About my supplements

Prior to conception we (yes, DH too) took 'Pregnacare his and her conception' along with an extra 500 mg of vitamin C (Sona), and an Omega 3 and 6 fish oil capsule (Equazen Eye Q). Once a day with the main meal: one conception, one fish oil and one vitamin C.

For breakfast we ate (and still do) porridge (for every single morning) with a probiotic (a friendly bacteria, Prebio7 capsule) supplement to maintain intestinal health, improve absorption and assimilation of nutrients, and reinforce the body's immune system and natural defences.

After conception I switched to (Solgar) Prenatal Nutrients (two tablets a day, so one with breakfast and one with main meal) and first to MumOmega then to MorDHA (prenatal fish oil) plus took the 500 mg of vitamin C with them @ lunch.

When I went to the GP for confirmation she mentioned to take folic acid only, so I presented all the labels of those supplement I took at the time. She approved the probiotic right away. She wasn't convincing about the prenatal vitamin and mineral supplement and fish oil at all. But she said definitely stop (!) taking the vitamin C.

I thought I was doing the right thing about taking supplements as these days foods not so nutritious anymore. I read the Optimum Nutrition Before, During and After Pregnancy by Patrick Holford & Susannah Lawson, so I took that as a (rough) guideline.

I googled days about taking vitamin C suppl. Some say no, no, no, some say yes, yes, yes. The amount varies about how much to take. Some say 500 mg is safe, some say 1000 is safe, some say up to 2000 is SAFE. Confused (still)! So decided (on that day) no to argue the GP so I left out the extra vitamin C. Now I have a whole squeezed lemon daily, a little with my each glass of water. What I noticed since I stopped the vit. C suppl. is that my skin not so supple and smooth anymore.

Nowadays I have the Prenatal Nutrients and the pregnancy fish oil only. Prebio7 goes with breakfast.

To get a girl or a boy

How is gender determined is a mystery. The life finds its balance. There are countless old wife tales on how, when and where to do the making. Well, I do not believe that making love in boots (the male wearing it) will produce a boy, but I do believe that nutrition can bring the scales closer to what a heart desire.

To those who want nature in their favour here are some tips, but results can't be garanteed however. Please report back with your experiments, I am curious to know how it works out for ya ;-)

X (female) sperm prefer more acidic conditions (pH of the vaginal environment), so eat calcium- and magnesium-rich foods like dairy, nuts, pulses, chocolate, spinach, while Y (male) sperm fare better in alkaline conditions, so you need more sodium and potassium like salty meat products, banana, rice and pasta (says Rana Conway).

To get a boy:
- shows a link between higher energy intake around the time of conception and the birth of sons;
- eating high-calorie foods and consuming a lot of calories in general;
- high levels of glucose encourage the growth of male embryos while inhibiting female embryos;
- strong correlation between women eating breakfast cereals and producing sons (skipping breakfast depress glucose levels);
- eat plenty of salty food, bananas, vegetables, lots of breakfast cereal and lots of food in general;
- a nutrient-poor diet could be less favourable to a male embryo;
- avoid foods like cheese, legumes and yogurt;
- acidic: calcium-and magnesium-rich foods: dairy products, nuts, legumes, chocolate, spinach;
- alkaline: more sodium and potassium, salty meat, bananas, rice and pasta;

To get a girl:
- do the opposite of what is written above;