Neat Trick

Recently a friend's friend's scare alerted me to the fact that there are ovulation calculators out there on the web. Jeeze, just type in "ovulation calculator" in Google, holy moley! So, as we're in the planning stages, I decided to go out and try for myself. I love the one I found, its seemed the most accurate/detailed/customizable. Here's what I got (courtesy of babyhopes):

4/17/05 - First day of your cycle
4/26/05 - A little bit fertile
4/27/05 - Fertile
4/28/05 - VERY fertile
4/29/05 - time to ovulate
5/13/05 - End of cycle
5/12/05 - A home pregnancy test may work now.
5/16/05 - No period? Maybe you're pregnant!
1/22/06 - If you are, this is your approximate due date.

MONTH 3:
5/13/05 - First day of your cycle
5/22/05 - A little bit fertile
5/23/05 - Fertile
5/24/05 - VERY fertile
5/25/05 - time to ovulate
6/08/05 - End of cycle
6/07/05 - A home pregnancy test may work now.
6/11/05 - No period? Maybe you're pregnant!
2/17/06 - If you are, this is your approximate due date.

MONTH 4:
6/08/05 - First day of your cycle
6/17/05 - A little bit fertile
6/18/05 - Fertile
6/19/05 - VERY fertile
6/20/05 - time to ovulate
7/04/05 - End of cycle
7/03/05 - A home pregnancy test may work now.
7/07/05 - No period? Maybe you're pregnant!
3/15/06 - If you are, this is your approximate due date.

MONTH 5:
7/04/05 - First day of your cycle
7/13/05 - A little bit fertile
7/14/05 - Fertile
7/15/05 - VERY fertile
7/16/05 - time to ovulate
7/30/05 - End of cycle
7/29/05 - A home pregnancy test may work now.
8/02/05 - No period? Maybe you're pregnant!
4/10/06 - If you are, this is your approximate due date.

MONTH 6:
7/30/05 - First day of your cycle
8/08/05 - A little bit fertile
8/09/05 - Fertile
8/10/05 - VERY fertile
8/11/05 - time to ovulate
8/25/05 - End of cycle
8/24/05 - A home pregnancy test may work now.
8/28/05 - No period? Maybe you're pregnant!
5/06/06 - If you are, this is your approximate due date.

TIPS:
· For the average couple, having sex once per day provides the best chance of getting pregnant.
· To optimize your chances of getting pregnant, after your partner ejaculates, remain on your back with your hips elevated for 20-30
minutes.
· The woman-on-top position isn't great for pregnancy, since ejaculate may flow out.

FACTS:
· Most women have a 15 to 25 percent chance of getting pregnant during their cycle.
· Nearly 50 percent of couples conceive during the first 3 months.
· About 75 percent of couples conceive during the first 6 months.
· Up to 90 percent of couples conceive during the first year.
· On the average, there are 280 days from the first day of your last period to your due date.

Frequency and Timing of Intercourse:
Shettles says in order to increase the chances of having a girl, you should have sex everyday from the end of your period up to 2 1/2 to 3 days before ovulation. After this point, do not have unprotected sex until several days past ovulation.

Intercourse further away from ovulation favors the larger slower moving X (girl) sperm. The weaker Y (boy) sperm will die more quickly in the more acidic preovulatory vaginal / cervical secretions and by the time of ovulation there will be a much larger concentration of X (girl) sperm
available to fertilize the egg.

Sexual Position:
Shettles suggests that if you are trying to conceive a girl, shallow
penetration from your partner, preferably with the missionary position, will deposit the sperm closer to the entrance to the vagina. This area is more acidic than closer to the cervix and acidity will work against the weaker "boy" sperm leaving more "girl" sperm available to fertilize your egg.

Sex and Orgasms:
When trying to conceive a girl, Shettles recommends that you don't
orgasm during sex as the body produces substances after orgasm that makes the vaginal environment more alkaline, which favors the "boy" sperm.

The contractions which accompany an orgasm help move the sperm up and into the cervix, giving the "boy" sperm an extra chance at being available when your egg is available for fertilization.

Fascinating stuff, huh? It was so cute, I sent this to the DH, and he printed it out and posted it on the refrigerator! How adorable! He's so excited.

But, that's not the neat trick. No, see, the neat trick comes in that, we have a house guest coming to stay with us. For six weeks. Starting 4/29. Okay, so go back and reference the ovulation calendar above. Yes, you got it, we'll be doing the BD the whole time he is here! Ack! Poor guy! And according to my sister, who lived upstairs in the guest room for 6 mos, the ceiling/floor is quite thin. Think I'll be investing in a radio, and a blanket for the floor!

Ahyhoo, now you can all play along with me. We're trying for the girl this cycle around--I'm really more interested in timing of the birth than gender of the baby. So didn't want to waste the prime three target months (May, June, July) on trying for a girl, since you only get 1/2 the time to "try". Timing is important for me, since I have pretty significant depression, I'm more prone to postpartum, so I think the timing/being able to get outside, will definitely help post-baby. So trying for delivery in early spring vs. say November. Have you been in Seattle in November? It would depress a high school cheerleader. Of course, they're all on drugs anyway according to Uncle Bonsai. :)