POSTS WITH TAG: trying to conceive

Pregnancy Awww!

Sisters Offer to Be Surrogates for Their Sibling & Get a Big Surprise

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Feb 10, 2012 at 12:06 PM

pregnant bellyWith all the horrific things that are in the news right now, I was so struck by this incredible story of three sisters who will forever be tied in a whole new way. Tanya Ratcliff was told that she could conceive a baby but her body was not able to carry it. In order to have a family, she would need a surrogate. Not an easy thing. She was at the fertility clinic with her sisters Tara Schamel and Cassie Ripp when she got this very sad diagnosis. But both Tara and Cassie offered to carry her baby with her implanted embryos made from her own egg and her husband Dan's sperm. 

Both super-duper amazing sisters underwent the necessary procedures of hormone injections (which is not easy either) hoping they would have success. They both became pregnant, but that is only surprise number one.

Read More
Pregnancy Say What!?

Networking Website 'Modamily' Has Disaster Written All Over It

Posted by Jacqueline Burt
on Feb 9, 2012 at 12:04 PM

baby computerIt sounds like the premise for some wacky romantic comedy in the "OMG, She's Pregnant!" genre (think Knocked Up, 9 Months, the upcoming What to Expect ... ). But the new social networking website I'm referring to is neither romantic nor comedic (not intentionally, anyway) -- it's real, and it's called Modamily: "The first online community to facilitate introductions between responsible, like-minded adults committed to co-parenting a child."

Yes, you read that right. And yes, it's exactly what you're thinking -- Modamily is basically a cross between a sperm bank and an online dating service.

Gee, that's a swell idea! What could possibly go wrong?

Read More
Pregnancy Inspiring

Amazing Miracle Pregnancy Defies All the Odds

Posted by Linda Sharps
on Jan 27, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Did you know the typical male produces 60 million to 100 million sperm in a single ejaculation? It obviously only takes one sperm and one egg to make a baby, but all that biological redundancy is directly tied to the odds of a successful fertilization. For couples dealing with male factor infertility, low sperm counts (anything less than fewer than 20 million sperm per milliliter of semen) can make it difficult or impossible to conceive a child without medical intervention.

However, imagine a situation in which the man produced no sperm whatsoever—and yet he was still able to father a child. At Cleveland Clinic IVF, one couple recently celebrated their daughter's birth, thanks to a groundbreaking technique the thrilled parents are describing as a modern miracle.

Read More
Pregnancy

Wanting a 'Year of the Dragon Baby' Makes Perfect Sense

Posted by Jeanne Sager
on Jan 23, 2012 at 10:58 AM

year of the dragonHappy Chinese New Year! Still looking for a way to throw yourself into the Year of the Dragon? You might want to start stocking up on baby shower gifts pronto. Superstitious couples hoping to bank on the notion that kids born in the Year of the Dragon are lucky are expected to give us another baby boom. Can you really blame them?

I'll admit I'm usually a skeptic about most of this hocus pocus-y, new age-y stuff. I take my horoscope with a grain of salt ... when I even bother to read it. But when it comes to bringing a baby into this world, all my book learning goes out the window.

Read More
Pregnancy

Giuliana Rancic's Positive Attitude Will Make Her an Amazing Mom

Posted by Jacqueline Burt
on Jan 6, 2012 at 8:54 PM

giuliana rancic bill rancicWow. I just continue to be completely amazed by Giuliana Rancic. From the moment she came forward and shared her cancer diagnosis with the world, she's been nothing but courageous, optimistic, and perhaps most impressive of all, honest. She hasn't faked any smiles or forced any brave words -- she admits that her journey is a struggle (to say the least).

That's what makes her positive outlook all the more inspiring, especially when it comes to having kids. Rancic says she and her husband Bill aren't going to stop trying to get pregnant -- no way! In fact, they're apparently game to start as soon as her doctors tell her she's ready.

Read More
Pregnancy

Should Teacher Lose Her Job Over 'Immoral' IVF Pregnancy?

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Dec 29, 2011 at 5:37 PM

sperm and eggI'm not afraid to stand up for what I think is right. Seek justice. Fight for the underdog when the underdog is deserving. And when I heard about Christa Dias, the Catholic school teacher who was fired after getting pregnant through artificial insemination, I wanted to stand up for her, too. But I'm conflicted. The contract she signed with Holy Family and St. Lawrence Catholic schools in Cincinnati, Ohio, specifically states that artificial insemination is immoral and a teacher employed by this school must abide by their clause.

But is it right for a job to deny a woman her desire to become a mother? Shouldn't pregnancy be regarded as a miracle?

 

Read More
Pregnancy

Want to Get Pregnant? Here's How

Posted by Aunt Becky
on Dec 29, 2011 at 4:36 PM

So there I was, finally married, settled down into my very own home with my five-year old and my new husband and it was TIME. Time to get pregnant. Really, it was all I'd been working toward, what with my new nursing degree and stability.

I figured that after I'd gotten pregnant with my first son while on birth control, I'd be knocked up again in no time.

I was so beyond wrong.

Read More
Love & Sex

11 Things You Should Never Say to a Childless Couple

Posted by Michele Zipp
on Dec 22, 2011 at 12:02 PM

quiet please signBack when I was trying to conceive, my husband and I felt a lot of pressure to start a family from some relatives and friends. Often very well meaning family and friends, wondering when we were going to have a baby. Any person who has been trying to get pregnant knows what I'm talking about here -- it can be a difficult time. But it's not just those who want to have a baby who feel this way -- many childless couples get bombarded with the whys, the whens, and the how comes. It can be more annoying than a hemorrhoid. I mean, why can't two people enjoy being married without having kids in the mix?

Here is my list of things no childless couple ever wants to hear -- so try to never say them.

Read More
Pregnancy

A Husband Should Never Donate Sperm

Posted by Amy Reiter
on Nov 14, 2011 at 4:58 PM

Sperm DonationPicture this: You haven't been married all that long and are pregnant with your first child.

Your tall, handsome, well-educated, impressively healthy husband is taking a year off before starting law school, working on a novel, trying to make a few bucks here and there. Suddenly, he comes up with a great idea to pay the bills: He'll become a sperm donor.

Do you -- would you -- go for it?

Read More
Baby

Generation X Ladies Need to Have Some Babies

Posted by April Peveteaux
on Oct 19, 2011 at 2:15 PM

generation x not having babies
Hipster Baby
An interesting statistic about the women and men of Generation X -- babies born between 1965 and 1978 -- shows that a huge chunk of these 33- to 46-year-olds are not having babies of their own. A startling 43 percent of Gen X ladies are not having children, and 32 percent of Gen X men. Granted, we're not the Baby Boomers, but that's still a lot of adults deciding to forgo parenthood.

As a card-carrying member of Generation X, it has not escaped my notice that many, many of my friends remain child-free. When I try to think back to my own mother's friends, I can't recall any of them not having their own children. Yet I would say probably 43 percent of my female friends don't have kids.

What the heck is going on?

Read More
Advertisement
The Stir on Twitter

The Presidential Candidates & Women's Rights: http://t.co/VxrRMrIv via @momsmatter2012 + @The_Stir 2 hours ago
Seriously?!! 'Bachelor' Ben Flajnik May Have Already Dumped His Fiancee: http://t.co/XMloSs4W via @The_Stir + @TheMommyologist #bachelor 4 hours ago
CanNOT wait. 'Friday Night Lights' Movie Details Will Thrill Fans: http://t.co/0TjjGMTj via@The_Stir + @LindsayVirginia 11 hours ago
Follow Us On Twitter Follow The_Stir on Twitter
Advertisement