# Calling all Donor Sperm/Insemination Buddies!!!



## WayPastReady

Hi ladies! My DH (31) and I (30) have been TTC for over 2.5 years with zero pregnancies and found out about a year ago that we're dealing with a 2% normal morphology issue so we're embarking on the home ICI insemination route this cycle using frozen donor sperm since we've had no success improving his sperm with herbs and supplements for the past year. 

I would love to start a thread for any tips, advice, support, prayers, and/or success stories, especially since my DH doesn't want us telling anyone other than the future child.


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## MommaCosima

I'm currently waiting to try with donor sperm in Oct ish 2017 - but we're a same sex couple. I have a 4yo from a previous relationship though. I know questions will be raised eventually. I'm not carrying, but basically the live-in cheerleader and foot massager for the 9 months and basically 18 years after hahaha!


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## WayPastReady

How exciting! I'm sure October will be here again before we know it. Will you be using a known donor or using a sperm bank?


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## Dani88

I am currently in my 2ww of my 2nd DIUI. My DH has azoospermia. We even went as far to try to extract sperm from his testicles for IVF/ICSI with a procedure called Micro-TESE and had no success. It's been so difficult for both of us, but my DH has especially taken it really hard. I was upset to find out a couple weeks ago that our first IUI didn't work. I am really hoping this time works, but I am not feeling very hopeful. I find out on November 13th. Like you, we've been trying for over 2 years and got my DH's sperm analysis back over a year ago.

It's such a difficult journey, but I have faith that I will be a mom one day and that my child will know how much he/she was wanted.


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## WayPastReady

Dani88 said:


> I am currently in my 2ww of my 2nd DIUI. My DH has azoospermia. We even went as far to try to extract sperm from his testicles for IVF/ICSI with a procedure called Micro-TESE and had no success. It's been so difficult for both of us, but my DH has especially taken it really hard. I was upset to find out a couple weeks ago that our first IUI didn't work. I am really hoping this time works, but I am not feeling very hopeful. I find out on November 13th. Like you, we've been trying for over 2 years and got my DH's sperm analysis back over a year ago.
> 
> It's such a difficult journey, but I have faith that I will be a mom one day and that my child will know how much he/she was wanted.

Hi dani88! That's so great that you're staying positive and keeping the faith! This is definitely a rollercoaster of a journey, but my DH and I have also gotten to the point of acceptance and staying positive that I will eventually be pregnant. I hope this cycle is the lucky one for you!! We haven't ventured down the IVF/ICSI route (even though it was recommended to us) because we decided to try the cheaper, easier route of DS first, which I'm happy about yet sad when I think that I may never have a child that is biologically part of my DH. My DH is dealing with a lot of shame and disappointment, but I'm glad both of our DH's are somehow managing to accept it and use DS. 

Are you doing medicated cycles with trigger shots to time your IUI?
And how are you holding up during this 2ww? I'm on CD10 so will be inseminating in less than a week but am already dreading the 2ww cuz I know I'll be SS like crazy!:haha:


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## WayPastReady

I'm picking up 2 vials of DS tomorrow!!! I'm getting super excited yet nervous because I want to time this ICI as perfectly as possible. I'm currently on CD14 and have had lots of creamy cm for the past two days, but it's less today with a little bit of ewcm starting. My cervix started to raise up and open yesterday as well, so hopefully I start to get more ewcm tomorrow! I usually ovulate around CD16-18 so still a few more days to go most likely. I'm getting the DS with a liquid nitrogen tank which will keep it frozen at the temp it needs to be at for 7days. Just have to keep waiting for the positive opk and more ewcm! 

How are you feeling Dani88? Any symptoms? Less than a week until you get to test!:happydance:


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## veganmum2be

Hi, we are in our first cycle trying with a known sperm donor. Think we're already out this month; ovulated late but couldn't get an insemination later. Already tested at 9dpo and negative! Good luck ladies!


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## WayPastReady

veganmum2be said:


> Hi, we are in our first cycle trying with a known sperm donor. Think we're already out this month; ovulated late but couldn't get an insemination later. Already tested at 9dpo and negative! Good luck ladies!

Hi and welcome veganmum!

9dpo is still early so fingers crossed that AF stays away! I'm assuming you used a fresh sample since you're using a known donor...might still be hope that they survived long enough to catch your egg. Can I ask how you did the insemination? 

AFM, I'm on CD15 and had lots of ewcm this morning! My opks are trying to confuse me though:wacko: My ICs keep getting darker and super close to what I would call a positive, but I also used my CB one for the first time this morning and it was negative...not even a flashing smiley before the solid smiley. Guess I'm gonna stick with what the ICs are saying, but I'm worried that I'll either inseminate too early or too late.


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## WayPastReady

I got my positive opk earlier this evening so decided to do my first insemination tonight since I've been feeling ovulation pains all day, lots of pressure down there, and my cp and cm feels ready. It seemed very easy, and I think went well. Now I just have to do some math to figure out when would be best for me to do the second one...I'm thinking either tomorrow around noon or waiting until tomorrow evening. 

Hope everyone is hanging in during their waiting period!


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## WayPastReady

Dani88 said:


> I am currently in my 2ww of my 2nd DIUI. My DH has azoospermia. We even went as far to try to extract sperm from his testicles for IVF/ICSI with a procedure called Micro-TESE and had no success. It's been so difficult for both of us, but my DH has especially taken it really hard. I was upset to find out a couple weeks ago that our first IUI didn't work. I am really hoping this time works, but I am not feeling very hopeful. I find out on November 13th. Like you, we've been trying for over 2 years and got my DH's sperm analysis back over a year ago.
> 
> It's such a difficult journey, but I have faith that I will be a mom one day and that my child will know how much he/she was wanted.


Congrats Dani88!!! I just saw in your signature that you got your BFP this cycle!:happydance: H&H 9 months to you! I hope I join you soon!


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## Savasanna

Hi there! We've had several inseminations with frozen donor sperm. We took a little break from ttc and are getting ready to pick things up again starting next cycle (next week!)


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## WayPastReady

Savasanna said:


> Hi there! We've had several inseminations with frozen donor sperm. We took a little break from ttc and are getting ready to pick things up again starting next cycle (next week!)

Hi and welcome Savasanna! Sorry to hear the inseminations haven't worked for you yet...hopefully you'll have better luck this go around! TTC is definitely a very stressful and emotionally draining process. I hope the DS sperm route is a much quicker and less stressful route than ttc on our own has been. What type of inseminations have you been doing? ICI? IUI? Medicated? Trigger shots?

I'm 11dpo today, still bfn, some tan spotting, and I'm feeling out. It's probably only the progesterone cream that's holding off AF at this point, but I can't bring myself to stop it just in case.


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## Savasanna

We've done ICI and both medicated & non-medicated IUIs. This month we're doing a medicated & monitored cycle with triggering. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic! 

May I ask why you chose to go for ICI rather than IUI? We did two cycles with ICI before deciding there were way too many unknowns and the sperm was too expensive to justify continuing.


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## WayPastReady

I would think you'd have much better luck with monitoring and trigger shot. Fx'd this is your lucky cycle!

We chose to start with ICI because we're doing a home insemination and doing the IUI at home seems near impossible...even though we did purchase a speculum.:haha: If we were having the procedure done by an RE, then I would definitely jump straight to a monitored IUI, but we plan to give it at least 3-4 cycles with the ICI at home to save time and money before we consider going back to the RE. I'm probably overly optimistic that we will have success at home in just a couple of tries.:spermy:


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## Savasanna

Hey - you never know, right?! We were mostly nervous we weren't thawing correctly.. but we were also able to do IUIs with my ob-gyn rather than jumping right to an RE. That significantly cut down on the costs. However, at the end of the day - here we are so.. I guess we should've just gone to the RE. But, oh well, we're here now and that's all that matters. I hope you have some at home luck in your future! Excited to follow along with you! :flower:


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## WayPastReady

Thanks! Hopefully we both get our bfp soon!

I see you're also a foster mama. That's so awesome! We adopted a newborn baby girl who is almost 9 months now. We thought the process would take 1-2 years, and it ended up taking less than 3 months!!!


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## KylasBaby

Ooh I'll join! We're WTT until January. Going with the same known donor we used for our donor. Did AI at home. Worked first shot with dd. Hoping and praying #2 comes quickly too! I'm nervous because we bought a house and moved. Now we're evenfurther from our donor so I'm worried about how it'll all work out. But he's reassured me we will make it work!


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## Savasanna

WayPastReady said:


> Thanks! Hopefully we both get our bfp soon!
> 
> I see you're also a foster mama. That's so awesome! We adopted a newborn baby girl who is almost 9 months now. We thought the process would take 1-2 years, and it ended up taking less than 3 months!!!

Wow - 3 months?! That's incredible! Congrats to you!


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## WayPastReady

KylasBaby said:


> Ooh I'll join! We're WTT until January. Going with the same known donor we used for our donor. Did AI at home. Worked first shot with dd. Hoping and praying #2 comes quickly too! I'm nervous because we bought a house and moved. Now we're evenfurther from our donor so I'm worried about how it'll all work out. But he's reassured me we will make it work!

Welcome mama and congrats to getting success on the first try! That's incredible! So happy for you that your donor is willing to donate for baby #2. I wish we had some fresh DS to use...it's so hard to time the insemination using frozen DS with such a short viability window.


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## Savasanna

I know. That short window is KILLER!


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## WayPastReady

AF reared her ugly head early this morning with cramps in tow. I think I inseminated too early and am planning on waiting a full 24 hrs after my first positive opk for the first insemination and then an additional 12 hrs after that for the second one this next time. I knew the odds of getting lucky on the first cycle were low but somehow still thought that now that we're using some good stuff, we'd instantly fall pregnant like everyone else I know.:dohh:


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## Savasanna

Aw man - I'm sorry to hear that! I know we all know it takes time, but of course we hope things will fall together quickly. Especially when we're doing something differently. :(


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## KylasBaby

WayPastReady said:


> KylasBaby said:
> 
> 
> Ooh I'll join! We're WTT until January. Going with the same known donor we used for our donor. Did AI at home. Worked first shot with dd. Hoping and praying #2 comes quickly too! I'm nervous because we bought a house and moved. Now we're evenfurther from our donor so I'm worried about how it'll all work out. But he's reassured me we will make it work!
> 
> Welcome mama and congrats to getting success on the first try! That's incredible! So happy for you that your donor is willing to donate for baby #2. I wish we had some fresh DS to use...it's so hard to time the insemination using frozen DS with such a short viability window.Click to expand...

I have PCOS so my O date changes each cycle so realistically I couldn't use frozen as I can't predict O to the degree you have to with frozen. We would be throwing money away. It took so long to find our donor too, but he's really a great guy and we had him terminate his rights in September when OH adopted dd (could have been done sooner, but we just hadn't gotten around to it) so it makes us much more comfortable to use him again. Even if it'll take a miracle to make it work with our distances now.


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## KylasBaby

Sorry about AF :(. It can take two completely healthy people up to a year unfortunately. But your new timing plan sounds good!


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## Savasanna

Aww Kyla - you're totally going to lucky again this time around, I know it!


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## KylasBaby

Savasanna said:


> Aww Kyla - you're totally going to lucky again this time around, I know it!

Girl I and FREAKING out! But on the inside lol. No idea how it'll work if I'm due to ovulate toward the end of the workweek. For dd we gotndonations 7 and 5 days before O so I know his swimmers can last long, but I'd rather not tempt it a second time. If O is close to the weekend we can get a hotel near him for a night or two, but other than there being a miracle of her I'm working up near us I don't know..,


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## WayPastReady

Sounds like you've really stumbled upon a good donor, Kylas. So glad it worked out with the TPR, and it sounds like he's really willing to make an effort for this next insemination. Hopefully your cycle surprises you and is cooperative.:winkwink:


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## iBeach

Hello ladies;))

I have tried home insemination for a while, but unfortunately it didn't work for me.
I have tried it with temps, opks, pre-seed, mooncup and all... I am excited to read your progress.


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## Savasanna

Hi Beach! Are you taking a break for now? 

I'm starting to feel a bit crampy - CD1 should be just around the corner now!


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## KylasBaby

Savasanna said:


> Hi Beach! Are you taking a break for now?
> 
> I'm starting to feel a bit crampy - CD1 should be just around the corner now!

Yay! You'll be trying in no time. So excited for you this cycle!


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## WayPastReady

Savasanna said:


> Hi Beach! Are you taking a break for now?
> 
> I'm starting to feel a bit crampy - CD1 should be just around the corner now!

So exciting! And maybe one of the only times to get excited about CD1.:haha:


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## Savasanna

Indeed. AF arrived yesterday. Here we go!


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## WayPastReady

Hope this is your lucky cycle! When do you have your first ultrasound to check the follicles?


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## Savasanna

Don't know yet! I left a message with my clinic and am waiting to hear back. But I don't think they do a monitoring check until CD12 or so, so maybe next Thursday? I'm so anxious for them to call back even though I know it will just be a scheduling call. Baby steps. lol


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## KylasBaby

Everything is crossed for you guys!


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## Savasanna

Ultrasound scheduled for 12/8 (CD12)!


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## KylasBaby

Woohoo!


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## fififa

veganmum2be- good luck


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## WayPastReady

Excited for you! Less than a week away!


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## WayPastReady

Picked up my second batch of DS today and am currently on CD 15. Not sure when I'm going to do the insemination yet, probably not until tomorrow at the earliest since I feel like I did it too early last month.

I got a positive opk yesterday and today, but last month I got it 3 days in a row with the middle day having a darker test line than control line, so I feel like I need to wait until I see that darker line and count 24 hrs from there?:shrug: Any advice?

On a different note, I talked to my guy friend today (who is one of my few friends who knows the real reason for our ttc troubles) and told him that we just started using DS. Anyway, he offered to give me a fresh "donation" and we talked through the logistics of what that would mean and look like should a child occur from that donation. I feel comfortable going that route, but my DH is also friends with him (through me) and I don't think he would be comfortable going with a known donor. It would be nice to have some fresh DS though, so I don't have to deal with a super short viability window. If it doesn't work with the frozen this month, I might talk to DH and see how he would feel about going this route. I'm afraid he might feel even more emasculated at the idea.

Sorry about the novel today. How is everyone else doing?


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## Savasanna

We used a known donor for a while, too. We did both at home inseminations and IUI. I'll be happy to talk more about how we handled things, if you decide to go that route! 

My ultrasound is 8:40 Thursday morning. I am anxious and am starting to lose my patience!


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## KylasBaby

We use a known donor, but neither of us knew him beforehand and he lives in another state so we don't run the risk of ever seeing him if we don't want to. It definitely lasts longer than frozen. Dd was from donations 7 /'d 5 days before O. I Oed prwttt late. 

Still waiting here. My last cycle before trying has started! AF is just ending. So just waiting pretty much. Slightly terrified next month we start trying!


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## WayPastReady

Savasanna said:


> We used a known donor for a while, too. We did both at home inseminations and IUI. I'll be happy to talk more about how we handled things, if you decide to go that route!
> 
> My ultrasound is 8:40 Thursday morning. I am anxious and am starting to lose my patience!

I can definitely understand the lack of patience. Hoping you get good news at the ultrasound, and there's a good follicle for them to trigger!



