and a few days after. Luckily, that's all it took for us.

Good luck! It sounds like you and your husband are well prepared. My husband and I had been eating well and exercising and preparing for this for at least 6 months prior, so hopefully we'll have a healthy baby this fall.

[bethc46]

I hated taking my basal body temperature!! I recommend buying an ovulation predictor kit. You can get them at Wal Mart or your local drug store. They are relatively inexpensive and they work. The up side to them is you don't have to try and remember to do it everyday.

[spa_girl]

Thanks to everyone for their advice! Really, I totally appreciate it. We're baby dancing all week, so we'll see what happens!

[pickletatertot]

I say, at first, just relax and have fun! I always hated the idea of tracking and charting things. I tried the basal body temp. thing too. It didn't work for me because my temps were never consistent since I wake up often during the night. I never had to try long enough to have to try too hard though...it took us two months to get pregnant with my first daughter and I got pregnant with my second the first time we had unprotected sex.

A good book, though, just in general about fertility is Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It explains everything and it's kind of the conception Bible! Best of luck as you embark on this amazing journey.

BTW...none of my doctors have ever had any trouble with my vegetarian diet. You will probably be pleasantly surprised with yours.

[peacecat]

spa_girl,
good luck. i spent a little under 1 1/2 years trying to get pregnant and now am. i hope you don't get hassled about being veg...i haven't found it to be an issue at all with my midwife. have fun and relax...btw, i don't have a male partner and am 41 so you can do it...;)

[spa_girl]

thanks, peacecat! :) and congrats to you!

[janette]

to find out qhen you are ovulating check your vaginal mucous. when it is really thin and slimy that is around the time you should be ovulating. you will notice it starting to get thin aften menstruation and after approxametly 3-5 days you should ovulate. every woman is different but that is roughly how it goes.

also, according to this sex tv show thing.. when a woman orgasms her cervix actually "sucks in" the sperm and she has a better chance of getting pregnant.

xoxo

[Avalon]

I thought we ovulated at mid cycle?? Like, day 14? Am I wrong?

[AuroraLily]

14 days before your period is when you ovulate. So if you have a 40 day cycle it's on day 26. In health class, this is always explained with a 28 day cycle but so many women don't have a 28 day cycle.

[spa_girl]

I think for me it is right around day 15 or 16. I have a fairly regular schedule. Btw, we are waiting it out for the next week and a half to see if anything "took"! ;)

[*sprout*]

i hope it works out for you guys !! good luck !
are you hoping for a guy or a girl or does it matter ?

[*sprout*]

o and btw if you get pregnant in may you shud have your child in about febuary i think !

[brandymom]

We're trying to start a new little one to add to our collection of two:) i think the fluid check is the best way to tell if it's the right time for romance. It should feel kinda like egg whites. (Uncooked;)) Good Luck and lots of fun.
Brandy

[brandymom]

Oh yeah-and I've heard that fresh sperm stand the best chances of making to the goal line, so while you don't want to overdo it, don't save up for it either.
Brandy

[Life2k]

To increase your chances of having a son, let the husband climax first. To increase your chances of having a daughter, let the wife climax first. Just a little information from an old Jewish text.

[peacecat]

thanks for the congrats spa_girl. If you get overwhelmed or tired of the checking mucus, temptaking etc, the store bought ovulation predictor kits are pretty reliable. that's what i used...

also, the orgasm thing is definitely true because it causes your cervix to contract and actually pull sperm into and toward the back of your uterus. that's where you want it. good luck and don't despair...:)

[greyhoundgirl]

I'm not married, but I've been doing some research on it, because I'm getting to that age.

Here's the extensive research I've found. Buy yourself a Basal Body Temp Thermometer. Taking your termperature before you even set one foot out of bed is a good idea. Shake down the thermometer before going to bed so even the motion of shaking it down doesn't affect it. As soon as you wake up take your temp. Record it. This may take several cycles(months) to narrow down your BBT. Just before ovulation, your temp rises. It's not detectable on a regular therm. It's only like .4 to .7 of a degree. So a BB therm is important.

I'm trying for a girl, from all the wives tales I've heard to some somewhat scientific methods....here's what I've found.

In general to get pregnant...

1.) Stay in bed with your pelvic region slightly elevated.
2.) Eliminate caffeine from your diet. Caffeine apparently makes it difficult for the egg to implant if it's fertilized. Thins your walls or something. Read too much can't recall exactly.
3.) The man should drink caffeine, apparently it makes the sperm hyperactive.
4.) The man should definitely not smoke, obviously the woman shouldn't either. But when theman smokes it helps to produce defective sperm, so the chances of losing the baby or having a child with problems increases.

These aren't real tried and true, but fun to try if you're hoping for one or the other...

For a boy....

1.) The man should eats lots of red meat.
2.) The man should wear briefs.
3.) Do it "doggy style", deposits the sperm closer to the cervix, and the male carrying sperm are faster swimmers but don't last as long, they are more likely to get to the egg first.
4.) Man should take a hot bath just prior to intercourse.
5.) Have sex at night.
6.) I've heard this two ways, either have sex 3-4 days prior to ovulation, which to me doesn't make sense, because the male carrying sperm would have died by then -OR- Have sex 1 day prior to ovulation up until 1 day after ovulation.
7.) Have sex on odd numbered days.
8.) Douche with baking soda and water prior to sex, the male carriers favor the alkaline environment.

For a girl...
1.) The woman and man should eat lots of veggies.
2.) The man should wear boxers or no underwear.
3.) Do it missionary, with man on top, and woman on top. Either one is further from the cervix.
4.) Woman should not orgasm during sex, or at least prior to the man, something about the orgasm changes the PH level in the vagina, that kills or weakens the female carrying sperm.
5.) Have sex on a full moon, in the afternoon.
6.) Have sex 2-3 days prior to ovulation. The female carrying sperm are suppsoed to be heartier than the male carrying sperm, in that they can live longer, but take longer to get there.
7.) Have sex on even numbered days.
8.) Douche with a vinegar and water douche prior to sex. Apparently the female carriers favors the acidic environment.

Again, these aren't guaranteed, but it'd be fun to try a few of them, if you're leaning one way or another. I'm going to try a few girl making ones, but if I have a boy, then I'll be just as happy. :)