I'm new here, desperate for information to make right decision!!!!

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this board, stumbled across it last night.  I'm desperate for information to make the right decision on how to get my baby girl!

I'm a navy wife and mom of 3 adorable boys (ages 12, 11 and 7).  I've hoped that the longing for a girl would go away (wishful thining right?!?!) but it has only gotten stronger over the years! 

I have a few questions, first, has anyone out there gotten pregnant on their first round of IUI through MS??  I've never had a problem conceiving before, but I'm 34 now so who knows.  We're pretty much a 1 income family, (I occasionally sub at my kids school) so I'm wondering how we're going to afford these procedures....

If it's not too much of a personal question, can I ask how some of you afford this???

I've frequented the MS site LOTS of times and I don't understand the breakdown of fees...

I guess I could call them and ask some of these questions, but I figured someone out there has already and could help before I did that. 

Has anyone gotten pregnant using the 'natural' methods and gotten the child of their choice after having several of the opposite sex first? 

If anyone can help, I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

Shel     

 

 

I am currently doing MS IUI in the hopes of getting pregnant with a much wanted girl.  I just had my 1st cycle cancelled b/c of my poor reaction to Clomid.  I am sure you know this already, but being very fertile and getting pregnant easily is no indication of your success or ability to get pg with an IUI.  It is actually VERY difficult to get pg this way b/c after the sperm is processed at MS the # is drastically reduced.  So when trying naturally to get pg there are millions of sperm and with MS it is only a couple hundred thousand.  I am also 34 and for my next cycle I am going with straight injectibles b/c I developed a follicle problem as well as a thinner lining due to the Clomid.  I do think going with a medicated cycle is a better option than trying a natural one.  But that is just my personal opinion.  Most women react favorably to the meds and produce more follicles and that in turn makes it easier for the sperm to find and fertilize and least one egg.

As for cost, b/c we need to travel by air to Ca. for the IUI  1 cycle will cost us about $5000.  If you live in Ca or Va then you save more money by not paying for the airfare.  And for us 2 airline tickets booked at a moments notice will cost us roughly $900.00.  Cindy at HRC in Ca broke down the price like this for me $3400 for the MS sort and $250 for the IUI.  I have incurred extra costs for the local monitoring I have done.  For me each u/s I get is $160 and the blood tests are about $100 each time.  And for my upcoming cycle b/c I chose injectibles I will need to have a min. of 3 u/s and my blood checked at least 1 time but maybe more.  So it all adds up to that $5000 price tag for me.  Hope some of this helps and feel free to ask any other questions and I will be more than happy to answer if I can!

Hello there, and welcome!

I think with MS you should be looking at 3-4 thousand a shot.  I called them a bunch of times when I was considering this.  I went low tech...kinda.  I bought a Cue II/ Ovacue fertility monitor through the Zetek company.  It predicts ovulation up to 7 days in advance.  I wanted it to be able to have a reliable cut off.  I didn't take any supplements to change my environment.  I tracked my cycle for 7 months and when I made my attempt in June, I got pg first time and with my girl.  I have two lovely boys and just assumed my dh would only give me boys, but the cut off worked for me.  I think if you can afford MS, it would be a better route because this is your last shot right??  I figure I had at least one more shot if this didn't work out for me.  I will be trying for my 4th child once this one is at least a year and I will use my fertility monitor again but this time, I'll also take cranberry and probably douche with lime to make sure I can get a sister for my daughter.  Good luck with ttc a girl.  I think you will have a good shot with MS....If you want anymore info on fertility monitors, then just let me know.

Welcome, I'm glad you found us!  I did get pg on my first MS/IUI attempt (with twins no less), but it is by far the exception rather than the rule.  To be realistic you need to plan for multiple attempts.

How to finance it is a good question.  I think a lot of people run up credit cards and/or get loans. 

Another option I will toss out to you is this: donate your eggs, to possibly help another couple who cannot conceive with their own eggs to become parents, and finance your own dream at the same time.  There is a real need for donor eggs, there are couples out there praying that the right woman will come forward and donate eggs so that they can have a baby.  Obviously there are emotional issues that you have to be okay with before going this route, but it is something to consider.  I would not have been comfortable with this when I was younger, but now that I am too old I wish I could donate.

Thanks for the info....

jojogirl-- Yes, I'd definetly like more information on fertility monitors...  The more information I can get on these options, the more knowledgable decision I can make!!!

 

Maureen---  How do I get the information on egg donation???