KylasBaby said:


> We use a known donor, but neither of us knew him beforehand and he lives in another state so we don't run the risk of ever seeing him if we don't want to. It definitely lasts longer than frozen. Dd was from donations 7 /'d 5 days before O. I Oed prwttt late.
> 
> Still waiting here. My last cycle before trying has started! AF is just ending. So just waiting pretty much. Slightly terrified next month we start trying!

Wow! Can't believe it's almost time for you to start trying! This year has really flown by. Hope this second time around is quick and easy for you!


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## WayPastReady

Ok ladies, I did another opk this afternoon cuz I like to do it twice a day to narrow down my ovulation window as much as possible. Yesterday's opk is at the top, this morning's in the middle, and then this afternoon's at the bottom. Based on these, when do you advise I inseminate? My cp is HSO today, and I'm also having EWCM...I'm just not having an O pains yet...but maybe I won't this cycle? Ugh, I really don't want to inseminate too early but also don't want to completely miss the window. I just updated FF with my info, and it's saying tomorrow is O day. I wanted to wait a full 24 hours after my positive opk, so maybe I should inseminate tomorrow morning. What do you think?
 



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## KylasBaby

Do you know how long your LH surge is? Frozen lasts up to 24 hours, but from my readings and research it's most successful to have the sperm waiting for the egg rather than having the egg waiting for the sperm.


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## WayPastReady

No clue how long my surge is, but I'm thinking it's on the longer side since I had at least 36 hrs worth of positive opk's last month. I had also read that it's better to have the sperm waiting for the egg, and it takes 7 hrs for it to get to the egg, so do you think it's best that I do the first one in the morning? I have two vials that I was planning on doing 12 hrs apart.


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## KylasBaby

Mine is 36 hours as well. I get positives am, pm and the following am then negative. 

That plan sounds good. So hard to judge with frozen unfortunately.


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## WayPastReady

Ok thanks!! This whole frozen thing is definitely tricky and way more stressful. I'll have DH put some more fresh in there just in case.:haha:


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## KylasBaby

I was actually thinking that as well haha


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## MombyChoice

Hi Ladies, my name is Tiffany and I am a single woman planning on TTC #1 starting in January 2017 using frozen donor sperm. I'm thinking of doing 3-6 home ICI inseminations before graduating to IUI if it doesn't take right away. I'm just turning 28 and have no known health issues so I am hopeful that with the right timing I will get a BFP from the home insemenations! I've been stalking BnB since last year and have learned so much and have loved following so many amazing women on this journey. 

I identify as asexual and while I have never wanted a traditional relationship, I have ALWAYS wanted to be a mother. I want it all, the special baby time, the active toddler, the toilet training and picky eating, the parent-teacher conferences, the moody teen years...everything! I am an RN and also run an online business from home that can support me comfortably staying home long term if needed, I'm not wealthy but I am stable. I am super close to my mom and sister and have the full support of everyone I know, I'm very open with my "Choice Mom" plans. I am choosing to go through a bank for the legal assurances, the anonymity and to simplify the process. 

I have thought about this for years and finally am ready to start TTC. I would love to have your support and join you all on your journeys too-there is something so special about celebrating the conception and eventually the birth of a new baby-no matter who it belongs to!


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## WayPastReady

MombyChoice said:


> Hi Ladies, my name is Tiffany and I am a single woman planning on TTC #1 starting in January 2017 using frozen donor sperm. I'm thinking of doing 3-6 home ICI inseminations before graduating to IUI if it doesn't take right away. I'm just turning 28 and have no known health issues so I am hopeful that with the right timing I will get a BFP from the home insemenations! I've been stalking BnB since last year and have learned so much and have loved following so many amazing women on this journey.
> 
> I identify as asexual and while I have never wanted a traditional relationship, I have ALWAYS wanted to be a mother. I want it all, the special baby time, the active toddler, the toilet training and picky eating, the parent-teacher conferences, the moody teen years...everything! I am an RN and also run an online business from home that can support me comfortably staying home long term if needed, I'm not wealthy but I am stable. I am super close to my mom and sister and have the full support of everyone I know, I'm very open with my "Choice Mom" plans. I am choosing to go through a bank for the legal assurances, the anonymity and to simplify the process.
> 
> I have thought about this for years and finally am ready to start TTC. I would love to have your support and join you all on your journeys too-there is something so special about celebrating the conception and eventually the birth of a new baby-no matter who it belongs to!

Welcome mombychoice! So glad to have you join us and excited for you to start your TTC journey. I agree that babies are always special no matter how they come about. Since you're using a bank, have you already picked your donor? I felt like I was online dating when I picked mine:haha:


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## MombyChoice

Hi WayPastReady, thanks for the welcome! I am still so undecided about a which donor to go with and will probably cycle through a couple of different donors if I don't get my BFP right away...just in case there is an incompatibility with me or an issue with the donation itself...paranoid maybe but I've read it can up the odds. 

I assume you chose a donor to match your OH as closely as possible? Or did you choose another way? 

I am super open on the personality/background (assuming nothing significant) but I'm stuck on the "best" coloring that would be compatible with me. I'm also being picky about looks because there is a chance baby could look just like the donor with little influence by me. Hopefully baby takes after me or is at least a good mix but just in case, I'm looking at these baby pictures thinking "if my baby looked like that would he/she still look like "mine".

Being a single woman, it not only feels like online dating but also a bit like chemistry class....I'm thinking of the donor as a person but also as a genetic contributor to my future kid/s. Since I'm not having a baby with someone, I have sole choice/responsibility and it's hard! The possibilities are endless. In the end I just want a healthy, cute baby, no matter the coloring. 

I am blue/blonde but I color my hair black and have no plans on going back to my natural color. I'm trying to decide between the blue eyed donors who will likely throw blonde hair with me or between a brown/brown donor and possibly lose my blue eyes in the baby. 

I don't think it's vain to want my child to look like me but should I be putting this much thought into it? Lol Do I choose a blue/blonde donor because I know what coloring baby will have (if I am lucky enough to get pregnant and carry to term) or do I go with a brown/brown donor and be surprised!? 

It's strange to "get" to make this choice when procreating-most people just fall in love with someone and that's that. 

Curious about how you all went about choosing your donor, whether known or bank provided!


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## KylasBaby

Welcome!! 

Coloring is very complicated. I have brown hair and hazel eyes. Our donor has brown hair and green eyes. Dd is blonde haired and has BRIGHT blue eyes! So it's much more than just your and the donor's coloring. Family genetics plays a big role too. Dd has my fathers eyes and my hair was blonde until I was 2/3. Thankfully she is a clone of me. Looks nothing like the donor or other kids he's helped make. Though I'm only in intact with 2 families who have also used him. 

So you could chose a donor whose coloring matches yours and have a baby who matches neither. Genetics is fascinating. 

Including a pic of dd and I so you can see how much we look alike. We are about the same age. I'm on the right dd on the left. I lucked out with her looking so much like me. I do often wonder if the next will look after me as well or the donor. I have baby pictures of him to compare. 

I will be ttc in January as well! Good luck!
 



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## MombyChoice

Thank you KylasBaby! Your daughter is beautiful and you certainly did luck out because she really does look just like you-what a lovely little girl. 

And I do get it's a gamble no matter what, I can choose a blue/blonde or brown/brown donor and end up with a green eyed, freckle faced redhead (and that would be fine with me too!) I think I'm just stuck in the "I can't believe it's happening and this is such a big choice" thing. I will be ordering at the end of the month or in the first days of January and may end up making a last minute decision then. 

I think I'll move away from thinking of this perfect "dream baby" as far as coloring goes and focus more on facial features to match me and on the donor himself, does he sound like someone I'd want to have a baby with. In the end I just hope to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby, I know I will love baby no matter who he or she looks like. 

So excited for January to get here and to finally be able to participate in these boards after stalking them all for so long lol


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## KylasBaby

Thank you! I'm hoping #2 is another mini-me as well, but of course you get what you get. 

It is such a big choice. We really wanted a brown hair and blue eyed donor because that's what OH is, but we found our donor and went with him. We made sure his background was as close to ours as possible too so we would know the history. He is a mix of things I am as well as a tad Portuguese which neither of us are, but there's no such thing as a donor that is 100% what anyone wants. He has worked out great for us. 

What you should really focus on is the health history. It was important for me to use a rh-donor as I am rh- as well. An rh+ donor wouldn't be an issue really I just would have needed some extra shots. I wish I had connected with other families who used him before though and we would have looked for a different donor. My daughter has a severe milk/soy protein intolerance that made the first few months of her life miserable. The other 2 families I'm connected with have girls with the same issues. As well as sleep issues. I'm not sure if you can find that out though. We have decided to use the same donor despite the issues as I really want my children to be full biological siblings and we already have a relationship with him and know he won't have any issues signing over his rights or anything. 

I don't remember freaking out this much when ttc my daughter, but now I am haha. I guess because I'm thinking of how much it will affect her now as well. 

Come on January bfps! Little over a month until we will be getting around to our insems!

Do you have a journal on here or anything? Id love to follow!


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## WayPastReady

I can definitely relate to the coloring decision as well lol. I wanted the donor to look as much like DH as possible with regard to height, weight, hair color, and eye color, but surprisingly enough my DH wanted to pick the type of guy that he would want to be with the thought that it's his chance to give our child better DNA than he could provide. That means he wanted someone 6'5 or taller, lean, and an athlete. Obviously that's not practical, and we ended up going with the donor profile of a guy who seems very sweet, caring, and genuine. I know I can't think of it as carrying another man's baby, but I needed to feel like I would actually like the guy if I met him so I have positive thoughts about him and our future child. I have brown hair and brown eyes, and DH has brown hair and blue eyes so I really wanted a donor with blue eyes to have a chance at the baby looking like DH but the donor I chose does have brown hair and brown eyes, so people will most likely think the baby looks like me just based on coloring. Funny enough, strangers tell me all the time that my adopted daughter looks just like me...most likely because she has brown hair and brown eyes. At the end of the day, I think you have to pick the donor that you're most comfortable with whether that's based primarily on physical appearance, personality, hobbies, or health history. It's a big decision, but I can honestly say that the donor we picked stood out to me right away and just felt right.


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## MombyChoice

*Kylas Baby*, that is a good point about focusing on the health history. I'm sorry to hear about your little one's food allergies and sleep issues, but I do understand wanting to go with the same donor. I know that when I do get pregnant that I'll want to buy up many vials so that I could try for a full sibling down the road-harder to do with somewhat limited bank supplies vs. a known donor but also more convenient because once bought they are mine lol. I'm glad your donor is still on board with donating, that's something that worried me about going with fresh DS-what if he is not available for a sibling? And I like what you said, "you get what you get"...something important to keep in mind. How exciting for you all though, to already have your 1st and to be getting ready to go through it all again! 

AF just ended for me too (saw your post from yesterday) so our cycles may be very close. I'm watching this one closely and will be using OPKs for the first time to try to try to pinpoint ovulation this month in anticipation of next month. What do you use to identify when you are going to ovulate? Or do your cycles go like clockwork? 

And no journal yet, but I will be making one soon! I'm still figuring out the basics of posting on BnB lol. Will have to look around and check out other journals also, I've mostly stalked the threads. 

*WayPastReady*-You are funny, with your husband wanting this super tall athlete-how cute of him. I'm glad he got to be involved in picking the DS, it had to be a difficult decision regardless of who you guys chose. That's great someone stood out to you also, the problem I'm having is that I like too many...I'm very open and just haven't found one that I am drawn to over the others. Will likely just pick last minute once it's time to order (not ship, just order lol). 

Saw your post from yesterday also, so was today the big day!?!? It must be so nerve-wreaking....hoping for a Christmas miracle lol I have never TTC before so I can only imagine how I'll handle the stress for my own cycle-I'm nervous and excited for you and we only just "met" lol


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## KylasBaby

Oh that's awesome our cycles are so close! I believe I'm cd7 today. 

My cycles are sort of regular. I have pcos but I'm on a cocktail of herbs and vitamins that have been making me somewhat regular. I tend to ovulate a bit later, but with having pcos ovulating at all is an accomplishment. Dd was a cd20 ovulation so I'm not concerned with ovulating later. I changed things up this cycle so not sure what to expect really. 

For tracking, I temp and use opks and track cm and other ovulation signs.


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## WayPastReady

Mombychoice, yes, yesterday was in fact the big day!:haha:I did the first insemination at 10am yesterday and just did the second one. I was planning on doing them 12 hours apart, but then got nervous that I was planting all of my seeds in the same day so they ended up 22 hours apart. I'm still not having any ovulation pain so I'm wondering if maybe I'm having an anovulatory cycle. I have no reason to think that other than the lack of pain, so I'm probably just over-thinking things. I would definitely love a Christmas miracle and already have a plan in mind for how I would announce to DH on Christmas morning.:winkwink:


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## KylasBaby

Fingers crossed super tight for you!!


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## Savasanna

Yay for insemination day! Good luck waypast! 

I always think it's so funny when I talk to people about picking a donor. When we first started we had all the same conversations you're having. We had an entire spreadsheet outlining the pros and cons of each donor (good smile, weird nose, etc) and even did one of those online "what would your baby look like" type things with all the "finalists". Now.. I literally don't even care. I'm moderately interested in an Rh- donor, but even that isn't all too important because you can just take the rhogam shot. I'm pretty sure our current donor is Rh+, actually. Our previous clinic was notorious for running out of donors (and we only ordered one vile at a time) so the most we were ever able to use the same donor was two tries in a row. Then it was back to the drawing board. After a while we just stopped caring. I don't remember anything about our current donor, to be honest. I *think* he has dark hair? It's almost embarrassing how little we care. At this point, I'd take anyone's sperm. lol


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## Savasanna

Oh, and welcome, Mombychoice! Happy to have you here!


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## WayPastReady

Savasanna said:


> Yay for insemination day! Good luck waypast!
> 
> I always think it's so funny when I talk to people about picking a donor. When we first started we had all the same conversations you're having. We had an entire spreadsheet outlining the pros and cons of each donor (good smile, weird nose, etc) and even did one of those online "what would your baby look like" type things with all the "finalists". Now.. I literally don't even care. I'm moderately interested in an Rh- donor, but even that isn't all too important because you can just take the rhogam shot. I'm pretty sure our current donor is Rh+, actually. Our previous clinic was notorious for running out of donors (and we only ordered one vile at a time) so the most we were ever able to use the same donor was two tries in a row. Then it was back to the drawing board. After a while we just stopped caring. I don't remember anything about our current donor, to be honest. I *think* he has dark hair? It's almost embarrassing how little we care. At this point, I'd take anyone's sperm. lol

Thank you! It sure is funny what you're willing to give up in order to be pregnant. All of the grand ideas, hopes, and dreams in the beginning of ttc have now gone by the wayside and desperation has taken its place. Now, I'm rapidly approaching the "take anyone's sperm" stage too. If we decide to use donor sperm for a third child, I'm not even sure we'd even care about using the same donor. Since we already have an adopted daughter, I kind of like the idea of them all being biologically different so she doesn't feel like she's the only different one. Guess we'll cross that bridge if and when we get to that point. Right now I'm hoping and praying to just get pregnant once and experience giving birth and breastfeeding.


