Okay, I’ve done all the medically recommended things: I just had a check-up at the doctor, I’ve been taking folic acid (and a baby aspirin - prescribed by the doctor) every day for a few millennia, I take care of myself in general and…the little ovulation test came up positive today! So, I know the basics - have sex and lots of it. We’ve done this before, certainly we can do it again!
Now, do you all have any little superstitious (or not so superstitious) things I can do to facilitate conception? You know, stuff like drink a glass of orange juice every morning or only take cold showers or stupid things like that? If you can figure out a way I can have another little boy (or girl, maybe - that would be nice), bring on those suggestions, too!
I have heard that propping your legs up after intercourse will give a gravity assist to the sperm meeting the egg. I am not sure if it is true but I doubt that it would hurt.
I’ve heard that if you have sex too often when you’re not ovulating it will negatively affect your chances of conceiving. I don’t remember the explanation for that, and I don’t really believe it anyway. Just passing along a “somebody said.”
The only superstitious, non-scientific thing I have is this: my middle kid is six years (almost) younger than her older brother. I had pretty much resigned myself to having only the one child. Pretty much. My sister-in-law told me I should keep a pillow under my hips for a time, I think fifteen minutes, after sex, so I tried it just for the heck of it. Guess who showed up nine (plus) months later? Rationally I don’t really think it made any difference, but there is that teeny tiny little hint of a thought in my mind.
It would be a bigger thought if the next baby hadn’t come along less than two years later.
Of course, there’s also the fact that I mentioned to my husband that if we didn’t conceive before the end of the year, maybe we should look into having things checked out after the holidays. First week in December, bingo! You know, kind of like when you wash your car and it rains?
Have you read Taking Charge of Your Fertility? Evidently it’s the text to end all texts on getting knocked up (evidently even with whatever sort you want). Everybody reccommends it (I haven’t read it.)
My grandmother always said you should eat honey to have a boy.
Having already adopted two children, my brother decided to shock the ever-living shit out of my parents.
Being assurred that my brother was a one-in-a-million freakish occurrance, never-to-be-repeated, for my mothers insides were a rocky place, where Dad’s seed could find no purchase… I then came along less than two years later.
Here is some stuff on the Shettles method. (I can’t vouch for whether or not it works, but I can tell you that my daughter was a “I’m not ovulating yet so it’s ok” baby (we weren’t trying). I figure chances are I actually conceived a couple of days after the fact.)
Have hubby drink a lot of caffeine right before you do it. It’ll rile up his “guys.” You probably wouldn’t want to do this if you really really want a girl, though – boy sperm swim faster anyway, caffeinating them would just make 'em TurboSperm and leave the girls in the dust.
But yeah … if you really don’t care either way, get him a coupla espressos or something. All of the sperm will be just rarin’ to go.
Another way to help if you want a girl is to put your husband in a really hot tub before you do it. Hot water kills boy sperm. Does he smoke? Even better if you want a girl.
And yeah, pillow under your butt for 30 minutes afterwards. It’d also help if you, er, “finished” after he did. (How you two go about achieving that is your business, I can’t help you there.)
Now quit reading this, send the little one to Grandma’s and get crackin!
Just to clarify, we’re not actually having trouble getting pregnant. We started trying a couple months ago, but this is the first month that I used the ovulation test. I haven’t had problems conceiving before - I’ve been pregnant three times and we’ve had one healthy child (my problem comes in keeping myself pregnant - but that’s what the baby aspirin is for). I just thought it would be fun to do some of the funny (non-dangerous) things that people always suggest.
So, okay, tried the pillow under the butt for a while. Next up - honey sandwiches for me and a Coke for my husband. Actually, I really don’t care either way if it’s a boy or a girl, but I think I’m a good boy mom and we have all the clothes and gear for a boy, so it would certainly be cheaper!
Shoot. My grandparents totally gave up on the idea of having their own and adopted my aunt…and then proceeded to have four birth children! Makes you wonder how long they actually tried to get pregnant before deciding to adopt.
I recently saw some data from mice that kinda explains that effect. If female mice are housed with a mother mouse and her pups, the virgin females make less anti-pregnant hormones, such as cortisol, and more pro-pregnant hormones, such as progesterone. Just being around the other mouse’s pups made the virgin mice more fertile.
