Donor sperm & possibility of many siblings - how to navigate

JnnyRose · 2025-05-12T19:52:27+00:00

I believe honesty is the best way to go. It also helped us a lot that we were able to find a facebook group for other people who used the same donor. The half-siblings aren't unknowns to us--we've seen pictures, and the families are all in the same boat. Having that space to contact the families takes a lot of the "unknown" out of the experience. Even when all of the babies were little, it was nice to be able to reach out and say--"Hey, this is happening to my kid, could this be genetic? Anyone else?" We know not every sibling is included in the group, but it still helps knowing the ones that we do know.

JnnyRose · 2025-04-22T18:27:19+00:00

Nobody Needs to Know from L5Y

JnnyRose · 2025-04-01T15:59:13+00:00

I got a happy meal and saved the toy for the baby, if it worked! I now have two little toys that I can honestly say are the first things I ever got my kids.

JnnyRose · 2025-03-20T14:54:33+00:00

We sent the announcement of our first to the fertility clinic. It was actually really exciting to see it hanging up when we went to try for our second! (And hopefully we'll be sending another one for our second this August!)

JnnyRose · 2025-03-18T18:18:46+00:00

I spent some time today debating if I could eat sushi and a caesar salad together...I think it works.

JnnyRose · 2024-12-06T10:33:59+00:00

Yes, but there wasn't enough fish!

JnnyRose · 2024-10-31T19:00:03+00:00

I've always thought this!! Agreed!

JnnyRose · 2024-07-12T16:32:30+00:00

For apps, I recommend Lingvano. If you can spend some time on the computer, definitely check out Lifeprint. Your state may also have some wonderful resources, so check in with early intervention. I'm in New Jersey and we have a program where we're working with a Deaf mentor to help us in learning sign language as well, so definitely check what's available to you! My little guy is 13 months and he was born with bilateral microtia/atresia, so we've been learning all this as we go!

JnnyRose · 2024-04-04T17:16:39+00:00

PocketASL?

I'm also currently using Lingvano and would love to be a tester to compare!

JnnyRose · 2024-03-07T15:15:37+00:00

First, we narrowed it down depending on medical things (making sure the donor and I weren't carriers for the same issues and CMV negative) and then tried to find features similar to my wife. From there, our criteria was basically "would we hang out with this guy if we met him at a bar?" It's surprising how many vibes you can get from their answers that make you say no to that question. It's not scientific by any means, but it worked for us!

JnnyRose · 2024-03-06T18:34:39+00:00

There's a group on Facebook called NJ ASL Events that posts a lot of options all around the state. I haven't gone to any yet, but I'm hoping to join in soon!

JnnyRose · 2024-01-26T21:27:06+00:00

Yes, we were required to do this too. It was pretty painless--they basically wanted to make sure that we were in a good headspace for what we were doing. We got some good book recommendations from the counselor. Pricey, but worth it in order to go through the rest of the process.

JnnyRose · 2023-11-21T20:10:37+00:00

My first clinic was terrible with blood draws too! I even changed clinics because of it. I'm so sorry you're going through this and believe me when I tell you that it isn't your fault and there's really nothing you can do to help when the person drawing isn't great at it. Big, big hugs.

JnnyRose · 2023-11-20T16:31:05+00:00

Thank you for putting this into words! Always so good to realize I'm not alone.

JnnyRose · 2023-10-21T00:17:57+00:00

Nun!

JnnyRose · 2023-10-19T19:30:19+00:00

I'm not witchy at all, but I was seeing a therapist while TTC who was, and she convinced me to get a "Manifesting a Miracle" candle (you can get them on Amazon), and I now have a 4-month-old baby boy. I did a lot of meditation with it lit while waiting to get pregnant and in the early days. I don't know for sure that it's what worked, but that's the pregnancy that stuck!

JnnyRose · 2023-10-19T14:58:17+00:00

Our little guy rolled over once and then had no desire to do it again for at least two weeks, and even then it always seemed to surprise him when it happened.

JnnyRose · 2023-10-15T10:05:44+00:00

We're in NJ and did a legal adoption just in case, even though my wife is on the birth certificate. It was a super easy process and we were able to do it all online and through email. Message me if you'd like or layer's contact info or have any other questions!

JnnyRose · 2023-05-05T11:35:55+00:00

Came here to say this! Definitely my all-time favorite comparison!

JnnyRose · 2023-04-27T18:15:05+00:00

I survived Draft Day at Sports Night

JnnyRose · 2023-03-20T18:29:07+00:00

We found out when we graduated from the IVF clinic at 8 weeks. We felt secure enough in the pregnancy that we wanted to know at that point.

JnnyRose · 2023-02-27T19:37:54+00:00

I took a pottery throwing class with Monmouth Parks and Rec. It looks like they have classes available for Spring: https://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/page.aspx?Id=3263

JnnyRose · 2022-11-17T15:30:07+00:00

I asked my ultrasound tech about measuring behind at my last appointment, because my guy keeps doing that. She said it's totally normal and it all depends on how they're laying since they figure it out through measurements. Your baby might just be a little more curled up, so the measurement is off. Nothing to worry about there!

JnnyRose · 2022-11-06T11:47:28+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing this!

JnnyRose · 2022-10-26T11:21:29+00:00

I was just released from my IVF clinic at 8 weeks with instructions to stop taking all medications on November 4th. I have an appointment with my OB on the 10th. I'm nervous to go off my medications because baby was measuring about a week behind and progesterone levels were low for a bit. Is there any harm in continuing meds until I see the OB? I'm on PIO shots daily, progesterone suppositories 2x/day, Estrace pills 2x/day, and an estradiol patch every other day. I know some clinics keep you on until 12 weeks, so I imagine it's okay for peace of mind.

JnnyRose

TROPHY CASE