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## MombyChoice

*WayPastReady,* that is so exciting!! Not all women feel that ovulatory pain and you could have ovulated when you were sleeping and you'd probably have missed it! You had the LH surge as evidenced by your OPK strips from the other day also...so there is still every reason that this could be the big cycle. You spaced the insems out well...I'm afraid I'll rush things and do both vials too close. I feel the ovulatory pain about half the time, I hadn't even considered using that as an identifier of ovulation :dohh:

Well we are all rooting for you, try to stay busy the next couple of weeks...supposedly that's supposed to help with the anxiety :) 

See, I'm just starting out over here, having never TTC before. I was going to start trying in April but I decided that nothing will change between January and April and that I don't want to waste those cycles, who knows how long it'll take me. I have irregular and unpredictable cycles though-PCOS ruled out and no other identifiable hormonal reason so we'll see. I'm temping, monitoring CM and using the OPKs...just did my very first one today to see what the negative looks like.

Thanks *Savasanna*! I am still stuck in that picky mindset but I can see the otherside of it, a baby is a baby is a baby and that is what we are all working for! I think once I actually start trying things will change as reality sets in..I'm still in the planning stage and have no idea how things will go or what challenges I will face. So funny you had a spreadsheet, you must have been considering a lot of donors! Do you mind if I ask which bank you went with?


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## Lulua

Hi I'm new. We are using donor sperm as my Dh was diagnosed with Azoospermia last year after 1 year of us TTC. it was a big blow to us both. 

We have done two cycles of at home AI with a known donor. Second one I just did tonight. I hope hope it works. !!! 
Good luck to everyone else. Enjoyed reading this thread


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## Savasanna

Hello Lulua! Fingers crossed for you this month! At home donors are a new level of.. what can you call it.. things I never thought I'd ever experience. haha ;)


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## KylasBaby

Good luck Lulua! Hope it works for you. 

You too Savasanna!! 

You ladies have me quite broody! One more month!! Gah!


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## Savasanna

January will be here in NO time!


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## KylasBaby

Oh I know. I just can't wait for it to be over haha. All this planning and worrying it won't work put because of how far donor dude is to us since we moved and hoping he will be able to work up here when we need him or meet us closer. I probably wouldn't be worrying as much if he were closer. But that's my biggest worry. The logistics.


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## WayPastReady

Lulua said:


> Hi I'm new. We are using donor sperm as my Dh was diagnosed with Azoospermia last year after 1 year of us TTC. it was a big blow to us both.
> 
> We have done two cycles of at home AI with a known donor. Second one I just did tonight. I hope hope it works. !!!
> Good luck to everyone else. Enjoyed reading this thread

Welcome Lulua! So glad to have you here and to join in on your hopefully short journey using DS! I can completely relate to the "big blow" feeling of finding out DH had azoospermia. I physically felt sick and was emotionally crushed. It's definitely better now, but I still get sad every once in awhile when I think about how we might never have a child that is biologically both of ours and how I wish we could just get pregnant so easily like everyone else appears to. 

Good luck in your tww! I'll be anxiously awaiting your updates.:hugs:


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## WayPastReady

*Savasanna,* how did the ultrasound go last week? Did you inseminate yet?

AFM, my mom said I looked different today in a good way...my hair was dirty and pulled up so it's not like I was looking great today lol. She said it wasn't my hair or makeup, but my face just looked different. Then when I got home tonight, I noticed brown spotting in my underwear. Implantation spotting? Here I was doing so good at keeping my mind off of this tww...now not so much:wacko:


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## KylasBaby

Timing would be accurate for implantation spotting! Fingers crossed for you!


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## Savasanna

How exciting Waypast! How far in the tww are you? Are you planning on testing? 

Ultrasound was good, I got zero information from it which annoys me a little and I'm going to talk to my RE about on Thursday. (as in, I know they're creating the treatment plan, but I still would've appreciated "you have x follicles on the right and x on the left. Your hormone levels are x. So the plan is...") In any event, I triggered Thursday night at had the IUI on Saturday morning. So I'm 4dpiui today. Nothing to note, I'm not really symptom spotting because I've had cycles with every symptom in the book turn out bfn so I don't want to drive myself crazy. However, it's easy to say that when you're this early in the tww when symptoms wouldn't be present anyway. I'm sure I'll be going crazy come this weekend/early next week. haha. 

My period is due on the 25th, however we're planning on testing on Thursday the 22nd so we have a head's up before our holiday travels.


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## WayPastReady

That's super annoying that they didn't give you any info. I would definitely be wanting to know what they saw and their thoughts on it. 

I'm 7dpo today so only a few days ahead of you. I have a short LP of 10 days so I'm supposed to start this Saturday the 17th. I probably won't test until at least Sunday. I'm having what feels like light menstrual cramps today, which I'm hoping is implantation, but it's making me feel like I'm out. It's so hard to keep your mind off the wait when your body is giving you crazy symptoms.


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## KylasBaby

I felt implantation with my MMC. It was so weird. A few seconds of sharp pain and then it was done. Had to catch my breath a bit. Was so weird. But with dd I didn't feel anything. Already had the next cycle planned and was surprised either a BFP at 8dpo. 

Anyway, not sure if you've said WayPastReady, but how did you do the insem? We did it at home. Got as romantical as possible and OH shot the suckers up there haha. We didn't have sex or anything because it's pretty gross to be around there with some guys stuff all up in my business lol. But there were candles lit and making out and whatnot. This time probably won't be as romantic. Probably be much quicker.


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## WayPastReady

Kylasbaby, I thought we would make it romantic, but when it came down to it, my husband got weirded out about it last month (possibly because I made him take a pic of me holding the nitrogen tank to document the process for the future :haha:) so I decided to make it less of a big deal and just did it myself. We also didn't have sex afterwards since there was another man's stuff in there.

This month my husband knew we would be inseminating again, but I didn't tell him when I picked it up or when I did the first one. The only reason he knew I did the second one was because he ran back into the house for something when he was leaving for work and saw me getting set up. 

So awesome that you got your bfp at 8dpo with your dd! Part of me is curious to see if I would get a bfp that early, but the other part of me doesn't want to see another negative test so I'll probably keep waiting.


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## Savasanna

lol - we have a pic of us holding a nitrogen tank as well! A 10-day lp does seem on the short side, but here's hoping your cramps are implantation and not menstrual!

Have you guys heard that it helps to orgasm if you're doing at home inseminations? The muscular contractions kind of help to suck the sperm up into the cervix. We also skipped anything sexual during our at home tries (we were too nervous when it came to the frozen tries, and the known donor tries meant her brother was hanging out downstairs) so I just did the job myself after the insemination.


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## WayPastReady

That's so funny that you took a pic with the tank as well!!

I have heard about the orgasm helping and did it last month after the second insem, but this month it didn't work out since I did it in the mornings and was alone with our dd. 

I've used progesterone cream a few times before to help extend my LP, and it gives me a couple more days but last month it gave me every single pregnancy symptom that I wasn't sure I could mentally go through that again. I plan on getting my progesterone levels checked asap once I get my bfp to make sure I'm not having an issue being low and will most likely get them checked every couple weeks for my own peace of mind.


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## KylasBaby

Aw man I wish I'd gotten a pic of one of us holding the cup haha. 

We swayed for a girl and will be this time as well and the female orgasm sways boy so no happy ending for me lol. I also can only get off orally and no way I could ask OH to do that with a guys stuff up there hahaha

I use npo after O. An issue with pcos is low progesterone. At 8 week pregnant my progesterone was only 16 on the cream so I'm sure without it it would have been super bad news. Doctor wouldn't give me anything since it was in the normal ranges even if it was right at the bottom.


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## WayPastReady

I also only get off orally, so we would have the same issue with DH going down there afterwards. I didn't know about orgasm favoring a boy though! Guess it's true that you learn something new everyday. 

I've never been dx'd with pcos and my acupuncturist said she doesn't think I have a LPD, but I definitely think something isn't right with it only being 10 days. What's the npo? I do worry about possibly being low in progesterone and the cream not being enough. I've never had my day 21 prog check, so I should probably go ahead and get it checked next month if I'm not pregnant this cycle.


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## KylasBaby

My bad sorry it's npc natural progesterone cream. 

It favors a boy because orgasaming makes the vagina more alkaline which favors boy sperm. For a girl you want it more acidic as the boy sperm aren't as hardy as the girls.


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## WayPastReady

Oh ok. I've read that girl sperm also lives longer and male sperm swims faster, so that definitely makes sense about the alkalinity and hardiness. I've wondered if using the frozen DS is more likely to result in a boy since it's used so close to ovulation.


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## KylasBaby

Getting them there closer to ovulation can be girl or boy. Shettles has been disproven as he said girl sperm are slower but live longer and boys are faster but die sooner. It was just the sperm in different stages. He had no way to tell which were x and which y. Doctors now can't even do that by looking at them. So I'm not sure which way frozen leans honestly. I'd think it leans boy but not because of the sperm. Because when people use frozen they're putting a lot of work in so are more likely to be on a better diet and getting lots of nutrients which leans boy.


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## WayPastReady

Interesting! Thanks for sharing!


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## WayPastReady

Well the witch got me first thing this morning.:cry: Now I can't help but wonder if there's something wrong with me with two unsuccessful cycles. I know two isn't a lot and is completely within the realm of normal, but I was really hoping I'd be able to get pregnant quick once we started using DS. Now I'm discouraged and feel like it's not going to work.

In other news, DH and I are buying a house in a couple weeks and really don't have the extra $1,000 to spend on DS this new cycle, so I'm really considering taking my friend up on his offer to donate. I just have no clue how I'm even going to bring it up to DH, since he doesn't know my friend knows about the reason we've been struggling to conceive. Ugh, part of me just wants to act like we're still using the frozen DS and not tell him it's my friend, but that's probably not the right thing to do.


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## KylasBaby

Sorry about the witch. But you are right. 2 cycles is completely normal. Can take a completely healthy couple up to a year without either having any issues. How long was your LP this cycle? That's the only thing I can see to try to work on. And maybe try doing a couple opks at once. Maybe this one isn't picking up on it when it first starts or something?

I agree it wouldn't be the right thing to do. There could be a whole host of issues that come up with that. Better to tell him.


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## WayPastReady

My LP was its usual 10 days this cycle. The only thing that extends it is the npc, which I've only used twice and didn't use this month due to it giving me so many pg symptoms. I've tried everything else since I originally thought that was our issue for the first 1.5 years off ttc. Nothing else has changed it.

I just told DH that AF came today and told him I wished we had some fresh DS to use. He asked how we would get that, and I said we'd have to ask someone we know. Then he asked who we would ask, and I mentioned my friend. He said that would be weird since he knows him and hangs out with him. I told him he needs to think about it like getting a blood transfusion, but that didn't seem to help. At least I planted the seed, and hopefully he'll come around to the idea if the frozen doesn't work in the next few cycles.


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## KylasBaby

Oh and congrats on the house! We bought this house in September. Still doing little jobs around and such. 

That's good you gave him the idea. 

Personally I'd keep with the npc. If you have a late implanter 10 days may not be enough. 

Maybe you can look a thing the known donor registry and see if there are any known donors in your area?


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## WayPastReady

Thanks! Congrats on your house too! 

You're probably right about sticking with the npc. It definitely wouldn't hurt at least. 

I've thought about using the known donor registry and actually went to the website once I think. Is that how you found yours? My biggest worry would be that they might have a disease that I could get. If they're open to getting tested though, then that might be an option.


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## KylasBaby

Yes, we found him there. He had paperwork from getting tested that we made sure we saw. Many have testing done on there, but if one you like doesn't you can always offer to pay for them to have it done. We also had contracts done before hand. They aren't enforceable in court, but they do show the intent of all parties, if needed. Then when OH adopted dd he had no problem signing the termination of rights papers. We met him at a notary and had it done. I highly recommend the site. Just like anything though you have to screen people.


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## WayPastReady

Joined the KDR site today! Thanks for suggesting that! I'm a little weirded out by some of the men that I've seen on there...actually grossed out if I'm being honest, but I've only looked at a couple profiles. Hopefully I'll feel more comfortable with the idea once I find a good one. I don't know why it's bothering more than the sperm bank, at least these men aren't doing it for money.


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## KylasBaby

Yeah that was a big thing for us too. They don't get money for it. Just make sure you only go with a donor who does AI. Some want NI or natural insemination aka sex. 

I was weirded out too, but then we found our donor. He wasn't even our first choice actually. We found one and had looked over his test results and signed contracts and were set to go when right before we needed him he said he changed his mind and wasn't interested in donating to us....pretty sure it was because I told him I wasn't feeling comfortable being friends with him on Facebook. But then we found our guy and he's amazing so it was definitely a good thing.


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## Savasanna

lol - Kyla gets everyone to sign up for KDR! 

I will say that at home tries with frozen sperm are REALLY tough. It's all such a science and you could be killing at the sperm if you thaw it at the wrong rate, or suck it into the syringe too quickly, or anything really. And then the sperm have longer to travel while they still don't live for very long. It's tough. I think we tried at home ICI for two months before deciding that it wasn't worth the money and moved on to IUI with my ob-gyn. 

But yes, a fresh donor is definitely best. 

Kyla got me to sign up for the KDR... last spring, I think (was it really that long ago?) when we were preparing to start trying again. Just watch out because, while there are legitimate donors on there, there seem to be a fair amount of scamming too. We blocked anyone who reached out to us, and focused only on us seeking out people. From my memory, it was pretty easy to differentiate who was legit vs who wasn't pretty quickly. We ended up finding someone we liked, but he only works with one family at a time and had a few families waiting in the wings already. I respect him honoring each family individually, we just didn't want to wait until he was available. 

Sorry to hear the witch got you. :( Congrats on the house, though! That's super exciting!


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## KylasBaby

It's true. I should get some kind of kickback lol. I don't think I ever responded to anyone who messaged me first either. Just weird. If they're that eager there's an issue. We didn't run into an issue with anyone scamming us though, but we didn't message many people. 

Got my positive opk yesterday so ovulating probably tomorrow. Not that it matters, but it'll help me more accurately predict when January's cycle will start. I seem to have a 13/14 day LP. Mostly 13 days, but this cycle has been wonky so who knows.


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## Savasanna

Home stretch! It's almost go time!


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## KylasBaby

I have this fear pushed way back from my mind because we're so busy with Christmas this coming weekend (Christmas eve at my parents, Christmas Day here at home) then Christmas at OHs parents the following weekend and that's also New Years and my next cycle should start within that first week. And then I'll really start to freak out haha. I'm only really freaking out about how we will work out getting donations with the distance between us now and donor dude. Once we get past that and get donations I'll start freaking out about how I'll deal with nausea and exhaustion with an EXTREMELY active toddler! Then I'll freak about how I'll deal with an EXTREMELY active toddler an drew a newborn and be recovering from birth. Then I'll freak about how I'll handle 2 kids and so on and so on haha. It's always something.


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## WayPastReady

Savasanna, too funny that she got you to sign up for it also!! Thank you for the heads up about not responding to anyone who reaches out to us. That's very good to know.

I'm strongly considering doing a monitored cycle soon if I can't find a fresh donor that I'm comfortable with. That also means that I'll have to re-establish myself with my RE, since I haven't been there in over a year.

Kyla, you really should get some sort of finder's fee lol. So exciting to think that your next positive opk is going to be the one! It's very true that there's always something to stress and worry about, but I'm sure you and your donor will find a way to make the deposit at the right time.