So thee you have it - start cuddling up to baby mice.
Long Time First Time is onto something. According to my Peace Corps friends, fertility treatment in third world countries consists of becomming a nanny or caretaker for babies. Within a few months, you’ll be knocked up. Also explains why babies come in “waves” among groups of women.
For what it’s worth, does the test actually tell you when you’ve ovulated already, or does it tell you you’re about to ovulate? Because once you’ve ovulated, it’s almost too late already. Ideally, you want to get the swimmers started on their journey 24 hours before ovulation. That way, they’ve already made that arduous 5 inch journey into your fallopian tubes and are ready to pounce on the freshly laid egg. *Taking Charge of Your Fertility *can teach you how to tell when you’re about to ovulate without buying expensive tests.
A friend of my SIL’s tried for years to get pregnant. Nothing doing. So she adopted a baby girl and less than a year later she was pregnant. Now she had two little girls, one from under her heart and one brought into her heart.
I don’t know if had to do anything to with a change in stress levels or not, but it’s funny that after years of trying, then giving up and adopting, her body finally said, “Whew! Now that the pressure’s off…”
(As for me, I got pregnant both times on birth control, so we never had to “try.” It just happened.)
God, god god…please stop with the adopting a child. It (as someone who has one who was adopted and a surprise child 13 months younger) really offensive. I’m sure Cartooniverse and Shodan will agree with me, as they both have in the past.
What I hear…the only reason I adopted my son was a fertility method to get my daughter. (And Shodan and Cartooniverse probably hear it was an unsuccessful attempt to conceive). To clear things up, my stress level had nothing to do with getting pregnant, adopting was (we concieved while waiting for travel) was very stressful in itself. It also sounds like you are blaming me for my own infertility. “If you’d just relax.”
Statistically, people who adopt are no more likely to spontaneously concieve than people who decide to live childfree, or people who concieve via in vitro and then go on to have several more without help. (Cite: My Reproductive Endocronologist, my social worker we adopted through, and my OB)
If anyone hears of someone like me who adopted and then gave birth and you say “It always happens that way” don’t be surprised if you are the last straw and they go ballistic on your ass. Cause I was this close last time someone said it.
I’m sure no one means this to be as offensive as it sounds to those of us with adopted kids.
Dangerosa, the OP asked for old wives tales, and I passed along an anecdote. I meant no offense, and I know that there’s more to it than to “simply relax.” I merely found the coincedence interesting, and I never meant to imply that if one can’t have a child of one’s own, one should rush out and adopt a baby simply to see if that will cause a pregnancy.
I also never meant to diminish anyone’s attempt to have a child. I’m sorry if I came across as flippant. That was not my intent. Anyway, what’s the harm in adopting a child and then having the lovely surprise of getting pregnant? Does it matter how one gets their children, as long as they are loved and cared for?
It matters when people then spread the old wives tale that your adopted child was adopted merely as a fertility treatment, when your adopted child over hears this on a regular basis, and when people use the “hits” to justify “it always happens that way.” It matters when people believe it and adopt children not because they want children, but because they hope this will kick in fertility (met one of those once, sad situation for the adopted kid).
Its one “old wives tale” that needs to be put to rest where it belongs. Its hurtful. And too many people believe its true. I know an old wives tale that killing a cat will cure warts - thank God that when I have a wart people don’t come up to me and say “you know, you could kill a cat” - and I don’t even like cats.
I truly don’t believe people think this is anywhere near as offensive to adoptive parents and infertile parents going through adoption as it is (i.e. what’s the harm). And, I figure anyone spreading it here is likely to shoot their mouth off when someone is going through fertility issues/adopting/ or they hear of one of the hits like me. So I’m trying to protect you from saying something that will hurt someone in the future.
I see what you’re saying, Dangerosa, but again, I do not advocate rushing out to adopt a child as a fertility treatment. I value children much more than that. I was merely passing along a true story that happened to my SIL’s friend as an interesting coincidence.
And a pox on the person who adopted a child as a fertility treatment. That’s just cruel.
If someone adopts a child and then finds themselves pregnant, then they’ve been doubly blessed. I know infertility can be incredibly heart-wrenching, and I hold those who adopt a child in the highest regard.
I’m sorry for any pain my comments may have caused. That was not my intent and I apologize.
