Now, I said I'd post what I did differently this time. But before I do, a caveat. For those of you trying to conceive don't assume that what I did is right, a sure thing or necessarily had any effect. I spent hours trawling every post I could find looking at stuff like this and actually did drive myself bonkers. So I don't want anyone else to do the same, although we all know that you will.
Right, here we go...
- Acupuncture - I had a few sessions with a fertility acupuncturist in the month prior to my insemination.
- I drank nettle tea at the suggestion of my acupuncturist. I drank it 3 times a day.
- I ate a lot of organic beetroot.
- I switched to Pregnacare Conception supplements which have some extra bits and pieces for conceiving. Can't remember what they are though. Took them for 28 days before this insemination.
- I ate tons of Brazil nuts (a packet per day) which contain selenium and this is apparently good for fertility. But, beware the weight gain.
- Took a body conditioning class, a Latin Dance class and a dynamic yoga class and went to the gym. A total of 5-6 bouts of exercise per week in the 4 weeks preceding insemination.
- I relied on my body's ovulation predictions over the pee stick. Although this was not entirely intentional (see earlier post)!
- After I left the clinic post insemination, I walked a brisk 30 minutes to my hotel and then had a sleep for 2 hours curled up in the warm, fluffy duvet. I am convinced that not rushing around to catch a flight was key to the success of this one. Oh, and I walked for 1 hour plus the next day. Full on walking.
- I had a preposterously large glass of wine with my meal the night of my insemination. I reasoned that the egg was already formed and released and relaxation was absolutely key that evening.
- And finally - I had kind of given up on the unmedicated cycles, knowing that this would be my last and focused on the consultation at the new clinic I had the day after insemination. I put my energies into thinking forward to May's insemination and the thought of taking the scary Clomid. In other words, I didn't think much about that insemination other than that I was going through the motions, paying lip service to cycle number 3.
- Oh... and I had a month off in March. A stressful one, but one where I was forced to think about something else.