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## Savasanna

Yea.. I had to reestablish myself with my RE as well. It took 2 cycles to get all the tests in order. Kind of a bummer but you get through it.


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## WayPastReady

Ok, good to know! 

I just messaged my first donor on KDR. I've never done online dating, but I feel like this is what it must be like, except to the extreme! I can't even imagine what it's going to be like to meet this guy for the first time...if it even gets to that. I'm sure at some point it will start to feel more "normal" but right now, it's still weirding me out.


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## KylasBaby

Haha yeah it's awkward. Now imagine what it's like sitting outside after you just handed the guy the cup. So so awkward. Good luck!


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## Savasanna

Yea. There's really no way to get around the awkwardness. My brother-in-law was our donor so he'd basically come visit for the weekend and then just go upstairs once a day with his laptop and cup. haha


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## Savasanna

going back a few posts though - I definitely agree with Kyla that your husband should be involved in this, though. At minimum he needs to be ok with the idea in the name of your relationship, but I'd also imagine there area plethora of potential legal issues if he's not aware. (for ex - he could deny any responsibility to the child, yadda yadda). If he's not on board with this, I wouldn't recommend pursuing it further.


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## KylasBaby

And, to add, you're married so he will automatically go on the birth certificate as there is an assumption of paternity I think they call it. But you will have to have him adopt as well because he isn't the biological father and terminate the donors rights.


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## KylasBaby

Disregard the adoption part. I forgot that's just for gay/lesbian couples. Even if they're married and on the birth certificate they need to adopt too because not every state has gay marriage so not every state would accept them both being the parent without a court order. That's nationwide. But you'll still want to get donors rights terminated. It's not hard. You all will have to see a notary and submit the paperwork to the court.


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## WayPastReady

He's totally on board with using a donor. In fact, it was his suggestion that we pursue the DS route since he didn't want me to undergo the IVF medications and egg retrieval. He just said he doesn't want it to be one of our friends or family members. He knows that I joined the KDR site in the hopes of finding fresh DS instead of continuing to use the expensive frozen stuff, and we constructed the message to the donor together.

Where are you in your cycle Savasanna? Any updates?


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## MombyChoice

Hi everyone, just catching up on all the new posts, I'll have to check in more often! Lol

WayPastReady-I cannot believe you just joined KDR! It totally feels like online dating, only much scarier. I spent this week registering, going through messages and profiles and pictures, picking a donor, thinking about it, freaking out and then ended up deleting my account :haha: I made this whole list of why a KD would be preferred (longer living sperm, know more about donor, child has opportunity to know more earlier on, not expensive etc...) But in the end I just couldn't get over the health risks and legal ramifications. I mean, chances are these guys would be fine, especially the ones with reviews (if legit) but I just got too scared. Maybe since it's my first time TTC I don't mind the bank fees so much. It's $1000usd/attempt for me, with two vials for at home ICI. Maybe I'll feel differently after a few months of attempts....

And I'm sorry cycle 2 wasn't it for you :hugs:...doesn't mean cycle 3 won't be! Stress can depress fertility, I know it's easier said than done, but do try to relax, at the very least you are trying something new and are now working with functioning sperm and think about it...these are really your first two attempts-nothing to worry about right now. Just enjoy trying and find things to do to stay busy... 

KylasBaby-Wow, our cycles must really be nearly in-sync, I got a positive on my OPK today (with a nice dark line just like the control line). It's my first time using OPKs and I was practicing for next month also. Can you believe I haven't picked my donor yet? Leaving it up to the last minute I am....I just can't choose until it's time to buy the vials... 
Despite the distance challenges, be grateful you have a KD to work with, you have better chances than us using frozen! I also have spent some time thinking about the realities of pregnancy, but you can do it....you can do it because you'll have to. That's what I'm thinking, though this will be my first. Just go into it with the right attitude and knowing that the good days outweigh the bad and have hope that it'll get easier and you'll be just fine. 

And just a quick question for you about the KDR website...what is your opinion on shipping? It's weird, right!?!?!?! Or would you give it a try!?!? I seriously did close my account because I decided I would try frozen and couldn't take the site anymore...but it's still in the back of my mind. I've thought about asking friends but I just don't see it working without being awkward. 

Savasanna-Fingers crossed for you!! Too funny about taking a picture with the tank...that'll be me next month hopefully lol. I'll have to go back and read more about your journey so far. This will be my first time TTC and I've already learned so much from these boards, it's so nice reading about other women going through similar things!


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## Savasanna

Oh good, glad to hear that! Sorry - didn't mean to pry, I thought I had read that he didnt' agree to using a known donor.. but maybe that was just referring to your friend who offered. I can totally understand/respect that. One of my wife's friend's offered to be our donor a few years back and I had a similar reaction. Obviously we needed to use DS but I didn't want to use someone who could result in a complicated relationship. I was looking for a donor, not a 3rd part-time parent. 

(this situation works for some people, but it's just not what I was looking for) 

No updates for me. The positive I saw on Sunday was the last day of the trigger. I test on Thursday with an at home test and then have a beta scheduled for Friday. If it doesn't work then next cycle will start sometime next week and it's back in the saddle we go.


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## MommaCosima

We decided to use known DS instead after all but that's starting sometime in the next year.


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## WayPastReady

Savasanna said:


> Oh good, glad to hear that! Sorry - didn't mean to pry, I thought I had read that he didnt' agree to using a known donor.. but maybe that was just referring to your friend who offered. I can totally understand/respect that. One of my wife's friend's offered to be our donor a few years back and I had a similar reaction. Obviously we needed to use DS but I didn't want to use someone who could result in a complicated relationship. I was looking for a donor, not a 3rd part-time parent.
> 
> (this situation works for some people, but it's just not what I was looking for)
> 
> No updates for me. The positive I saw on Sunday was the last day of the trigger. I test on Thursday with an at home test and then have a beta scheduled for Friday. If it doesn't work then next cycle will start sometime next week and it's back in the saddle we go.

Yeah, I was just referring to my friend. He doesn't mind meeting the guy, just doesn't want it to be a buddy that he hangs out with.:haha: Fx'd that you get your bfp in a couple days!



MommaCosima said:


> We decided to use known DS instead after all but that's starting sometime in the next year.

Hi MommaCosima! Best of luck to you during your WTT and so happy for you that you have a known donor who is willing to help!


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## KylasBaby

Nearly positive today is O day. Past 2 days I've had positive opks (I usually have 36 hours of positives) cm has gone from being completely drenched and having to change my underwear twice each day AND wear a liner to kinda sticky. Temp dive this morning and my nasty cramps yesterday are gone. So that's a cd19 O. AF should come cd 32/33 as I have a 13 day LP occasionally 14 days. Which would make the next AF start on January 3rd! Next O should be around cd17-19 next cycle which would be January 19-21. Which is a Thursday to Saturday. Not ideal a sense it's going to be difficult to get donations during the week, but I think even if we get one on Sunday that's still 4-6 days before I O. With dd the donations were 7 and 5 days before O as I Oed really not late. I'll try to get a donation during the week too. Maybe have OH take that Monday off or she's closes Mondays so if we could do something in the morning. 

Good God so much to work out!


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## WayPastReady

Sounds like you've got a good start to a plan for next cycle! Probably a good idea to plan on making at least one trip during the week to make sure you get at least one well-timed insem. How far away is your donor?


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## KylasBaby

Far! 2 states away. He lives in Rhode Island. We just moved out of MA to Nh. He works close to OHs work though. Going to see if he would be able to work up by us one day or something as he said he works in he next city over occasionally. And see if my mom can take her or come to our house and watch her overnight one night. Would probably have to be that Saturday-Sunday even though Sunday-Monday would be better. We will see


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## WayPastReady

Oh goodness, that does sound stressful. Fx'd it will work out for him to work near you one day and your mom to watch your LO!

I set up a meet 'n' greet with a donor from KDR for Thursday. I'm soooo nervous! We're meeting in a mall food court, and all I can think about is how awkward this is going to be. I'm not sure whether to act like it's no big deal or to come right out and admit how awkward it is lol. Any advice ladies? How did your first meeting go? He's already sent me his contract and STD testing results.


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## Cppeace

Hi all...Figured I join in since I am an inseminator now.
My guy and I have been ttc for 16 months(Over a 20 month period). He has low sex drive and most months we only managed to have successful sex once a month. We manged to get pregnant once and it ended in a miscarriage, but over all the lack of sex if not conductive to baby making and we have decided to go back to ttc but add in insemination since that is far easier on him than full sex. 
My symptoms look like I might ovulate earlish on cd 16 and we inseminated today and yesterday and will continue until I get that drastic temp rise I always get marking ovulation. 
I've read so many success stories of home insemination and hope this will be the ticket for us :)
Good luck to all in here :)
:dust:


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## WayPastReady

Hi and welcome Cppeace! So sorry to hear of the troubles you've been having and of you're miscarriage. Sounds like insemination could definitely be a good addition to help you conceive. Good luck this cycle!


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## KylasBaby

WayPastReady said:


> Oh goodness, that does sound stressful. Fx'd it will work out for him to work near you one day and your mom to watch your LO!
> 
> I set up a meet 'n' greet with a donor from KDR for Thursday. I'm soooo nervous! We're meeting in a mall food court, and all I can think about is how awkward this is going to be. I'm not sure whether to act like it's no big deal or to come right out and admit how awkward it is lol. Any advice ladies? How did your first meeting go? He's already sent me his contract and STD testing results.

We met at a coffee place. Had coffees and chatted. Wasn't as awkward as I was expecting but still awkward. We chatted a bit and signed the contracts then left. That's awesome you got the testing results. That's always good. Bring a some contracts with you so if it goes well and you all agree you can sign them there. 

Write down any questions you have because you will forget them. And relax! Haha. 

Welcome cppeace! Sorry for the issues yours having. I hope insemination helps!! 

AFM, OH and I talked today about ttc next cycle. About the logistics and whatnot. She said she could take that whole week off which I said was overkill haha. But we could do a night in some hotel in his city over the weekend. She said there's a lot to see and do there so should be fun. And she can work a late shift so she could go to him and get a donation after work then drive home without traffic. It's still a 45 minute drive without traffic so not sure how many would survive, but he has pretty strong swimmers. I'll text him on cd1 and give him the dates and see what he thinks. So close!


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## Cppeace

I've heard successful insemination when the specimen had been in a container awaiting insemination for over an hour so I'd say plenty should survive.

Thanks for the welcome you two... The miscarriage was a totally weird limbo thing so I don't think I took it as hard as most women would. The lack of sex with us ttc was incredibly frustrating for me. I'm hoping this is our cycle, but we will keep trying for several months until I get overly frustrated again or a year passes, whichever comes first lol


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## Cppeace

And that sounds so exciting Kylasbaby! Fingers crossed you take first cycle like you have in the past :)


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## KylasBaby

With my loss (and a different donor) I got stuck in nasty traffic and the stuff was in a cup for well over an hour and I got pregnant. So definitely possible. I ordered 3 sterile cups from Amazon so ready to go! Is it bad I took the new syringes from dds baby Advil? Haha. We have so many syringes and they come with every bottle and we're unopened so I figure why buy ones when we have these? Lol. Feels wrong for some reason.


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## Cppeace

lol naw nothing wrong with using unused syringes- you buy the ones for oral medication anyway lol


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## WayPastReady

Baby Advil syringes lol! That's hilarious but very resourceful! Don't feel guilty at all. 

So glad things are falling into place for you to get the goods when you need them!


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## WayPastReady

I just called off the meeting with the donor since talking more with DH. He decided that he wants to remain as anonymous as possible with the donor and doesn't want either of us to meet him. I was super nervous about meeting him, so initially relieved, but now I'm feeling uneasy about not meeting him. Ugh, maybe I just don't have peace about this whole situation. I don't know why it feels different from using a sperm bank. I know DH wishes that we could conceive a child that is biologically both of ours (and so do I), but that's not the reality right now without IVF. I think changing from a frozen donor to fresh has just re-opened the wound that is male infertility. Hopefully we'll both have some peace about this before my next fertility window strikes.


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## KylasBaby

:/ I'm sorry that's rough. One of the reasons we went with a known donor is because OH doesn't know her biological father. She's always wondered about that part of herself and it really bothers her. So we wanted to use a donor who would be available to us and dd and future children. I know most aperm banks have a sibling registry, but I'm not sure how much they divulge about donors. 

I can see how it can be tough. Maybe it makes him feel more like it's not his child using a known donor? Whereas frozen sperm a bigger degree of separation you know? Maybe it's time to consider the IVf? 

It's definitely a tough situation all around. I'm sorry :hugs:


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## Cppeace

I personally would want to get to know the donor if I had one but that is me. Yeah, I' sure it is quite a blow for him to know it is his fault you can't conceive. I know my guy felt very guilty because he has such low sex drive.


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## WayPastReady

I think he is dealing with a lot of guilt and disappointment and meeting this guy would make him feel like even less of a man. I told him that we don't have to use a donor and can wait and save up for IVF, but it's him who doesn't want to go that route since it's so expensive, hard on my body, and no guarantee. 

I definitely want our child to have the option of contacting the donor in the future so they're less likely to have unanswered questions. The frozen donor we had chosen gave us that option, and this known donor gives us that option as well. I think this is just a new step for us and putting the inability to conceive a child in the forefront of our minds. I think both of us will be more comfortable with the idea once we do the first one, and it's not so foreign anymore. Thanks for the support ladies! It's so good to have people to talk to who are going through similar situations.


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## KylasBaby

I'm not in your situation but I can see how it would be tough for both of you. Tough situation any way you go. 

You can still get to know the donor without meeting right now. Though you will have to meet to get donations. Maybe explain the situation and get to know him more via email? Or text or whatever? 

Or take a couple days or whatever and then revisit the situation. 

Definitely a lot to deal with. I've added all you ladies to my nightly prayers. I'm not particularly religious, but can't hurt.


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## Cppeace

Why not kinda do a mixed bag? Do every other day leading up to ovulation. Like Your DH 4 days before, donor 3 days before, Dh 2 days before and donor day before. That way if you conceive there's no guarantee it's not his baby. I'm not sure how true it is but I've actually heard that competing sperm perform better to fertilize eggs and that is why women that cheat often wind up pregnant oddly enough. Just a thought that might help somehow.


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## Cppeace

Aww that's very sweet of you Kylasbaby. I will return the favor.


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## WayPastReady

Yeah, I told the donor that I would still like to get to know him via email. I'm not quite sure how the donation pick-up will go down, but hopefully we can do it with as little contact as possible. 

That's interesting about the competing sperm. Anything to give my DH's sperm a better chance lol! That's the story I'm sticking with anyway. I'll have to share that one with him. 

Thanks for the prayers ladies! I try to pray daily and will keep you in mine as well.


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## Cppeace

Lol yeah it's an odd thing, but a guy who feels threatened by his mate being impregnated by another guy is actually know to produce higher quality and quantity sperm. It's not just in Humans it happens in other animals as well.It's odd but at least partially true.


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## WayPastReady

Told that to my husband a few minutes ago, and he said he has read the same thing before!! I think this has spurred on some positive thoughts towards receiving the donation and a bit of hope that this could even help DH's sperm have a slightly better chance.