 

Thanks for everything

Shel

 

I'd be ok with egg donation.  To me, it's basically like adoption, except I wouldn't have to carry the baby for 9 months, THEN give it away! 

But it seems like I'm too old....   Can't believe I just said that, I'm TOO OLD  ;-}

YIKES ;-}

 

Shel

Ok, well, first go to www.zetek.com and read about the Ovacue/Cue II monitors.  They have an 800 number where you can talk with their specilists and they can explain how it can help with gender swaying.  It is a saliva based sensor that you put on your tounge for a few seconds every morning.  It gives you a reading an depending on which one you get it will either calculate your fertility or you plot and graph it yourself.  When you get a "cue peak" then you should ovulate around 5-7 days later.  It warns you so you can stop having intercourse and thus give yourself a cut off.  Based on Shettles, you should have a 2.5-5 day cut off for a girl.  Mine was 2.5 days.  Having this device takes the guess work out of trying to time a cut off with OPK's (which may not give enough time to do a big enough cut off.).  Hope I answered your questions.  Feel free to ask specifics if you need to.

Ok, this may seem like a stupid question, but I'm going to ask anyway....  I've never paid that much attention to the whole ovulation thing before, so I'm wondering about this 2-5 day cut off thing.  How does this whole thing work.  I get the O+12 -- BDing 12 hours after you ovulate, but where and when does this cut off thing apply???

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

Shel

Well, lets say you ovulate every month around day 14 of your cycle.  Then when you are trying for a girl, you would want to stop having intercourse probably no later then day 11 or 12 at the latest.  It's best to look at it in hours too.  I know my cut off was around 60 hours before I Oed.  The book to get at the library or buy at Barnes and Nobel is call "How to Choose the Sex of your Baby" and it is by Dr. Shettles.  The Shettle Method is the one most talked about and it has been around since the 70's I think.  My girlfriends mom told me about it and it has been history ever since.  Shettles theory is that girl sperm live longer in the body then the boys so having a good cut off is important since the majority of sperm left to fertilize the egg when you do O will be girls.  I don't know if you knew this already, so I just threw it in.  When you use a fertility monitor, you will then begin to see what day you are Oing and then you can plan a good cut off.  If you have never paid attention to your O in the past then by doing it now, can be really all that was needed to get a girl.  I know it was the case with me.  I always just bd through my O with both my boys and the time I did something different...bam, I got my girl.  Of course this doesn't happen for everyone, but I am a believer now.  I am going to be helping my cousin with getting her dream girl and I have a few girlfriends and neighbors how are intrigued by this concept.  In the end, you have to feel confident that whatever method you choose will work.  I know there are no guarentees in life, I planned my attempt for a full year before taking the plunge.  I felt very confident in making my first attempt.  I am very lucky it turned out the way I wanted....like I said in the future, I will probably supplement along with timing....just for extra guarentee.  Hope this helps.

That helps...

If my memory serves, with my 3rd boy, (the only planned pregnancy)  ;-}  I believe we BDed between when I must have O and when my AF arrived, which would fit into the boys swim faster theory.....

Shel

 

Welcome to the board!!!   TJ

Hello!

I know of 2 people who lucked out and became "one hit wonders" w/MS/IUI...perhaps they'll post a reply here.  I also know someone who lucked out w/2 tries.  However, it seems that is not the norm.  I know I myself have had 2 attempts w/MS/IUI and have not had luck.  I am 34 (you are too I think?) and considered myself very fertile (2 boys conceived no problems) up until my MS/IUI experience.  However, you may luck out!  It's good you are doing the research first and asking questions.

You may want to try 1 shot.  You never know...

Good luck!

P.S. Don't laugh at me if my signature below does not come up correctly below...I finally joined this board and just put it up real quickly (some of you know me from another board- hi!)

Yes, I'm 34 also.  I just received the info packet from MS, and my dh isn't too thrilled with the follow up evaluation stuff..  So my effort with MS may just have been nipped in the bud!

 

Shel

 

I hope you can get DH on board so you can give Microsort a try.    Keep us posted!!  I got my fingers crossed for you!!!   Can you offer any sexual favors for his agreement-- okay just joking!!!TJ

Maybe you can sit down over the weekend with your husband and talk to him about MS - ask him why he has issues w/the evaluation items (you're talking about evaluations they do periodically after baby is born or do you mean the actual application process before you start the MS trial)?  Sometimes the men just need some time to digest things (at least that's my dh).

Good luck!

p.s. or you can go to TJ's plan B if necessary...just kidding!