One Virginia mom had the perfect fix for her partner’s pre-vasectomy jitters: a pun-filled gift basket.
“He knew it was a simple procedure, but he was still really nervous, and I wanted to make him smile,” Ashley James, 32, tells TODAY.com, of her 34-year-old husband, Darius.
Not only did Ashley make Darius laugh— she had the internet in stitches, too.
In a now-viral Instagram video, Ashley is shown assembling a hilarious recovery care package filled with popular treats. But there’s a twist. Each goody has been renamed to tease Darius, a father of three, about his impending infertility. Using sperm-shaped note cards and a magic marker, Sour Patch Kids become "No More Kids," while Milk Duds are coined "Shooting Duds."
Darius also received:
- Sorry about your Ding Dongs (Ding Dongs)
- Unlimited Creme Pies (Oatmeal Creme Pies)
- Worry Free Lays (Lays chips)
- No-nuts (Mini powdered donuts)
- No More Dew Dates (Mountain Dew)
Ashley, who found the gift basket idea on Pinterest, says Darius was “extremely stressed” on the morning his vasectomy.
A vasectomy is a permanent method of birth control in which the vas deferens, which carry sperm from the testicles to the urethra, are cut and sealed.
“Luckily, they let me sit in the room with him. He was looking down at the ground, basically panicking,” she says. “He supported me when I was in labor, and then I got to support him."
The procedure took roughly 15 minutes and the urologist played Caribbean music — Darius’s favorite — to lighten the mood.
“The doctor warned him, ‘This is going to sting a little bit,’” Ashley recalls. “But it wasn’t bad because they numbed him before. It wasn’t a big deal at all.”
Tubal litigation, also known as "getting your tubes tied," is the most common form of sterilization in the United States, despite the fact that vasectomy is less invasive and equally effective.
According to Dr. Bobby Najari director of the Male Infertility Program in the Department of Urology at NYU Langone, there are many misconceptions about vasectomy.
“The main concern that men have about vasectomy is that it will have a negative impact on their sexual function,” Najari previously told TODAY.com. “But the only thing that changes is that the fluid that comes out during an ejaculation doesn’t contain sperm.”
Najari noted that sperm only make up 5% of that fluid. He also emphasized that a vasectomy has no impact on the strength of an erection or the sensitivity of the penis.
“It also won’t affect that intensity of orgasm because that’s related to the muscular contraction of the pelvis,” he explained “So, again, the only thing that changes is the volume of the fluid — and it’s so small that people can’t notice.”
Ashley says she and Darius couldn't be happier with their new method of birth control. Ashley had two unmedicated births — one of which lasted 44 hours.
"I can't do it again!" she says. "I think at first we were sad about not having any more — but physically and mentally, this is the right choice for us."