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## Cppeace

I sure hope so. I help when I can :) Glad he's open to the idea :)


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## Savasanna

Welcome Ccpeace! Good luck this cycle! 

Waypast - that's a really difficult situation to be in. Sometimes these 'work arounds' (donor sperm, adoption, foster care) can feel like a life saver, and then they end up digging deeper into the wound. It's tough. My only thought with the competing sperm theory is that I'd want to have a serious conversation on, in the event you do get pregnant, not getting hopes up (so to speak) about over "whose baby" it is. You won't be able to find the biological father until you give birth. That could be a long time of your DH (and you, possibly) hoping that it's his biological baby. The last thing you want is a disappointment upon delivery. It'll be YOUR (you and your DH's) baby regardless of the biology. I guess I would just want to make sure your DH will feel the same. 

This is all really emotionally complicated stuff. I know my wife and I are HUGE talkers so we like to talk everything out before we do anything. But maybe I'm just overthinking your situation. Obviously I don't know your relationship, so if I'm way off guard feel free to ignore. :) 

Kyla - so exciting that you're finally talking details! I'm really happy that your OH is able to take some time off. It's always more fun when you can make a whole thing out of the insemination times, rather than just a check it off the list type deal. With Peanut being in the hospital this month I literally almost forgot that I even had the IUI done! haha. Probably why I've spent much of this tww feeling like it's been a bust and just waiting for the cycle to end. 

AFM - Nothing new to report just yet. Testing day is tomorrow.. although now I'm starting to question whether we should test tomorrow or wait until Friday. Hmm..


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## Cppeace

Well gals looks like I ovulated yesterday! First Time I have ever ovulted before cd 16 in my 16 month history of charting. At least we got a couple days of insemination in there. Craziness


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## Savasanna

whoa! Look at that temp spike!!


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## Cppeace

lol yeah a sharp spike like that is pretty normal for me. I generally go up about a degree from day before or day of to day after ovulation. I rarely have to question anything lol


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## Savasanna

well that's convenient! I haven't temped in years but I woke up this morning and my first thought was that I wished I could temp.. just to see. haha - such a funny little addiction.


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## Cppeace

It's a good thing to do even if not ttc. It is another way to show a healthy working system.


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## Savasanna

True. I temped for a year and a half though so I know I ovulate every month. I've never really had any issues with that.


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## KylasBaby

That is a huge spike! Mine is never anywhere near that. Jealous!

Temp was down today more than yesterday. I was sure yesterday was O day.....no more o pain, cm went from ewcm to creamy....as I said before, wonky cycle.


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## Savasanna

My ewcm appeared to dry up two days prior to (what I think was) o day this month as well. I'm told that's somewhat normal, as the ewcm is supposed to help the sperm through the cervix and you want that to happen a few days before actual o.


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## KylasBaby

From my readings and research and whatnot it's O day that it "usually" dries up. That's usually how my cycles go. The two days before I'm drenched in ewcm (seriously soak through numerous underwear changes) and then on O day it dries right up. This cycle is weird. Had a temp spike before what I thought was O day. Probably the estrogen surge, but I don't usually get that. Wonky wonky wonky cycle. Of course it would be wonky as I need this one to judge when to get donations next month. But I'm feeling better about getting them as OH has said she can work late and get a donation before coming home so I'll Nh every able to get dd to bed and light some candles and set the mood haha. Will be much easier without worrying about her coming in while we're doing it lol.


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## Cppeace

I still have ewcm today but as sore as I am right now I am guessing ovulation happended around 2am or so


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## KylasBaby

This cycle just hates me haha. Doesn't help that my diet is out the window. The daycare parents keep bringing me cookies! Are a whole box of warm homemade cookies today. Don't regret it one bit. Diet will commence after Christmas.


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## Cppeace

lol the holidays are for splurging lol


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## KylasBaby

DEFINITELY! I survived another year with my toddler. I deserve some junk lol


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## Cppeace

lol indeed


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## WayPastReady

Wow, I feel like I've missed so much since I last logged in!

Cppeace, that's so awesome that you have such a huge temp spike that there's no question when or if you ovulate!

Kylasbaby, sorry to hear about the wonky cycle. Just when we start to think we have it all figured out, the body starts to play games to try and trick us. Glad to hear you're feeling more relaxed and have a plan about how the insem is going to go.

Savasanna, you're completely right about alternative ways to bring a child into the family triggering feelings but at the end of the day the biology not mattering at all. Our adopted daughter feels like 100% ours and has since the moment we laid our eyes on her. DH says that he forgets that she's even adopted most of the time. When it comes to donor sperm, the baby would be 1/2 biologically related to me, and it's that part that is making DH feel even more guilty about us not being able to conceive. If and when we do conceive with donor sperm, DH will be the only father, in my eyes, no matter whose sperm created the child. He and I have a really good relationship and a mutual respect for each other, and I think this is why I'm overthinking this whole thing. I wanted to make sure that he's truly ok with going this route, but I think in doing that I made too big of a deal out of it which ended up making him feel even more guilty. Today things seem a lot more relaxed and back to normal, and we even read and signed the donor contract. 

Question for you ladies who have used a donor from the KDR...is there compensation of any kind for the donor? Our potential donor hasn't mentioned anything, just curious if he's going to ask for payment at some point or if it's truly a donation? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that a random stranger would be this willing to help us conceive.


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## KylasBaby

No payment. The whole point of the site is it seems free. So they have to just want to help. Though if they have to travel far it's not a bad idea to offer gas money and fin yoy need a notary for anything you obviously pay that. It definitely is hard to wrap your head around. Have you asked the donor why he does it?

For example, our donor was married and his wife had fertility issues. She sadly passed away so now he has these embryos he doesn't know what to do with. He wants to help because he knows how hard fertility issues are.


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## WayPastReady

Ok, we plan on meeting ours near where he lives so he won't have to travel far, but I was thinking of getting him some sort of gift card anyway.

That's such a sad yet sweet story that your donor has. Our donor said that he has friends that have struggled and had a hard time finding a donor, so that's why he decided to donate.


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## KylasBaby

It's definitely weird. We can't help but not trust a guy for wanting to do this. But we have to put a lot of trust and faith into them. That's why I also wanted a donor who had helped others before with positive pregnancies. So he would know how it goes and I would be sure he didn't want contact. I figure if he has other kids he's helped make, why would he decide out of all of them that he wants contacts with mine? You know


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## Cppeace

lol yeah my ovulation demands to be known right away lol

For all I have read/researched about donor sperm, generally you should never have to pay for the sperm, but hotel, gas, travel that kinda thing yeah. If you want to give a gift card that's totally up to you and cool.

Aww Kylasbaby that is so sad what happened to your donor. Maybe some day he can find a surrogate to carry he and his late wife's baby.


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## WayPastReady

Our donor did mention that he has donated to multiple successful pregnancies so far. I hadn't thought about it from a contact standpoint, but that does make perfect sense that he knows what he's getting himself into. This thread has made me feel a lot more comfortable.:hugs:


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## KylasBaby

I would ask if e and put you in contact with some of the families. I wish I'd done that before we used him. I'm in contact with 2 families who had girls by our donor and all 3 of our girls have milk/soy protein intolerance and sleeping issues. Although they're also extremely intelligent lol. Wouldn't have used him had I known. We are using him for future kids despite three iasues because we now have a relationship with him and know he makes things easy and I want my kids to be full siblings.


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## KylasBaby

So here's my wonky cycle. I'm pretty sure I ovulated cd19. Opk was first positive 2 days before and my cm dried up as it does on O day and my O pain was the day before. But then my temp went down that day. And up today. Which would indicate a cd20 ovulation. But from when my opks went positive to when they went negative it should have been cd19. So I'm confused. And I had a temp spike before it went down which usually doesn't happen, but could have been an estrogen surge before ovulating. 

Wonky wonky
 



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## Cppeace

Hmm Maybe you ovulated very early morning of cd 20. Which could put you correct with your symptoms and the temp swing.


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## KylasBaby

I was thinking that too, but that's too far from my first positive opk. Ovulation isnsupposed to be up to 48 hours after first positive. First positive was cd17 at night which would mean cd19 at night the latest. 6pm would have been 48 hours. So confused.


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## Cppeace

eh that's just an average. Judging by my normal ovulation pain and pos opks. I generally can ovulate just a couple hours after getting a positive sometimes.


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## KylasBaby

I thought that was as late as it can happen after a positive? Up to 48 hours after with most being 36 (which is usually what mine is).


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## WayPastReady

That's certainly strange that all of your symptoms and tests point to day 19, yet your temps say day 20. I would go with day 20 for your planning for next cycle since it's better to have the sperm in there a day early than a day late.

Have you ever used preseed with your insems? I know you said you get a ton of fertile cm before O but wasn't sure if you used it your first time with the insem being 5-7 days before O. I've used it on/off in the past and am unsure if I'm going to use it this next cycle. I'll probably wait and see how much fertile cm I'm having on insem day.


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## KylasBaby

I used it with my loss so never again. That also sways boy and we are swaying for another girl. With dd I used nothing and had absolutely negative zero cm lol.


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## Cppeace

preseed sways boys? Hmm is that cause it makes sperm able to navigate better?


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## WayPastReady

I can certainly understand your apprehension to ever use it again. Just hearing your experience makes me not want to use it, not that I think it causes miscarriage but the thought alone.:nope:


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## KylasBaby

Yeah because it gives the sperm a little boost and makes the vagina more alkaline which sways boy. 

I also took femara with my loss so I won't be using either again. I feel it forced me to ovulate a bad egg and maybe helped a weaker sperm to get through when it naturally wouldn't have. That's why I just do vitamins and herbs now. But I know plenty of people who have had luck with both.


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## Cppeace

I'm really kinda curious if I dropped two eggs this cycle. My positive opk didn't come until after my temp spike and then my major ovulation pains were yesterday, after the temp spike and then I got a pretty major spike for me for 2dpo ... Oddest thing ever


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## KylasBaby

Wonky cycles all around this month! Haha


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## Cppeace

seems like it yeah
This is first time I have ever ovulated before cd 16 before and then this craziness happens


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## WayPastReady

That's very interesting, Cppeace. I've often wondered what a cycle would look like when two eggs were released. It's probably different for every female just like everything else in our cycles but a fun thought if you're wanting twins.


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## Cppeace

Lol I'm not seeking em. Never was a want of mine, but if it happens it happens. Fate likes to play funny tricks that way sometimes.


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## Cppeace

I found this really interesting:

The early pregnancy factor

The early pregnancy factor or EPF is a imuno-suppressant protein and has been detected in mammals right after conception. Its function is to prevent the immune system from attacking the new embryo. Research carried out on human embryos showed positive results within 48 hrs after conception. 
Pregnancy symptoms 48 hrs after conception?

Some women just know right away when they are pregnant. Also, a large percentage of women start to feel pregnancy symptoms very early on, even as early as a few days after conception. Health professionals will tell you that this is not possible since implantation hasn't occurred yet. However, in light of the research done on the early pregnancy factor, it could indeed be possible! The imuno-suppressant functions of the EPF could cause pregnancy symptoms to occur especially if your body is more sensitive to this protein. Morning sickness, in particular, has been linked to immunity suppression


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## WayPastReady

Very interesting, Cppeace!! I truly believe that the body is much more knowledgeable than we give it credit for and has to know that the sperm and egg have united before implantation.


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## Cppeace

Oh definitely. It just always annoys me when a doctor or someone else tries to tell someone what they are feeling or that it is impossible to feel such a thing blah blah blah.... 
We are all unique and some of us know super soon after conception. Some of us never know at all before going into labor lol. We each have our own sensations, sensitivities and reactions. Just because it's normal to not have morning sickness before 6 weeks doesn't means someone might not start at 4 weeks or not have it all.


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## KylasBaby

Having been pregnant twice I also just knew I was pregnant, BUT early pregnancy symptoms are the same as progesterone symptoms. Women can have the same symptoms in months they conceive and months they don't due to the progesterone after ovulation. Pregnancy symptoms don't start until a bit later when the hcg has built up and the body actually gets it that there's a baby in there.


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## Cppeace

I'm not saying that all these progesterone symptoms mean a bfp. I'm simply saying that the body knows to prepare itself once an egg is fertilized. It releases immune suppressing chemicals. Those chemicals should definitely be able to be felt by some, not all.


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## WayPastReady

Ok ladies, time to talk details for a fresh insem! I know I'll be needing some specimen cups, and I'm assuming a small syringe without the needle? Is there something better to use for the insem other than a syringe? I know the frozen DS can get damaged in the syringe if not properly done, so I just want to make sure that there's not a better way to get the fresh stuff in there before I order these.


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## Cppeace

Unless the syringe is contaminated or you suck it up too fast it isn't likely to damage the sperm much of any. Some women swear by the soft cup instead of syringe. Some use both. They syringe it in first and then put in the sift cup to keep it in longer and more against the cervix. 
Some swear by having an orgasm after inseminating it ups your chances as well.


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## WayPastReady

Thanks! I'll go ahead and order the syringes. I am planning on using a soft cup after I do the insem and will put it in after I've hit my limit of lying on my back lol. It probably won't work for me to do the orgasm though cuz I'm trying to keep the insem as non-sexual as possible for DH, so I'll have to hope they can make it up there without that.


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## Cppeace

They definitely can. I personally don't think it increases the odds that much. It just helps to suck the sperm little more into the cervix. Women get pregnant all the time with regular sex and not orgasming. The odds of insemination is almost 100% equal ith regular hetro sexual relations.


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## KylasBaby

We do sterile cups and now dds unopened baby Advil syringes haha. Keeping it classy!

Never done a sofrcup or O after. Just suck them up slow and shoot them in slow. Also you want to let it liquify before you insem. Varies for timing but like 5-10 minutes. Our donor has very watery sperm so we've never had to wait (well other than getting home and whatnot. It's still been like 20 mins).i don't O either. Can't be asking Oh to go down there with that stuff there and that's the only way I get off.

Oh and keep them warm! Body temp so keep the cup between your boobs till you're ready! And don't let them touch anything other than pressed if you're using it. Other lubes or even water kill sperm.


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## WayPastReady

I hadn't even thought about having to wait for it to liquify! So glad you mentioned that. We're going to be doing it in a hotel room...he's going to leave the sample then we'll go in and do the insem. Should I let it sit on the counter the few minutes to liquify or still keep it between my boobs to keep it warm those few minutes?


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## KylasBaby

Boobs will help it liquify faster. And keep more of them alive as they need to be at body temp. I forget why they need to liquify first though. Been a while since I've done it lol.


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## Cppeace

I didn't let anything liquefy, but I had no trouble sucking it up with the syringe- it wasn't much thicker than ewcm so maybe my guy's is naturally kind of liquidy. I dunno, was my first time doing it so we shall see. If no BFP I will wait a few minutes afterward next time.


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## WayPastReady

How are you feeling Cppeace and when are you planning on testing? That looks like a possible implantation dip on 7dpo!


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## Cppeace

Well, most of my temps are adjusted as my sleep was bad since 2dpo lol So that implantation dip is kinda deceptive lol.. Todays temp and 7dpo temp are accurate but all the rest are iffy as sleep was awful. 
I feel ok, some on and off backache, headache and occasional twitchiness around uterus area, but otherwise pretty normal 2ww so far. 

