Lil Family Blog: DIY At Home AI Babies: A Recipe

Before having kids, I found myself "coming out" a lot less than I do after having kids.? The internet already increased the frequency (?http://lilfamily13.blogspot.com/2010/04/coming-out-and-out-and-out-and-out.html?), but now I find myself explaining our family all the time.? At the pediatrician "Coraline has two moms", in public places when people say "oh she's so cute, is she yours?" and gesture at only one of us, we say "she's ours."? Etc.? People just tend to question a lot more when you have kids.

And the #1 question that everyone has on their minds (and a few even ask)... is where did these children come from???

We are pretty open and encourage questions, i'd way rather someone ask us then wonder or assume something that is incorrect.? With our first pregnancy in 2007, a few people even asked/assumed if I had cheated in our relationship and got pregnant by accident!? We've had people ask/assume that I had "relations" with a man in order to get pregnant.? (I didn't.)? People have assumed that we had IVF or other high tech/expensive ways of getting pregnant (we didn't.)? Some people are just curious and that's OK, but some people inquire because they (or their sisters, cousins, etc) want to get pregnant also.? And whereas, i don't consider myself an expert, we have gotten pregnant 3x and i have been asked for advice so often, I decided to just spell it all out.

So here is our DIY (Do It Youself) Recipe for an At Home AI (Artificial Insemination) Baby:

Ingredients:
Sperm!
Instead Softcups
Syringe (optional)
PreSeed sperm-friendly lubricant (optional)
Really Good Timing

The most important, is the "donation."? We are lucky enough to have the kind of friend in our lives who we could ask to be a part of our family in that way.? Lily's conception happened on our first try over the course of a weekend.? Then 4 years later, we got pregnant again on our first try, but I miscarried soon after.? It took 5 cycles to get pregnant with our "sticky" baby, Coraline, (who also had a touch-and-go start.)? Our donor was kind enough to travel to us for 5 months in a row (we live 98 miles away), late nights even on work nights, so we could do the exchange with fresh samples.? And he is also the kind of friend i could trust with my life... literally... to give us a clean sample.? I know there are websites out there to match strangers as known donors/recipients, and they provide paperwork from doctors, but the truth is that it makes me nervous.? So be 100% sure that your donation comes from someone healthy and trustworthy.

Second is the Instead Softcups.? I swear by these.? And no, they are not endorsing this or paying me in any way.? I just like to talk about products I like and believe in.
For those not familiar, these cups are meant to be menstrual cups, to catch the "flow".? They are a safer alternative to tampons (no toxic shock syndrome with these).? They are basically a plastic ring with a clear "bag" attached to the bottom.? You squish the ring and insert them ALL the way up there... against the cervix, the ring pops open when you get it in place, and the bag catches any liquids and rests below the cervix.? They can safely be left in place for 12 hours.? They are easy to insert, somewhat tricky to remove, but not so bad once you get the hang of it (practice and don't panic.). I thought my first one got stuck in a moment of panic and had to really relax to get it out.

Syringes can be purchased at medical supply places or online i'm sure.? But on the fly, we bought it at a pet supply store- it's the kind meant to give medicines to animals and/or to feed baby animals.? These pet ones are actually quite long, so that helps.

And lubricant isn't necessary, but if you prefer it, make sure to get PreSeed, the only one that is sperm friendly (it is ph balanced as to not kill or slow down the sperm.)

Directions:
Insert sperm/semen.? Insert Instead cup to trap semen against the body.? Obtain a "Big O" if possible.? Lay back with hips elevated to allow gravity to help.? 12 hours later- remove cup and keep your fingers crossed.

OK... here is the long version.

Because i was worried about wasting, I thought that every time the sample was transferred, the residue left behind might contain thousands of Little Swimmers, so my idea was to transfer as little as possible and touch as few surfaces as possible.? So we asked our donor to "put" the sample directly into the Instead cup (which are sterile from the plastic wrap anyway.)? I had a little pink glass jar on my bathroom counter (from Target's Shabby Chic collection) at the time, and the Instead cup sat in it perfectly (so you could put it down without it spilling or touching anything unsanitary), and so that's what we used both the first time and the 2-6 times four years later.? So i was given the Instead cup with the sample inside- resting inside a glass jar.

With Lily we used the pet syringes.? We sucked the sample up into the syringe, inserted ALL the way up, plunged it in there.? Then we inserted the SAME Instead cup (because it still had what we couldn't suck into the syringe inside) inside me.? I left the cup inside overnight and took it out the next morning.? After inserting everything, i laid with my hips elevated for 15 minutes on each side (right, back, left, front) like a rotisserie chicken to allow gravity to make sure if hit the spot.? Is this necessary, who knows?? But it can't hurt.? I did the same method cycle 2 (which was 4 years later and the baby i miscarried) and cycle 3 (where i didn't get pregnant.)

After having years to think about it, I wondered if the syringes were even necessary, and i wondered about transfer reside and if i was wasting, so Cycles 4-6 i decided to skip the syringe.? So basically I just took the (full) Instead cup and inserted it against my cervix.? I still lay with hips elevated for a while, but in my mind, not a drop was wasted this way.? And because the cup holds everything right in place, there's no drippage.? Again, i left it in for 12 hours then removed.? Cycles 4-5 were this method and no pregnancy, but cycle 6 resulted in our second baby!? So i got pregnant with and without syringes, but every time used the cups.

As far as when to do this.... that's one of the most important parts.? As much sperm as you have, you can't get pregnant without an egg.

In the 6 months before even trying (June-Dec 2007) i did a ton of research.? Before that, i'm pretty sure I had no idea when the average woman ovulated, let alone when i did.? I used a website to help track my cycles, and tracked 3 cycles before we even started trying.? I took my basal body temperature (BBT- the temp you take first thing in the morning when your body is at rest, before you even get out of bed) and charted it.? A rise in BBT shows ovulation, and using this info, you can see patterns and predict when you'll ovulate in future cycles.? And i used OPKs (ovulation predictor kits), basically a stick you pee on like a pregnancy test, and when you are close to ovulating, you get a + result and are said to ovulate 12-48 hours later.
There are tons of websites that explain both BBT and OPKs, so I won't.? But the relative thing is- KNOW WHEN you ovulate.

It's believed that sperm can live for up to 5 days inside a female, but the egg only lives 12-24 hours.? With that in mind, i always thought it was best to inseminate on the early side, to have the sperm waiting and ready for the egg to pop.? (Which is why you need to be able to accurately predict ovulation, days before it happens.)? I also feel like this is the case where "more is better" (not the case with makeup), and so we did a few inseminations each cycle to "flood the gates" so to speak.? I aimed to inseminate 3 days before ovulation, the day before, and the day of, if possible.? 3x a cycle in the days leading up to ovulation.? (NOTE: according to the Shettles Method, inseminating days before ovulation also sways for a girl - and i have 2 girls.? Swaying for a boy requires you inseminate ONLY on ovulation day, so if you really want a boy, don't do it this way, and research Shettles Method more.)

I think that covers it.? As far as more traditional attempts at getting pregnant... what i'd take from this is the timing and the Instead cups (can be inserted after intercourse, to keep everything in place!)

So from now on, when people inquire HOW we made our beautiful babies, i'm going to point them here.

P.S. - see the ads below and in the sidebars? ?If you see one that interests you, PLEASE click on it! ?It really helps me out!

Source: http://lilfamily13.blogspot.com/2013/02/diy-at-home-ai-babies-recipe.html

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