TTC with donor

[CoveyClover]

Hello lovelies!!

Myself and my partner are going to be TTC via AI with a donor. I am keen to hear from anyone else who concieved or are also TTC via donor sperm!

Any useful info, do’s and dont’s etc!!

Good luck everyone!

 

[candymycandy]

Hi and welcome! No experience of AI but wanted to wish you luck. You're probably familiar with OPKs so don't think I can offer you much advice! x

 

[Sunflower1]

Good luck. Having done one cycle of AI, I'd say decide before hand if you want it to be all romantic with your partner or not as the first time can be a bit awkward getting used to all the equipment and you may just end up getting the giggles....

 

[CoveyClover]

Thanks candymycandy!!

Hehehe Sunflower1 that just made us chuckle!! How did your AI go? X

 

[Sunflower1]

It was great...did it twice, perfectly timed, with Conceive Plus so am hopeful. The first time was a test run, which I'm so glad we did as it takes getting used to the equipment. It's very simple really. Should know in the next few days if it's worked...

I hope it goes well for you. Let me know if you have any questions...but there's a ton on info available online.

 

[MissCindy]

My partner and I have also been TTC with donor sperm. If I had one piece of advice to give you it would be to use internet cheapies OPK instead of, or in conjunction with Clearblue. But I personally would never use Clearblue digital on its own again. Here's why.

In most cases, when using donor sperm, you'll only be trying once / twice a month just before you think you'll ovulate. Through this journey, I've found that predicting ovulation is much trickier than I thought it would be. When we first started, I was only using clearblue, thinking that because they're more expensive and claim to give up to 4 days notice, they'd be the best option. I was wrong. After a few months of only getting BFN's, I decided to chart my BBT, carry on using Clearblue digital but also use the internet cheapies. While both types of OPK's confirmed the LH surge on the same day a couple of times... I've also had a couple of months where I'd get a positive on clearblue and a negative on the cheapie... Of course at the time I put my trust in Clearblue so we made the arrangements with the donor, only to find my BBT didn't go up for a few days after the insemination... So, I carried on testing with the cheapies to see what was going on. The cheapies eventually turned positive (a few days after Clearblue) and sure enough, the next day my BBT went up!

All that to say, Clearblue digital opks can give false positives, which is the last thing you want when using a donor! We missed ovulation altogether a few times because of them! And surprisingly enough, to date, the cheapies have never failed me.

I'm currently in the TWW, hoping this is our month!
When are you and your partner starting AI?

 

[Sunflower1]

The problem is though your temp doesn't always go up exactly the day after ovulation, not for everyone. I also get cheapie opk positives a couple of days after my clearblue one. It's very confusing.

Good luck everyone!

 

[snowbee]

kabuk has a donor sperm success story, she is usually on the May 2017 babies thread in the baby section if you wanted to ask her anything.

 

[CoveyClover]

Thanks ladies!!

We are meeting with our donor next week, then hopefully the following week we will DTD!

We are both so excited as I think we never thought we’d even get this far, but fingers crossed it will be straightforward!!

 

[Blueclass]

Hello my very good friend used a donner. She knew him and they have a contact in place. She monitored her ovulation cycle on her phone and when it was time he went over twice did his think a d she used mooncups which have a great success rate. I heard about them on here and told her about them. She got pregnant straight awayay she is now 20weeks. Best of luck

 

[CoveyClover]

So, we ordered a mooncup which arrived today - not sure what I was expecting really but it looks a tad scary haha!! We also got some conceive plus to help the little spermies on their way! Hopefully the two together will make for a successful attempt.

We also invested in a CB monitor which I’ve been using since cd1. We met with our donor last week - he’s lovely and we are over the moon that we found such a lovely chap!

I should be fertile at the end of the week fingers crossed so hopefully everything goes well although we aren’t getting our hopes up too much!!

Hope everyone is having fun TTC xxx

 

[Kazz1n]

Hey, I don't have any experience with AI but wanted to wish you luck. Hope you get a BFP soon

 

[MissCindy]

Just want to wish you good luck! Glad meeting with your donor went well! I remember our first meeting with ours. Nerve wracking yet exciting, all at once! We should also be doing AI at the end of this week. Using a syringe though, I find the idea of mooncups scary, they seem so big!! And how do you keep the content in there?! But I've heard very good things from people who've used them. Let us know how you get on.

 

[CoveyClover]

Hi MissCindy, it’s good to hear from someone in the same boat as us!!
Yes it was really quite strange... we were so excited but super nervous too! Luckily he was lovely and really calm too so that helped!!
We are planning on using a syringe initially then using the mooncup to keep it all in... they’re for af really so I’m sure nothing will escape... we just want to do everything we can to maximise our chances!
Are you using any fertility monitors or anything? We have a clear blue monitor which is really helpful as it tells you when your fertile period is... we are just going into the fertile stage now so hopefully not long until we can dtd!
Good luck to you!!