My actual temps are much more ugly https://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh259/cppeace/Screenshot_2016-12-29-08-35-58.png


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## WayPastReady

Oh ok, I've adjusted temps back when I temped and always wondered which one was the most accurate. I never really felt like either way was truly accurate, but the most important info is ovulation which you already got. 

I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep you in my prayers that this is your lucky month!


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## Cppeace

Well, they look to be trending up so hopefully it's a good thing. 
Thank you for your prayers. You are in mine as well.


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## Cppeace

How are things looking for you? Are you posing up for ovulation?


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## WayPastReady

Thank you!

I'm on CD12 and have everything set up to receive the donations from our donor on Saturday (Cd14) and Monday (CD16). I'm having some anxiety about it but hoping it's just nervousness. I've also been drinking my fertility tea for the past week and have a feeling that this is going to be a strong ovulation because I've been having twinges in my left ovary area for a couple days already.


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## Cppeace

Hope it all goes fabulously ! My odd ovulation was quite a strong one for the left side - generally I feel very little when I ovulate from the left-the right is a totally different story. So, hope it's a good sign for you, hon.


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## WayPastReady

I'm here at the hotel waiting for the donor to get here. DH and I are going to leave when he gets here so he can leave the deposit, then we'll come back in and do the insem. 

Any and all prayers, positive thoughts, vibes, and well wishes are appreciated!


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## Cppeace

My thoughts are with you!


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## Cppeace

Hope the first insemination went well, WayPast. 
Happy New Year, ladies.


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## WayPastReady

Happy New Year!


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## Cppeace

Well, ladies , I am officially 1 day late by lp and got a super light shadow today- no sign of AF so far. Getting a little hopeful.


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## WayPastReady

So exciting!!! I hope this is it for you!


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## Cppeace

Thanks hon :)


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## Cppeace

Well Cervix is pretty low and firming, Test looks very negative this morn so AF prolly arriving tomorrow.


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## WayPastReady

That's a bummer, but there's always some hope until AF shows.


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## Cppeace

True and if AF starts soon I could still get a BFP before my birthday so still hoping for that :)


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## WayPastReady

I hope it works out for you!

I was supposed to meet our donor for the second insem yesterday, but he ended up not being able to make it so I only got one insemination this cycle. DH and I have DTD several times during my window so I'm hoping that will help.

The insem was Saturday early evening, my positive opk was Sunday morning (I thought it might have been positive Saturday morning but it was a super positive Sunday morning), and I think I had a short LH surge this cycle cuz it felt like I ovulated late Sunday night...could have been Monday morning though. I think my timing would have been perfect if I could have gotten the second insem yesterday, but oh well. I hope the one was enough.


----------



## Cppeace

Fx for you Waypast! You're timing was fine and hopefully your hubbies sperm buffed up for the competition lol :dust:


----------



## Savasanna

Actually, it sounds like your timing was great! With ICIs you really want to do them a day or two ahead of ovulation because it can take a while for the sperm to get through the cervix. It's the IUIs that you want to do as close to o as possible. 

Fx for you!


----------



## WayPastReady

Thanks ladies!

Congrats on your BFP, Savasanna!!!!! So happy for you! H&H 9 months!


----------



## Savasanna

Thanks! Not out of the woods yet, though. I had an ultrasound and they didn't see anything. They said not to worry and it's still super early but ...*gulp*. I had another beta today that I'm (im)patiently awaiting the results of.


----------



## WayPastReady

Definitely not unusual to not see anything. Keep thinking positive, and I hope your beta results from today give you some peace.


----------



## Cppeace

Well woke to temp drop and light flow so on to next cycle I go.


----------



## WayPastReady

So sorry, Cppeace. I know it's always disappointing to see AF. :cry:


----------



## KylasBaby

Hey ladies! Haven't been on her much as my mother, once again, started stalking a journal I have on here.... but I'm still following just not saying much about our plans as I don't want her finding out.


----------



## WayPastReady

Oh goodness, I'm so sorry. It's so nice to have this space to express our feelings and ask questions with people who understand what we're going through, and even though it's technically a public forum, there is an expectation of privacy and no one should have to worry about having that invaded. I sure hope no one's stalking me...if they are, they're sure getting some entertainment.:haha:


----------



## Cppeace

Understand completely Kylasbaby.


----------



## WayPastReady

Savasanna, have you gotten your beta results yet? Hope all is well.


----------



## WayPastReady

Goodness gracious this 2ww of mine is dragging on.:coffee: I don't know how I'm only 4dpo...feels like 7 or 8 already.:wacko:


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## Cppeace

lol that 2ww can drag terribly, but my wit till ovulation is always the longest for me lol


----------



## WayPastReady

Somehow life is now measured by fertility windows lol...AF, waiting for ovulation, ovulation, waiting for AF or BFP. If only we could forget for a few days where we are in our cycle! 

Soon we'll be tracking time by the gestation of our miracles!


----------



## Cppeace

Lol hopefully.


----------



## Cppeace

I was so hopeful and such the first 6 months or so of ttc but my limbo/miscarriage really brought me down and now I'm trying to get back to feeling hopeful again since add AI in the mix.


----------



## WayPastReady

I can't imagine the pain and disappointment of having a miscarriage. The fear of it happening again is understandable, but hopefully you'll never have to experience that heartache again.


----------



## Cppeace

It's not really the fear of another miscarriage that has me less hopeful it was the fear of just never getting pregnant again. A lot of that was directed at my guy since we just never were having sex at good times for possible conception but with AI now we have much better chance so I'm trying to feel hopeful again. 
The limbo I had was much worse on me than the actual miscarriage. I only knew I was pregnant for 10 days before I miscarried I got to wonder, doubt, deny, hope and feel every other emotion daily for almost 3 months of limbo before getting that bfp.


----------



## WayPastReady

Not knowing is the worst! I agree that if I knew it would eventually happen it would be a lot easier to wait, but I think this new route will definitely increase your odds of achieving pregnancy again since you'll get the sperm at the right time.


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## Cppeace

I believe so too. I think we'll all get our bfps soon :)


----------



## mimi4

Fingers and toes keep crossed. Good luck


----------



## Cppeace

Hiya ladies. I shall start the AI prolly on Sunday which will be cd 12- planning cd 12, 13, 15, but if ovulation looks to be happening might make it cd 14 as well. 
Opk looking good for cd 14-16 ovulation. No fertile CM yet though. 

https://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh259/cppeace/20170112_112605.jpg


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## KylasBaby

First insem has been organized for Tuesday! So pumped. That'll be cd15. I usually ovulate between cd19-21. Will have another Friday, cd 18. Our donor is working up by us Tuesday. He can travel I guess? He's an engineer so idk. But he made sure he's working up by us for Tuesday. Said he had to play email tag for a couple of days to do it. It's about half an hour from us as opposed to his usual work which is over an hour. So that's awesome. It's a secure site so he will have to find a place nearby to meet OH, get the cup and do the "hand off" hahaha 

Friday he is also driving closer to us. Not as close as the place Tuesday, but better. So thankful for him! He's really doing all he can to help us out. 

Quietly freaking out. I didn't freak out like this when ttc my daughter. But now I have her to think about. I know how miserable my pregnancy was. I was so sick for the first 20 weeks and couldn't walk the last 12ish. So I'm petrified it'll be like that again and I have a very adobe toddler to take care of. Oy lol. Trying not to think too much about it.


----------



## Cppeace

Well hopefully this pregnancy won't be as rough on you. FX the insemination goes well :)


----------



## Savasanna

Kyla! So exciting!!


----------



## KylasBaby

Uhhmmmmmm I think what you mean is terrifying. That sounds more appropriate haha


----------



## WayPastReady

Lots of excitement happening for you ladies!

Cppeace and Kyla, how cool that you two are cycle buddies! Glad to hear that the plans for the insems are coming together so well. That stinks that your last pregnancy was so rough on you Kyla, but hopefully this one will be easier. I really do believe that each pregnancy can be so different from others.

Savasanna, I love seeing your due date in your signature! 

AFM, I'm 10dpo and have had symptoms on/off throughout this 2ww but didn't have a single one today...might be because we closed on our house yesterday and have been working on it yesterday and today which makes it easy to keep my mind off of it. I'm debating whether to take a test tomorrow or wait until Saturday. I have a ton of IC's but really don't want to see a BFN so am torn between curiosity and waiting to miss AF.


----------



## KylasBaby

You have much more willpower than I do!

I've gotten positives with my loss and dd at 8dpo so that's when I plan on starting lol. I have ZERO willpower. At all. For anything haha. 

Fingers are crossed for you!


----------



## WayPastReady

The witch got me first thing this morning. Grrrr.


----------



## KylasBaby

That sucks! So sorry. Has your donor had pregnancies before?


----------



## WayPastReady

He said he has had multiple successful pregnancies before. I didn't ask him how many or how long they took...I probably should have. I think if I can get 2 donations next cycle instead of 1, it will give me a better chance.


----------



## KylasBaby

Ah. That's promising then. It can take two perfectly healthy people up to a year so just needs time. Unfortunately. Fingers crossed for your next cycle!


----------



## Cppeace

So sorry to hear AF got you. Hope you have a BFP for valentines!


----------



## Cppeace

How are you ladies today... I'm pretty grumpy myself. My opks are not cooperating with early ovulation lol


----------



## KylasBaby

Good. Just last waiting. My opks don't darken. They're the same shade all month except when I ovulate then I get positives for 36 hours when I have the surge then back to the same shade. So I probably won't start testing till Tuesday. Maybe. Not anticipating ovulation until Saturday-Monday most likely. 

Dd is in a mood today. Really makes me wonder why I want another haha


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## WayPastReady

Did you go ahead and insem today, Kimmie? Or are you waiting for a positive opk? Sorry your LH surge isn't cooperating like you wanted. 

Kyla, only a couple more days till you meet your donor again for baby #2! I'm so excited for you!

Nothing to report for me, just CD 3 of dealing with AF. I think I have a plan of when I want to do my insems this cycle, just have to reach out to my donor and see if he's available the days I want.


----------



## KylasBaby

I know! I can't believe it's almost time. Feels like it's come up so fast. And yet taken so long.


----------



## Cppeace

na, I was tired, worked early so we will start tomorrow when I'm off. My back is bugging me like mad... Might take a second opk to make sure it's not darkening yet. Mine generally get's gradually darker until getting a blazing usually day of ovulation.


----------



## KylasBaby

Moving our first insem to Wednesday. I have a reassessment at my chiropractor tomorrow. They had to switch it from Wednesday to Tuesday so insem gets switched. Not ovulating till this weekend so doesn't matter

Think we might move Friday to Saturday as well. OH possibly has a late meeting to go to. She's moving to a new store so she needs to have some meetings with the current manager to go over things. 

But, like I said, not ovulating till this weekend so should be fine. 
Do believe my cm has gone watery today. Last cycle had 4 watery days then 2 ewcm before iI ovulated so on track! Probably start opks tonight.

Oh and dd has conjunctivitis. Awesome. Woke up from her nap yesterday with gunky eyes and this morning woke up and they were red. So to the doctor we went. Fun times.


----------



## Cppeace

Sorry to hear DD is sickly but hopefully her eye infection heals soon. Did the first AI this about an hour ago. CP is pretty soft and high, saw ewcm but opk is hanging about where it has been last 4 days. I figure my ovulation should be in next few days so hopefully around cd 16ish- we shall see. Let the semen liquify this time and used preseed to boot.We will do it at least 2 more times before ovulation if I ovulate cd 16.


----------



## WayPastReady

Kyla, I love seeing people utilize chiropractors! I'm a bit partial though since DH and I are both chiropractors. Sounds like pushing both of your insems back by a day will work out great with your predicted ovulation window.

Kimmie, sounds like your cervix is ready to receive some sperm.:haha:
Hopefully they're making their way up to be ready for that egg release!

I think I might get some grapefruit juice to help give me some more fertile mucous this cycle. I can't stand the taste of it but...whatever helps me get pregnant.


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## Cppeace

lol well it got some hopefully it was ready lol.. Hope your cycle goes well for you this time :)


----------



## KylasBaby

I go to one. Not sure if it's really doing any good. Was hoping it would help my sleep and that's gotten worse. They said it could help all sorts of things like allergies, which have also gotten worse. My headaches have stopped for the most part. Still 1/2 a month, but pretty sure they're hormone related. Dd went starting when she was 5/6 months as well. It never made any noticeable difference in her other than when her treatment plan ended she started getting sick more often. So we started her again and she still gets sick so idk. Hopefully it's doing something.


----------



## KylasBaby

Aaaaaand sperminated hahaha
So much less romantic than when ttc dd lol. It's like we've been there and done that let's just get it done lol. Cause now we have a little one around so just need to get in and get out haha. 

Lots of intermittent ovary pains today. Mostly my left side which is where I ovulated with dd. Cm still watery so right on track for ovulation this weekend. Opks negative so far as expected.


----------



## Cppeace

Sounds good, Kylasbaby. Hope it all goes great!
My Opk is getting much closer to positive so hoping my ovulation will be tomorrow or Friday. :) We should be testing pretty close to eachother sounds like :)


----------



## KylasBaby

Cycle buddies!

When do you plan to test. I'll start 8dpo. That's when I got positives with both my pregnancies. AF due the 1st-3rd of February if I O when I anticipate.


----------



## KylasBaby

We have ewcm! I usually have 2 days of it then ovulate so I'm betting by Sunday the latest! 

Anyone else get completely soaked with ewcm? I feel so gross. Going to wipe every few minutes. Evolution at its finest. The more ewcm the better chance of helping those swimmers get up there and conception. But gross.


----------



## Cppeace

Some months I have tons of EWCM and some I only get a mild-medium amount. Rarely will I not produce any. It prolly mostly depends on my fluid intake the week leading up to ovulation.

I believe I ovulated last night while I slept. Which would mean I ovulated cd15 (Early again- awesome!) It would mean I inseminated 2 days prior, 1 day prior and 1 day after. Tomorrow's temp should confirm it and be 98.3ish. 

I generally start testing 10dpo.


----------



## KylasBaby

Fingers crossed Cppeace!

Last insem done. There was soooooo much this time! It was gross haha. Like it filled a full syringe plus another half. Hopefully full of strong swimmers!


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## WayPastReady

Sounds like you timed your insems really well, Kimmie!

Kyla, my months are hit or miss with the ewcm. Sometimes I have a decent amount and sometimes none...I do have times when the watery cm just runs out of me though. That's always fun lol. Your sperm should definitely survive and swim really well in all of that ewcm waiting for your egg. 

I'm excited for you ladies and expecting at least one BFP on this thread this cycle!!


----------



## Cppeace

I hope we all get BFP by Valentines :)
Kylas, how big was the syringe lol? I usually only get just over 1ml from my guy lol


----------



## KylasBaby

It was one of dds new Advil syringes haha. So it went to 1.875. But that's only half of the syringe you can suck more in it just doesn't have readings. I'd say probably 3ml total! The other day it was 1.25. 

Temp is up a bit this morning. I'm thinking it's the estrogen surge that happens a day or two before O. But to be fair I'm so stuffed up and feel a ton of pressure on my chest and have a scratchy threat, so could be a sick temp rise too. 

Valentines Bfps!! I'll probably be testing at the end of the month depending on when I o.

WayPastReady - what's your insem schedule like this cycle?


