If your abdominals, back, and pelvic floor/Kegel muscles are toned, they will support a more comfortable pregnancy and delivery. Pilates is also famous for helping new moms get their figures back after baby is born!

Thousands of couples have turned to the Shettles method for learning how to conceive a boy. And thousands have been blessed with the boy they hoped for. In fact, the properly applied Shettles method gives couples at least a 75 percent success rate.

In his book, How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby: The Method Best Supported by Scientific Evidence , Dr. Shettles and David Rorvik discusses the issues which will help you learn how to conceive a boy. Some of the basic ideas are listed below, but  you will need to purchase this book in order to get the full details.

Determining the Time of Ovulation:

Because many women don’t know when they’re ovulating, Shettles suggests they track several cycles to observe their body’s signals before attempting conception. Determining when you ovulate is vital when you are learning how to conceive a boy. Shettles recommends that you have sex as early as 24 hours before ovulation to no more than 12 hours past ovulation in order to increase your chances of conceiving a boy. The timing of intercourse in relation to ovulation is a vital factor in increasing your chances of having a boy.

Shettles suggests three specific ways in which to do this.

a. Charting Cervical Mucus

Dr Shettes goes into full detail on how to chart your cervical mucus. With this method of determining when you ovulate, you access your cervical mucus on a daily basis. Right before you ovulate, your cervical mucus should be very watery and very elastic. It’s consistency should be that of raw egg white.

b. Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Charting

Shettles also suggests that you use BBT charting along with charting your cervical mucus in order to gain as much information as possible in order to pinpoint when exactly you are ovulating.

In order to chart your basal body temperature ( BBT ), you will need to purchase a basal thermometer. Before you get up each morning, you will take your temperature before you do anything. Any activity can lead to innacurate temperature readings. At the time of ovulation, you will see a spike in your temperature which will indicate that you have already ovulated. Considering that you need to have intercourse as close to ovulation as possible, it is suggested that you track your BBT for at least 2 months to know when you are ovulating.

c. Using Ovulation Predictor Kits

The final way Shettles recommends for finding out the exact time you are ovulating is by using ovulation predictor kits. These kits detect when your body has released LH (Luteinizing Hormone), a precursor to ovulation. Dr Shettles goes into depth in his book on how to read the ovulating kit. Ovulation kits are available in pharmacies, but these kits are expensive and may not be accurate for women with irregular cycles.

Sexual Position:

Shettles suggests that if you are trying to conceive a boy, deep penetration from your partner, preferably with the “doggy style” position, will deposit the sperm closer to the cervix giving the more aggressive and quicker moving “boy” sperm a head start to fertilizating the egg first.

Frequency and Timing of Intercourse:

Shettles says in order to increase the chances of having a boy, you should have sex no earlier than 24 hours before ovulation to 12 hours after ovulation.

Sex and Orgasms:

Make sure the woman can reach orgasm before the male partner ejaculates .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.

Considerations for the Men:

a. Saving the father’s sperm

For conceiving a boy, make sure the male partner did not ejaculate for 4 to 5 days before ovulation occurs

b. Keep the scrotum cool

The ideal temperature for sperm production is slightly below the average body temperature, which is why the sperm factory is located outside the body. Have your partner wear boxers. Wearing tight fitting underwear increases the heat levels around the testes and can, in turn, lower the sperm count. Wearing loose fitting underwear helps keep the testes cooler.

Considerations for the Woman:

a. Food Diet for Conceiving a Boy

For the female partner, avoid foods that have high acid. It is advisable to increase consumption of food which have a relatively low pH. This needs to be done to support the vaginal environment to be more alkaline than normal.

Cost:

The cost of nappies is usually a great concern for most parents.

The cost of disposable nappies varies due to the range of disposables on the market.

The cost of cloth diapers also varies because of many factors. One being the quality of the cloth nappy. Another factor is the amount of washing that is done for each load of dirty nappies. The more you wash and re sanitize the higher the cost of the cloth nappy. Other factors are your time to launder the nappy, cost of electricity, soap, water, and wear and tear on your washing machine and tumble dryer.

If you compare the cost of the disposable nappies vs. the cost of washing your own cloth nappies, you will save money by using cloth nappies.

Skin care concerns:

The biggest worry parents have is keeping their baby dry and free from nappy rash. There are many things that can cause nappy rash like prolonged wetness, a soiled nappy being left on for too long, chemical allergies and lack of air circulation.

As each baby is different, some parents will find that disposables suit perfectly fine, while other babies will have reactions and will need to use a cloth nappy.

If a cloth nappy is not changed often, or sanitized properly this can also lead to rashes forming.

The best way to avoid nappy rash is to change dirty nappies often, whether it be cloth or disposable.

Convenience:

Cloth nappies now come with Velcro-fasting straps and replaceable liners. These flushable liners can be lifted off the cloth and flushed down the toilet.  If you don’t use liners, you can just deposit the older baby’s solids down the toilet.

Disposable diapers are more convenient as you can throw away the dirty nappy without carrying them around for washing.  Disposables also require fewer changes because of the super absorbent materials they use in manufacturing them.

Environment:

There has been much debate over the impact of disposable diapers and cloth diapers on the environment.

The impact of cloth nappies: The extra water used to wash the towelling nappy is said to be just as much an abuse to the environment as is the production and use of disposable diapers. Although when flushing solids down the toilet and washing the nappies in a washing machine, the contaminated, dirty water from both toilet and washing machine go into the sewer systems where they are properly treated at wastewater plants.  The treated waste water is more environmentally friendly.

The impact of disposable nappies: Although some disposables are said to be biodegradable; in order for these diapers to decompose, they must be exposed to air and sun.  Since this is unlikely, it is said to take several hundred years for the decomposition of disposables to take place, with some of the plastic material never decomposing. The untreated waste placed in these landfills is also a possible danger for contaminating the ground water.

With all the factors considered there really is no one best type of diaper that is good for every baby.  Deciding to use cloth or disposable diapers depends on your lifestyle, personal preference, finances and your concern for the environment.  The choice that is right for you and your baby may be different from someone else’s.