Posted August 23, 2010 at 7:00 AM

My Known Donor Warning

filed under: known_donor, Choice Chat, home_insemination, trying, sperm, Choice Chat

This woman shared her story on the Choice Moms discussion board, and I thought it was a great reminder to women using a known donor: Make sure you talk about sperm testing before spending too much time trying to conceive.

Posted August 20, 2010 at 6:40 PM

Stacey: Just You and Me, Kid

filed under: thinking, becoming, waiting, profile, book, Choice Chat, inspiration

"Even the most independent or progressive among us didn't play house without at least going through the motions of assigning someone the dad role...Our childhood fairy tale fantasies involved Prince Charming and happily ever after, not donor number 5931...and a brief encounter with a syringe."

Read More... | 2 comments

Posted July 5, 2010 at 8:40 AM

Jessica's story

filed under: podcast, Choice_Chat, known_donor, thinking, insemination, sperm, profile

Before Jessica had her baby girl in May, she had a long journey of thinking, and negotiating with a known donor. Here's her story in audio form.

Choice Chat Profiles

I have so many wonderful conversations with Choice Moms. This growing library will feature some of them.

Choice Chat: Jessica

In this 10-minute chat we talk about aging and fertility, and her original choice to use a known donor

Read More... | 3 comments

Posted June 18, 2010 at 9:40 PM

The stress of fertility

filed under: thinking, trying, fertility, Minnesota, Choice Chat, emotions, insemination, podcast, profile, stress, support network, waiting

One of the best gifts of Choice Mom networking events is when small groups of women on similar paths find each other to discuss their joys and concerns. Here's what women in the Trying stage talked about with counselor Krista Post.

Fertility stress

As strong-minded women, we can underestimate the anxiety of the fertility process. As someone who has experienced fertility challenges herself, Krista Post offered great insight on the importance of understanding what the success rates do and do not tell us. She also opened up the conversation for women to share the stress they were feeling about multiple attempts at conceiving.

Success rates (3.5 minutes)

Fertility Anxiety (7.5 minutes)

Posted June 10, 2010 at 5:25 PM

AUDIO: Transracial adoption

filed under: adoption, transracial, parenting, Minnesota, international adoption, Choice Chat, podcast

If you're thinking of adopting transracially, or are heading a transracial family, listen here for insight. The experts we assembled at a recent Choice Moms event included two Choice Moms who were raised in transracial families, a woman who parented a young woman from a refugee camp, a representative from Children's Home Society, and several Choice Moms who are raising a transracial family.

Transracial adoption

At a Choice Moms networking event in Minneapolis, we gathered a group of women and experts together to talk about transracial adoption challenges and insights.

Part 1: Experts

Part 2: moms talk transracial adoption

Posted April 30, 2010 at 3:25 PM

Choice Mom: what I didn't know about estate planning

filed under: Minnesota, money matters, legal, expert insight, Choice Chat, parenting, being

We usually include an estate planner at Choice Mom networking events, to make sure women understand everything they need to about protecting their child both BEFORE and after motherhood. Here's a tip that Julie, 28 weeks pregnant, learned from attorney Chuck Roulet at the Minneapolis event.

Posted March 4, 2010 at 6:15 PM

Partner or child? A Thinker's (common) debate

filed under: thinking, Choice Chat, emotions, growing up without a father, hot topic, profile

A 40-year-old woman has been involved for five years with a man who doesn't think he wants a child. They broke up a few years ago because she wanted a child, and he said he'd go along with it. But she now realizes that's probably not going to happen.

Read More... | 5 comments

Posted March 4, 2010 at 3:50 PM

Our 3 biggest regrets

filed under: podcast, thinking, trying, emotions, being, Choice Chat, Choice Kids, choosing doctor, commentary, daddy question, donor offspring, open-identity donor, open adoption, telling and talking

There are three things Choice Moms report in hindsight are their biggest regrets. What do you think they are?

3 Regrets in hindsight

What do women wish they had known before they embarked on the Choice Mom journey?

Regret #1: waiting (6.5 minutes)

Regret #2: doctor (11 minutes)

Regret #3: origin story (10 minutes)

Read More... | 3 comments

Posted February 11, 2010 at 3:20 PM

Audio: Home Insemination

filed under: home insemination, podcast, Choice Chat, trying

Listen to this growing library of clips and podcast excerpts about home insemination.

Home Insemination

a compilation of clips from the Choice Chat podcast

fresh vs. frozen sperm

Kristin Kali of Maia Midwifery on the life span of fresh and frozen sperm, excerpt from podcast (2008)

cervical cap vs. syringe

what method does IntegraMed's Dr. Jim Toner (Atlanta) recommend for insemination?

do you need to worry about hostile mucous?

Posted February 1, 2010 at 4:10 PM

DIY Insemination

filed under: home_insemination, sperm, known_donor, profile, tips, Choice Chat

submitted by Kenzie
Even before I made the choice to conceive with a known donor, I knew that however I conceived I would be doing it myself with as little medical intervention as possible. After all, it's my body, my fertility, and in the end I'm creating my family. It feels very important to me to take responsibility for and to understand the process, as well as the result.