----------



## Cppeace

My temp fell back down so ovulation has not happened yet after all. But todays's opk was the darkest it has been so far so hopefully not too far off.


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## KylasBaby

Aw sorry. But your timing still looks great. 

I am sick. Sick. Sick. Ugh. Feel like death. Of course the next few days I need my temps and they're going to be so off.


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## Cppeace

aww sorry to hear that hon.


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## KylasBaby

Opks are positive! I usually have 36 hours of positives then O so I'm betting Sunday! Tho not sure I'm going to get a difinitive date as I'm sick and can't breathe through my nose so not sure temping will be accurate. But I can be pretty sure based on o pain and cm drying up. It'll put our donations at 5 and 3 days before o. Dds were 8 and 5 days before. Feeling positive! And sick but positive about this haha.

Being sick sways girl too as your body isn't in the greatest shape and is stressed. And temps are higher which sways girl too. So even my body is helping make this a girl haha


----------



## Cppeace

Lol Well sounds like things are doing fab for you hon and hopefully you get your BFP in a couple weeks :)


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## KylasBaby

You too! Bfps all around. With a Sunday ovulation edd would be October 15th. How about you for this cycle?


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## Cppeace

I believe mine says October 12th but my ovulation would be a few days later so would be around the 15th- 15s run in my mom's family - Her dad, her, 2 of her siblings, and my big sis all have bdays on 15s


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## KylasBaby

See we have a lot of 12s haha. I'm a 12 and my cousin and my uncle lol. 

That's funny. Well fingers crossed for all of us!


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## Cppeace

Indeed. Luck to us all for seeing fabulous BFP soon!


----------



## KylasBaby

I'm in so much pain. My ovaries are KILLING me!! The test lines are clearly darker than the control lines now so that's why. Betting on ovulation sometime tomorrow, but because I'm sick and my temp is up because of that not sure when it'll show I ovulated.


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## Cppeace

So, I got my positive opk today. Only feeling minor ovulation pain, very unusual for me but maybe due to the brazil nuts. Should see a massive temp spike tomorrow if ovulation is today(generally I don't get a positive until the day I ovulate. 

https://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh259/cppeace/20170121_175505.jpg


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## Cppeace

Sorry you're in such pain Kylas. Hope it ends soon. I know some months it's awful.


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## KylasBaby

Temp is up this morning and I am sweating!! Betting today is O day making donations 3 and 5 days before O. Dds were 5 and 8 days so I know donor dudes swimmers have some staying power. Feeling pretty confident.

Attaching my ff chart and my very positive opks. Ovaries still sore this morning. Thinking pink thoughts!
 



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## Cppeace

Yep, def looks like an ovulation spike to me. And yep with your history the sperm should still be hanging around waiting fo rthat eggy

AFM. Felt pains that I'd classify as ovulation pains at 3am and they were still hanging round when I got up this morn. I inseminated this morn and that seemed to trigger more cramps and pains, both ovaries but more left than right. Very unusual pains and cramps. I usually have very regular ovulation pain that I recognize- this was not regular. I'd say today should be my ovulation day and I will see massive temp rise tomorrow. The pain is mostly over now so ovulation should be done at this point. Shall see what the temp does tomorrow.


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## Cppeace

Well, no ovulation for me


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## Savasanna

Don't temp spikes happen after you ovulate? Based on your opks and temps, I would guess you O'd on Saturday. Regardless - looks like your timing was fabulous! Yay! Good luck waiting out the tww! 

Also - congrats on insemination day, CCpeace! Woohoo!


----------



## Cppeace

Those temps are not what my typical ovulation looks like. I didn't get a positive opk till 2 days ago and yesterday. My body is not cooperating and now my cervix is lower, cm is creamy and opk still close but negative. This looks annovulatory to me.


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## KylasBaby

They do, yeah. However I'm also sick. I believe I ovulated late last night/early this morning. Temp dip this morning which I believe is the ovulation dip so tomorrow will tell more. Unfortunately with being sick my temps are higher than usual so everything is going to be thrown off. Ovary pain is gone too and cm turned creamy last night so if it hasn't happened already it's in the process. I think I will test February 1st. It's a new month so new possibilities and AF should be due the 4th.

I tent to have an estrogen surge before O too which could have been the temp rise.


----------



## Savasanna

Temping is such a flawed science. I feel like it does a good job at letting you know that you do ovulate, but it's a bit iffy when it comes to the cycle specifics. I always had a hard time with opks, too. I think I naturally have a higher level of lh because I would have positives for days, like sometimes 4-5. I know you're supposed to ovulate 24-36 hours after the first positive, but I always worried that what registered as "positive" for me, wasn't a true positive. I wonder if triggering back in December was what did the trick for me. 

Or it was just a lucky cycle. Who knows. In any event - cheers to you guys!


----------



## KylasBaby

It would have gone much better if I hadn't gotten sick. But I'm getting my voice back so that's something. Cough syrup is my life haha. OH found the same brand we give Ashlyn for colds, but obviously in an adult formula, and it's all natural and really helps! I've always had a hard time with opks bc of my pcos. But I found I wasn't testing long enough. So now I get clear positives. But all cycle long I get the same line until it goes positive. Had a long surge this cycle. I think because I'm sick o got pushed back a bit.

But confident I did o. Pain has stopped. I was super gassy around it too and that's stopped. Cm has gone creamy. My nipples are very sore. So if I haven't it's happening today. 

Keep trying to attach my chart but keeps saying it's the wrong file. Lame.
There we go. I feel it might say I oed earlier than I did because of that rise. But I'm pretty sure I didn't. We will see. It does kind of look like I ovulated Saturday. That was the day with the most pain. But I also had ewcm that day and still the next day so I don't think inovulated Saturday. But who knows.
 



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## Cppeace

I would put it Saturday as well. Ewcm can hang around an extra day or two sometimes


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## KylasBaby

Yeah you know I'm thinking that as well now the more I look at it. That would work for me haha. Tomorrow if ff thinks Saturday's o I should get crosshairs. Stay tuned.

I'm mostly thrown by the ewcm as I usually dry up O day. And the opks just being positive the night before. But 2/3 of the tests were positive when I got home from work maybe they would have been positive before work as well. I typically have 36 hours of positives then O. But I'm also sick so things can be thrown off. Tat was the day of the most O pain. It was really painful.


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## Savasanna

Well, the beauty of this all is that you're using a fresh donation so it doesn't really matter all too much. The nitty gritty of Saturday vs Sunday really comes into play when you're using frozen. 

So excited for you!


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## KylasBaby

True. I just wanna know when to test haha. With a Saturday o AF would be due February 2. Fingers crossed!


----------



## Cppeace

I usually go creamy after ovulation but I've had a couple months where my ewcm went a day or even two days after confirmed temp rise. Our bodies are crazy lol
Good luck no matter when that eggy appeared. Hopefully nice excited sperm were awaiting it :)


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## KylasBaby

I'm pretty sick too so I'm sure that's thrown everything off. Laryngitis, congestion, tight chest and throat. So who knows. Saturday would put the donations 4 and 2 days before O!


----------



## Savasanna

Are you an early tester? I feel like you would be, haha :winkwink:


----------



## KylasBaby

Haha me? No. Never....Don't know what you're talking about :shrug:

Haha I'm such a bad tester lol. But I'm going to start 8dpo. With my mmc and dd I got positives at 8dpo (now not bfp positives. I call them LSP little skinny positives) so sounds like a good time to test to me. Which, if O was Saturday, would be this coming Sunday :) 

Going to start trying to get my ass on the treadmill too. Maybe just 20 minutes a day, but something. I'm up 5lbs from Friday! Goodness. I know my diet wasn't so good this weekend but jeeze. For pcos less exercise is better. So just a little bit, but something.

I went in and put a random temp in for tomorrow, but above coverline and ff gave me my crosshairs. Solid too so they're pretty sure. So as long as tomorrow's temp is up I will consider Saturday O day!


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## KylasBaby

Looks like Saturday it is! Also my boobs are killing me! FX it's a good sign!
 



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## Cppeace

I sure hope so Kylas! Just another 5 days and you can start testing! So exciting. 

AFM. If I ovulated it would have been late in the night, not giving my body enough time for a proper temp rise or I didn't ovulate and my ovaries just primed all up and then dudded out. There is no more ovary pain or pressure, cervix is def much lower and medium texture, cm is scant and what is there is creamy. If I have a rise tomorrow it should mean I ovulated. If not, Who knows if or when I will. Opk is back to very negative and I shall sop testing for now.


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## KylasBaby

Hope you did! Next 2 days should give you better insight. Hate all this waiting to see what happened deal haha. Where's the fast forward button?


----------



## Cppeace

lol it would be nice to have a remote for time control on occasion lol 
For now I shall munch these chocolate covered pretzels


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## KylasBaby

I had a handful of Hershey kisses earlier haha


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## Cppeace

lol yeah been craving sugar yesterday and today. Before I hadn't eaten any real sweets in over a week. had my pineapple yesterday and today, it was gonna go bad if I didn't cut it yesterday- so ovulation or not it's being eaten this week.


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## KylasBaby

Dd and I were sitting on the couch a minute ago. Watching her beloved Paw Patrol while waiting for water to boil for dinner. She randomly starts rubbing low on my belly. Then lays her head on it. She know something I don't??


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## Cppeace

Lol It's definitely possible. Little kids and pets often seem to know things before adults lol


----------



## WayPastReady

Hi ladies! Sorry I've been MIA lately. Things have been so crazy getting the new house ready and getting the old one packed up. We move tomorrow morning so hopefully things will be much slower next week...during my tww of course lol. 

I'm on CD15 and have been totally slacking this cycle due to being so busy. I checked my cp yesterday and today and finally peed on my first opk this morning (kept forgetting) and then forgot to check it. :dohh:

I'm supposed to meet my donor tonight and this weekend sometime. Hopefully I can get 2 insems this cycle.


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## KylasBaby

Good luck with all of that! Good to stay busy. Too bad it's now during the tww haha. Mine is dragging by. Hope your insems go well and are timed right!

I'm cd6! Will be testing Monday, cd9. If I don't get my bfp I need a psychiatrist or a priest as I'm having so many symptoms. Had a temp dip today I'm hoping is implantation! Time will tell. Next few days are going to drag!


----------



## Cppeace

Wondered where you were Waypast. Hope you get your two insems in.

Kylas, you see to be ultra fertile when it comes to insems so odds are your BFP is coming lol !


----------



## WayPastReady

Just got my first one for this cycle and met him in person this time. He seems super nice and genuine...also slightly nerdier than I expected from his pics. Since I met him at his work, I knew I'd be inseminating in a parking lot and brought a softcup to keep the swimmers in there close to my cervix. I decided to put the donation straight into the cup instead of syringing it first...seemed to work good until I had a bunch of fluid on my hand afterwards. I think it was pressed that I used (since I haven't had any ewcm this cycle) because it didn't smell like semen. Hopefully it wasn't my donation leaking out from the cup.


----------



## Cppeace

Many women have great results from doing it the way you described. FX those little spermies do their job!


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## KylasBaby

They're off like a shot the minute they get in there! People get pregnant without using it so it won't hurt, but they know what to do. They go as fast as they can!

Meeting in person is a little weird. And doesn't get any less weird after knowing them for years haha. Fingers are crossed for you!


----------



## WayPastReady

I read some success stories from other threads on doing it that way and figured this was a good time to try it. I checked my opk from this morning, and it's not positive but definitely close. I'm thinking I should get the positive tomorrow or Sunday and plan on doing the second insem sometime on Sunday. I was thinking Sunday morning but will probably make it evening if I don't get my positive opk tomorrow.


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## Cppeace

sounds like your timing should be fabulous!


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## WayPastReady

My opk from this afternoon was super positive!! (Forgot to do it this morning) Thinking my insem tomorrow will be perfect timing.


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## KylasBaby

Fingers crosssed for you!!


----------



## WayPastReady

Just did my second insem...definitely lost some of it during the insertion of the cup.:sad2: I think next time I need to do it lying down but hoping I won't have a next time!


----------



## Cppeace

Here's hoping you won't have to worry bout again.You previous one has the better shot to me anyway lol


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## WayPastReady

When are you ladies testing? Kyla, did you start testing today? Kimmie, are you waiting till next week or going to start sooner?


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## KylasBaby

So I've got a very light positive on the frer this morning. Verified by 3 different people (2 of whom don't have line eye lol) and temp is up this morning which it usually drops today based on the past 2/3 cycles so feeling positive! Just needs to get darker!!

Ff says my cart possibly went triphasic cd26. Cd30 today and temp still getting higher.

It's hard to see in the pics bc I have to make them so small to attach them. And my bathroom lighting sucks. Would have been better with natural light but the sun was still sleeping when I took the pics. But it was here and pink in person. Not as hard to see as it is in the pics but hard to capture.
 



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## WayPastReady

Ahhhhh! So exciting!!! You and your donor are sure fertile and a great match! Glad you were right about your symptoms and won't be needing that psychiatrist.:haha:


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## KylasBaby

Haha time will tell. Calling it a LSP right now. Little skinny positive. Has to darken for me to be convinced. I had some low pinching pains yesterday. Maybe implantation? So should darken. Hopefully. Doesn't explain why I had symptoms so early though.


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## WayPastReady

Did you test again, Kyla???


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## KylasBaby

Yeah. It did get much more noticeable than the first I posted but then stopped. Not thinking this will end well for me. Lines haven't really gotten any darker. I've been drinking a lot and peeing a lot so it could just be diluted, but I'm not thinking a happy ending here. My bet is on a chemical


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## WayPastReady

Oh no!:nope:

I'm hoping and praying that it's just your great hydration and that your tests will continue to get darker as your HCG hopefully doubles every 48 hours.


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## Cppeace

Sorry haven't swung by here in a couple days. I started testing yesterday. Saw nothing yesterday. Today saw the most faint of lines, not really showing up at all in pic. Hoping it gets darker tomorrow. 

Kyla, hope you lines start getting darker as well. 

Well Past, when are you starting testing?


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## KylasBaby

Lines still the same. I'm calling a chemical.


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## WayPastReady

Kyla, I'm so sorry. 

Kimmie, I'm only 5dpo so I'll probably wait till at least Wednesday of next week. Hope you see a nice line tomorrow!


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## WayPastReady

Well ladies, I'm 7dpo today and have zero symptoms. I'm not even sure how that's possible. I know that some women end up getting their BFP with no symptoms but...I'm feeling like this cycle is a bust.


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## KylasBaby

Aw I'm sorry you feel that way but you're really early! You've still got loads of time. With dd I was so sure it didn't work that I had the next cycle planned. Then with this one I knew from the get-go. And I've started spotting so just waiting for things to pass. So early symptoms isn't necessarily a good thing just as no symptoms isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

I'll most likely take next cycle off. To recharge and heal and get back on track. Then try again the following cycle. Buuut that depends on when the birth date would fall. Want to avoid December with the holidays and all and it would have to be far enough into January to be away from the holidays too. So depends on how things fall I guess.


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## KylasBaby

Today is CD1. I had a gut feeling when he lines were so light it wasn't gonna last. I'm just glad it's ended quickly. My mmc dragged on forever.m resulting in surgery. Glad to avoid that this time. 

