Wannabe Daddy Needs Help!!

DaDDy_DiAz

So me & my fiance have made the choice to expand our family.

Saddly, I have no swimmers =(. But I do not believe that should stop any man from being a father.. So we've chosen to use a donor. We are completely new to all of this. And I want to be as prepared & helpful as possible... We have been researching at home IUIs. Both of us work in the medical feild so do have some skill in this department. But I need help on all the female timing, when to order the donor sperm, what times are the most productive... How long we should wait before we try. Pretty much everything step by step. I know it's alot.. but someone please help a guy out here!! Lol. this has always been my lifelong dream and I feel is the reason I've been put on this earth. So learning that we have to go about things differently and harder of corse was knockdown.. But it also shows me that you gotta work for what means the most to you! So I'm ready... And I know alot of you were at this point before.. So please help!!

thank you so much.

Jen727BF

Welcome, Daddy_Diaz. I would suggest that you use the search feature and find old posts that will help you out greatly. I know there is an old post (I think by cocobay) that details an at home IUI.

As for some of your other questions... you need to track your finance's cycles, for a few months so you know when she ovulates. All women ovulate differently. You can use temperatures (check out fertility friend), ovulation predictor tests (opk) (smileys are highly recommended), checking the cervix, and cervical fluid. Once you know when she tends to ovulate, you can order the sperm to be there a couple days beforehand (in case she ovulates early). You can order the first day of her cycle. Also, you can decide what times to inseminate based on when she ovulates. If she tends to ovulate soon after a +opk, then you will want to inseminate earlier. If she ovulates 36 - 48 hours after +opk, you will want to inseminate later.

Hope that is a starting point for you.

Good luck.

kstarr

when temping, make sure that she temps at the same time everyday. this is important. and you use the same thermometer. find a website that you can track all this. i use countdowntopregnancy.com. others use fertilityfriend.com. i would also recommend getting a speculum to look at the cervix. a pack of 10 plastic ones on amazon cost me $13. good luck!

DaDDy_DiAz

kstarr wrote:

when temping, make sure that she temps at the same time everyday. this is important. and you use the same thermometer. find a website that you can track all this. i use countdowntopregnancy.com. others use fertilityfriend.com. i would also recommend getting a speculum to look at the cervix. a pack of 10 plastic ones on amazon cost me $13. good luck!

speculums are a check...
ovulations tests are a check...
pregos tests are a check...
the actual iui kit is a check...

now when actually ordering the sperm... how many vials does one try order for the first time? and how do you time them? bc thawed sperm only survive for 24 hours correct?

TheOtherLovingMoms

also make sure you get a basal body temp thermometer(BBT), regular thermometers do not work for fertility purposes. You should also get a headlight, to put on your head so you have light when checking her cervix and doing the iui, without having to worry about a flashlight, we bought ours at home depot, and yes it has a strap that goes on top of your head.

summerfun

Congratulations on starting this journey! If you can tell when she is about to ovulate, 1 vial would be just fine or you could use more than 1 if you wanted to cover a wider time span. For my pregnancy, I used 1 vial at the first positive OPK and another 12 hours later as a backup. It helps to spend several months monitoring ovulation signs and cycle days. Good Luck to you two!

HopingForBFP

Welcome!!! One vial can work(it did for me this time), but 2 can give you a better chance incase you insem a little early.

hopefulltwo

Hi, I am glad I found this thread. I was looking for ones from the partners point of view. We are finally to the point where we shall be ordering our first vial(s) next month. Please keep me posted on how things are going from your perspective. And if anyone knows of any other threads from this perspective please let me know. Much baby dust and timing to you and your fiance.

OneSmallStep

Hey, we were where you are about two years ago. I remember how confusing all the information seemed. We got lucky that it worked the first time, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't. On average it takes 3-6 months doing it the old fashioned way too. Looks like a lot of your questions were answered but if you (or you hopefulltwo) have any other q's feel free to PM me. I don't check the forum as much as I use to, but I do try to stop in from time to time. I know there's not a lot of the Dad's on her but I am one and am always willing to offer any help, thoughts, or an ear to vent to.

Oh, and there's a yahoo groups for Dad's that conceived using donor sperm, as well as for Dad's who are at the beginning of the process, etc. Basically it's a bunch of us guys who have been there or are there. It's a great support group. So if you want that info feel free to pm me and I can send you that as well.

STICKY BABY DUST!!