 

[MissCindy]

Hi CoveyClover,

I use both Clearblue digital (not the monitor, just the sticks) and cheapies from amazon. The same ones as the nhs uses apparently. I like using both together, just to make sure I'm not getting a false positive. Though, in all fairness, false positives are rare, but I've experienced them with Clearblue a couple of times, so I'm probably just being extra cautious. Our donor lives a very long drive away from us, so I can't afford to get the timing wrong, as by the time I'd realise, it'd be too late! Not like we could drive back again a few days later if I haven't actually ovulated. Does your donor live close by?

As for the method, so far we've just used a syringe, left it in as a sort of plug for at least 20 mins. I usually remain lying down for 30 mins - 1 hour in total. We also use conceive plus and I've been taking pregnacare vitamins.. I might consider using a mooncup as you've described if I don't get a bfp soon, but I've been quite reluctant so far, I'm not sure I'd manage to get it in! lol.

Anyway, good luck for this week!
So exciting!

 

[CoveyClover]

Hey! I hadn’t thought about using a cheepie test too.. that might be a good idea!! Our donor is about an hour drive away but we are staying in a hotel near him so he can come visit in the evening and the morning too! Depending on tomorrow mornings result, we will either be going tomorrow evening or Friday evening! I’m hoping for Friday as it saves the work rush the following morning! I’m really getting excited now I can’t wait!!

We have conceive plus too so hopefully that will help too! How long have you been trying for? Really hope you get your bfp super soon!!

 

[MissCindy]

Sounds like we're in sync! Packing as we speak. We'll most likely dtd on Friday and Saturday, but we have to leave tomorrow as we have a 10 hour drive ahead of us lol. When we first got in touch with our donor, he lived close by... but he's since moved to Scotland! As we all clicked, we decided to carry on with him anyway. It's been quite challenging though, I must admit! But I can't see us changing now, even though his location isn't convenient.

I can imagine it would be a mad rush if you have to dtd on Friday morning before work, and being an hour away from home as well!! So hopefully you'll get to do it on Saturday morning instead. Much more relaxing. But either way, I'm sure it will be a very exciting experience.

We've been trying for a year, this will be our 13th month. Don't let that discourage you though, we got our dates wrong many times at the beginning, and everyone's different anyway. Our donor believed it was best to dtd the day after the surge, so we followed his advice for a fair while, until I realised I actually ovulate on the day of the surge... So we completely missed O quite a few times.

Still as excited as ever though, and I'll be looking forward to following your journey.
Would be great to keep in touch during the tww!

 

[CoveyClover]

Completely in sync... we have just booked the hotel for Friday night so will dtd Friday and Saturday!! Woohoo!! It’s great to have someone on here going through the exact same thing at the same time - please keep in touch!!
Oh wow - that is a LONG drive!! But it sounds like you’re very happy with your donor so that’s amazing and a great commitment to make plus you get to see lovely Scotland!!

Oh no, that’s such a shame and so frustrating for you!! I hope this time that you’ve sussed it completely and the little bean sticks!! Would be awesome if we both managed to get our bfp’s this month as we can be buddies the whole way! So exciting for us both xx

 

[CoveyClover]

So, tonight is the night!! We had our first ‘peak fertility’ test on the fb monitor this morning, and according to their instructions that gives us 24-48hrs before I ovulate! We meet our donor this evening and again tomorrow morning so we will then officially be in our first 2ww!

We have told each other not to expect anything this month but I’m sure we will still be symptom spotting!

Good luck with your journey MissCindy!

 

[MissCindy]

Awesome! And it happened on the day you wanted as well!! Perfect!! I'm so excited for you! I still remember our first time. There's something quite magical about it. I remember thinking, "Wow, there actually could be a baby cooking in my tummy right now!" Immediately after we dtd lol!!

Symptom spotting is inevitable... Even after all this time, and having had all the symptoms under the sun, and so realising they're not indicative of pregnancy for me, I still can't help it every month! I bet you'll be the same. I think most women are! Though I wouldn't be so quick to convince myself it won't work first time around! Provided you and the donor have no issues, you're just as likely to get a bfp on your first cycle as you are any other time. You just never know! And I agree, it would be awesome if we both got our bfp at the same time!

Scotland is absolutely stunning. I had never been before we started on this journey! Our donor travels around Scotland a lot for work, so we've been to many places, chasing him around! lol. Got to see Loch Ness, drive through the Cairngorms National Park, visit Old Edinburgh, many things. We try to make it fun when we can. Don't want to think we completely wasted our time and money if it doesn't work, so we try to treat it like a mini holiday

I haven't had my static smiley yet, but going by previous cycles I should have it by Sunday the latest, so we dtd this morning and will again on Sunday before heading home.

Do you take your bbt? Do you know how long your LP is?

Sending you lots of baby dust for tonight!
Let it be the beginning of an amazing journey!