Have to talk with OH when she gets home, but we will probably try this month! Mostly because we can't wait a cycle as we want to avoid a birth date over the holidays so would have to skip March and Maybe April as well. So if we don't try this month we would have to wait a bit.


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## WayPastReady

I was hoping for the best for you, but if it's going to end in a mc, I'm glad that it's as easily as it can be physically for you. My heart goes out to you and your loss. 

We are also wanting to avoid a holiday due date, so will have to see when my ovulation windows are falling if this cycle doesn't end in my bfp.


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## KylasBaby

Thank you. I'm pretty detached from it. I just knew. I am sad, but I try not to think about it too much. 

Hopefully you get your bfp this cycle!


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## WayPastReady

OMG!!! Pretty sure I just got my first :bfp: ever. Feels so surreal. I thought for sure I was out this month.
 



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## Savasanna

Omgosh!! Congrats WayPast!!


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## WayPastReady

Thank you!


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## Savasanna

Did you take another test this morning??


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## WayPastReady

I took a digi that came out positive as well. Guess it's official.:happydance:


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## KylasBaby

That's so great!! So happy for you. 

I'm taking a break. Maybe indefinitely. I've been realizing over the months my feelings for oh have changed and I can't keep doing this so lot of soul searching to do


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## WayPastReady

Thank you! I'm off to get blood work to make sure my progesterone level is ok and to check my hcg while I'm there. 

Best wishes for you whichever direction you end up going.:hugs:


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## Savasanna

Whoa Kyla - we need to catch up! 

WayPast - How are you feeling? Did you get your beta results back?


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## WayPastReady

I feel completely normal...I don't know if that's good or bad. I got my blood drawn at 2:45 yesterday so they said that I might not get the results back till tomorrow. I'm really hoping they'll be in today though.


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## Savasanna

Oh yikes! That seems like a long wait for a beta! 

Whatever you're feeling is good. If you're feeling a lot - that's good. If you're feeling nothing at all - that's good. I know it's hard (impossible?) to accept, but every one and every pregnancy is different - try not to over analyze any symptoms (or lack thereof). 

What matters are the betas and the scans. If those are good, then you are good, regardless of what you do or don't feel.

--That's just my PSA coming from someone who really didn't have a ton of symptoms, and spent some time worrying about that, until I realized that TONS of women have symptom less pregnancies. My symptoms didn't start kicking up a bit around week 9 or so.


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## WayPastReady

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement! Just out of curiosity, what should I be hoping for my beta level? I was thinking that it really wouldn't tell me anything until I had the second one to make sure it's doubling.


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## Savasanna

You're right - you can't really tell anything until the second beta. For example - I was just looking at a thread where someone said their 5w(something)d beta came back at something like 13,000. My 5w betas were 108 (5w2d) and 584 (5w5d). I used this: https://www.countdowntopregnancy.com/tools/beta_doubling_calculator.php for reference. 

Is your second beta scheduled yet?


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## WayPastReady

Ok, thanks! I haven't scheduled it yet. I was thinking maybe I'd go back to the lab on Thursday.


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## WayPastReady

It's not looking good for me. My beta on Monday came back at 19...I'm still awaiting my second draw that I had done on Thursday, but in the meantime I started cramping and bleeding yesterday. The cramps eased up this morning, but the bleeding seemed a little heavier, so I ended going in to get checked and they said my hcg dropped to 6. They also did an ultrasound and said they saw something in there still but my chances of keeping it were zero. Looks like it'll take a miracle at this point.


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## Savasanna

:nope: I'm so sorry, WayPast. :(


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## WayPastReady

Getting my first donation for this cycle tonight. I went to see a midwife last week, and she agreed that I needed a stronger dose of the progesterone than the cream I was using. She actually has me taking it the entire cycle (minus when I'm bleeding) to get it high enough. She said it won't get high enough to sustain a pregnancy if I start it after ovulation. My levels are just too low right now. I was super nervous that it would stop my ovulation if I started it before I ovulated, and I'm pretty sure I asked her 3 times if she was sure I would still ovulate. Guess she was right because I got a super dark opk yesterday (Day 11!!!!!). I've never ovulated anywhere near this early in my cycle. I'm hoping and praying that I'll conceive again this cycle and that my progesterone level will be high enough to sustain it.


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## Cppeace

Hope everyone is doing well.


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## WayPastReady

A little update on my situation:

AF showed yesterday (first time since miscarriage), but we'll be sitting out for a few months before trying again because the most amazing thing happened! We were not seeking out another adoption (obviously) since we've been pursuing the donor sperm route, but apparently God had other plans for us. A friend of a friend of a friend, let us know about an opportunity to adopt a newborn baby girl through the state. We thought it was an absoutely long shot but ended up bringing her home only 6 hours after being contacted by the state! So we brought home our 4 lb 4 oz preemie baby #2 on March 6th and are ecstatic!


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## Savasanna

Wow - how exciting! Are you fostering?


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## WayPastReady

We're technically non-relative placement for right now in the process of adopting her. Parental rights are getting terminated in an expedited manner since both birth parents have lost their rights previously and there was drug exposure.


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## Savasanna

Wow! That's crazy fast! Do you mind sharing what state you live in? 

Peanut is mom's 4th child. She doesn't have custody of any of her other children either. But here we are, 5 months in, still on a reunification track. We're hopeful to be able to adopt her as well, though.


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## WayPastReady

We're in FL. The state told us that there's no way that birth mom can parent the baby. There is a very slim chance that the dad can but didn't show up at the hearing to fight to parent her, and there is no other family. So even though they can't guarantee us anything, they've said it's more of a matter of when the adoption is finalized than if it will be. As long as we pass our home study, we should be good. 

Seems doubtful that the bio mom of your peanut will end up parenting.


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## Savasanna

How wonderful for your family!


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## Lulua

Congrats Waypasatready. What a wonderful turn of events!!

I wanted to share a new syringe I have been using. Mosie Baby. It's so much better than the plastic oral syringes I used previously. It rounded and comfortable and designed for at home insemination. I used it this past week and hopefully its makes the difference!


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## Savasanna

Good luck, Lulua!


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## Cppeace

That's wonderful news Waypast. I hope it all works out. Enjoy :)


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## Hopeful Cat

Hi ladies, my baby girl was concieved with donor sperm because my husband has azoospermia. She is almost 1 and we love her to bits!! Hope you all get success stories &#9786; we are getting ready to start again and have a frozen embryo waiting. We've used an unknown donor through our ivf clinic


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## Aleriya

We are using donor sperm, because we are a same-sex couple. Our egg retrieval is set for May 15th. I didn't get to read all the forum posts, but I would naturally assume donor sperm to be highly viable since it has passed all the screening. 

Those of you who used donor sperm, when you look at the child do you ever wish you knew the donor? We went with identifiable as that is what is required here. I personally wish I could spend time and have a chat with the donor. As where my partner prefers that we don't know the donor. 

Another question, did your clinic suggest that you start telling your child as young as 2 that they are a child of a donor? There was this whole counselling session we had to sit through. I'm still not sure how you would work that into a conversation with a 2 year old.

Thanks!


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## Hopeful Cat

I talk to my girl about donor background now and again...i think it helps to start well before they can understand so that you can get it sorted in your own head and it feels more natural. I do not wish to know our donor, there is curiosity but no desire to ever meet unless my baby wants that.


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## DeuceMom

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## mangotango

Aleriya said:


> We are using donor sperm, because we are a same-sex couple. Our egg retrieval is set for May 15th. I didn't get to read all the forum posts, but I would naturally assume donor sperm to be highly viable since it has passed all the screening.
> 
> Those of you who used donor sperm, when you look at the child do you ever wish you knew the donor? We went with identifiable as that is what is required here. I personally wish I could spend time and have a chat with the donor. As where my partner prefers that we don't know the donor.
> 
> Another question, did your clinic suggest that you start telling your child as young as 2 that they are a child of a donor? There was this whole counselling session we had to sit through. I'm still not sure how you would work that into a conversation with a 2 year old.
> 
> Thanks!

Aleriya- good question! I look at our daughter who is 2 now and rarely think of her as anything other than my husband's. Sometimes I say a prayer and thank that the donor gave us this amazing child and I do wonder what he is like because she is AMAZING and smart and I'm sure some of it comes from him- although she does have a lot of me! LOL Unfortunately we didn't get back to our donor bank soon enough so we never purchased extra vials and are going through this again with a new donor- with much more trouble this time.

As for telling our daughter- our clinic psych has really pushed us to tell her and I find no reason to at this point...how DO you tell a 2 year old? Also for us, not many people know my husband has sperm issues (zero sperm) so we don't want her running around like a2 or 3 year old does saying things about sperm and letting our secret out to everyone- which is very private. At this point we don't barely think about it being from a donor- because she is our child.


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## twomomstobe

How did you all find donors? We are located in the United Kingdom!


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## Savasanna

We used frozen sperm from a cryobank. For a while we also had a known donor - but it was my wife's brother so that's how we found him. 

I know in the US there's a known donor registry - I have mixed feelings about it but I know of at least one person on these boards who used that to find their donor.


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## Rags

Aleriya said:


> We are using donor sperm, because we are a same-sex couple. Our egg retrieval is set for May 15th. I didn't get to read all the forum posts, but I would naturally assume donor sperm to be highly viable since it has passed all the screening.
> 
> Those of you who used donor sperm, when you look at the child do you ever wish you knew the donor? We went with identifiable as that is what is required here. I personally wish I could spend time and have a chat with the donor. As where my partner prefers that we don't know the donor.
> 
> Another question, did your clinic suggest that you start telling your child as young as 2 that they are a child of a donor? There was this whole counselling session we had to sit through. I'm still not sure how you would work that into a conversation with a 2 year old.
> 
> Thanks!

Hello, I have an amazing 7 year old son thanks to an unknown donor. I am a solo parent. When I had my confirmation of conception scan I asked if the donor had provided any information to be passed on and was given a note of his height, weight, hair and eye colour as this was all he wanted recipients to know - he will be traceable when Ds is 18. When Ds was born I briefly worried that I wouldn't 'recognise' him and that his features would all come from the unknown side of his gene pool, I needn't have concerned myself - my family are all blond with blue eyes, the donor had brown hair with brown eyes, Ds is copper haired with hazel eyes like my mums (the only person in the family to have them). His mannerisms and expressions have developed from seeing myself and my family on a daily basis so from very early on I realised I only saw the things I recognised in him, anything that I can't attribute directly to my gene pool I just think of as being him. 

As far as Ds knowing how he came about, I always intended to be open with him, I wanted his conception to be normal to him and not some big revelation when he was older. As it was Ds first asked about how babies got into your tummy when he was only about 2 and a half - I took his cue and explained that a baby was made there, when he came back to me a couple of weeks later to ask 'how' I explained that 'two seeds bump together and each has half the information for making a baby...' (we'd grown veg from seed that summer so he understood the principle of seed to plant etc). As the weeks went by he continued to ask more questions reaching the 'where do the seeds come from' question quite quickly. I told him that baby girls are born with their seeds in them and the other one comes from a man and that in many cases the man is the babies father but that in his case a very generous man had left some of his seeds at a hospital for people who might need to get them from there because they didn't have another way of getting them. As time has gone on our vocabulary has changed, he now knows eggs and sperm, male and female genitalia, menstruation, stages of fetal development etc, it's a normal part of his life and he can ask me at any time for more information.


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## KPeakey

Hope it's ok for me to join in. Me and my wife are currently experiencing our first 2WW with known donor sperm. We've always intended to be upfront with our hopeful child as it's fairly obvious that we had to procure sperm from somewhere. We went known donor because we wanted to be able to give our child any answers necessary. We also are very lucky to know a wonderful man who doesn't want to be involved. I fully appreciate this isn't the case for everyone and that for many couples/people the idea of known donor just doesn't sit right. It's a really personal decision on an individual basis.

Rags, what a beautiful explanation you gave of your feeling on raising a donor conceived child. It really puts my mind at rest, knowing I won't have any biological links to my child. The way you explained his conception to him is fantastic, and I really hope to use similar cues. 

It's really great to talk to others in a similar boat, so hi all!


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## Rags

Thank you KPeakey. I know that it's daunting at times but honestly, once you are holding your gorgeous baby that's the only thing that matters, how you got her/him is irrelevant. I wish you a speedy and successful TWW, I look forward you hearing how you get on.


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## WayPastReady

Hi Ladies! 

DH and I are restarting our journey to conceive this month with our known donor. I conceived on the second cycle at the beginning of the year, but unfortunately miscarried. Hoping I conceive just as quickly this time and will be starting progesterone suppositories as soon as I ovulate to help this one stick!

This month we officially hit the 3.5 year mark of TTC. How depressing. Whenever I think about how long it's been, I always have a moment of "I can't believe this is my life." Guess the only thing I can do is just keep pushing forward till I get my rainbow baby.


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## Savasanna

Good luck, waypast! Sorry to hear about your mc this year, I hope your journey brings you your little one quickly. 

My wife and I found an amazing book that describes conception in a neutral (and young age appropriate) way. It focuses on the medical side of things rather than the mother/father story. We plan on circulating it into our daughters books from a young,toddler age. Itll work for both our kids, who came into our family in their own way (one adopted from foster care and one conceived through donor sperm). I can let you know what it is if anyone is interested!


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## veganmum2be

I would love to know about that book savasanna!

I ordered a book about baby joining family for my son online hoping for the best and of course it's all 'mummy and daddy!'


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## WayPastReady

I would love to know the name of the book! It definitely sounds like it will be beneficial for our family as well. 

I'm on cd12 and took my second opk this morning...negative but getting closer. The cycle I conceived, I got a donation the day before and the day after my positive opk. I'm trying for the same timing this cycle since I'm not sure which donation was the winning one. Timing for the day before the positive opk is mostly a guess though, so we'll see how it turns out. I'm hoping to at least get a donation the day of and the day after my positive opk.


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## Rags

Have any of you look at the library section of the Donor Conception Network? https://www.dcnetwork.org/catalog/books-and-pdfs 

There are loads of books on there which cover lots of different family make ups and also regarding talking to other family members as well as children.


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## WayPastReady

Thanks Rags! I'll definitely check that out.


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## WayPastReady

Got my :bfp: today on 11dpo! :happydance:

I'm over the moon excited and hoping for a sticky bean this time! I'm taking 200mg progesterone this go round just in case that was the problem before. 

I ordered a "Hello Daddy" onesie and printed out a cute pregnancy poem to surprise dh with. I put them in a padded envelope, then put it in the mailbox, and asked him to go check the mail once he got home. He keeps saying how excited he is and said he wasn't surprised cuz it happened so quickly before with the donor. I feel bad that he has to deal with the fact that he hasn't been able to get me pregnant in 3.5 years, but I'm glad that he was on board with us going this route and that we were able to make the best out of a difficult situation.


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## veganmum2be

Congratulations!!


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## Rags

Fabulous! Many, many congratulations to you both!


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## Savasanna

Sorry it took me so long to respond - here's the book we went with: https://www.amazon.com/What-Makes-Baby-Cory-Silverberg/dp/1609804856

I really recommend it. It's amazing. We've already started reading it to our almost 13-month old. It's not one of the daily books, but we've read it one or two times. As she gets a bit older, I imagine we'll up the rotation as we do with other books. 

Waypast - Massive Congrats!! That's wonderful news!


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