My partner, Grant, booked a vasectomy when our second child was just a few months old. He was pretty gung-ho about it, excited to take the torch from the likes of Dax Shepherd and spread the word of male birth control. He Ubered to the urology clinic on procedure day and called me just an hour later, ready for his ride home. It had all gone great and only took about 20 minutes, he said.
But when I got to the hospital, I was told his discharge was rescinded. As I hurtled to his treatment room, I feared the worst. I was concerned for Grant’s wellbeing, but also, selfishly, for my future sex life. I opened the door braced to see blood.
Inside the room, a sheepish-looking Grant lay on the table being fed Skittles by his male nurse named BJ. "Grant did great. The procedure went so well, but he did faint when he stood up," BJ said. Clearly this was far from BJ's first fainting-dad rodeo because he didn't seem bothered by this at all.
When we got home the kids and I made sure to shower Grant in gentle hugs and many protective bags of frozen peas over the course of his recovery. But after 10 days, things returned to normal for the most part.
Grant is among the ranks of men turning to vasectomies as a form of birth control in the post-Dobbs decision era. In fact, vasectomy rates have increased by 26% from 2014 to 2021, according to UChicago Center for Health and the Social Sciences.][1] General curiosity in the procedure is rising too – Google searches for the term "vasectomy" have increased significantly since June of 2022, according to the American Urological Association.[2]
Read This Next
And moms are getting creative when it comes to their partners going in for the snip, putting together full-on recovery gift baskets, replete with treats, healing balms and penis jokes. On a recent What to Expect Community thread, moms shared the punny vasectomy baskets they made for their partners for post-procedure enjoyment, and there was a sense of comradery among them all.
It’s clear there’s now more than one major “V-Day” holiday worthy of gift-giving, so here's some inspiration if your partner is joining the club.
What is a vasectomy basket?
A vasectomy basket is many things: a gift, a joke, a treat and even a helping hand. Within the What to Expect Community, it’s a basket of goodies that a mom puts together for dad's enjoyment and laughter after undergoing a vasectomy procedure for birth control. Popular items include snacks and relaxation items for those lounge-around healing days — often labeled with punny signs making jokes about sperm, nuts and more.
“I wanted to make the basket because I knew that my husband was a bit nervous about the procedure,” says WTE mom Bailey Jacobs of the inspiration behind her pun-tastic basket. “I knew that it would make him laugh. We love dirty humor in this relationship,” she adds.
6 moms share their vasectomy basket ideas
There are plenty of ways to celebrate the end of your partner’s, um, reproductive years. From the heartfelt to the hilarious, these baskets and custom treats made by What to Expect Community moms, certainly encourage healing and laughs.
Worry-free lays
In her genius basket, Jacobs included Sour Patch Kids (because no more kids), Lay’s Chips (celebrating “worry-free lays” GET IT?), Goldfish (“sorry about your swimmers!”), juice (labeled “all juice, no seeds,” lol), Milk Duds (because he’s “shootin’ duds,” duh), among other things.
“I put it on the table,” Jacobs tells What to Expect, “and when he walked in the kitchen, it took him a minute, but he got a big grin on his face and came up to inspect all the goodies.” She recommends gifting the basket pre-procedure, for enjoyment both before and after — especially when there are nerves involved.
Although her husband was anxious beforehand, “he got a few good laughs from the innuendo,” says Jacobs. “It definitely lightened the mood pre-surgery!” And afterward? “It was also nice for him to have some post-surgery snacks,” she says.
If you’re wondering about that random Coke sans joke: “The Coke wasn’t for a pun so much as it’s just his favorite drink,” Jacobs says. So don’t feel pressure to be funny with every item you’re gifting.
Snip snip, HOORAY
The jokes about snips and swimmers abound in these baskets, and mom Brynne’s creation is no exception. “After LONG and many discussions, my husband decided to retire his swim team,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a shark emoji. “So I made him a silly recovery basket to show how much I love and support his decision because I know it wasn’t an easy one to make.”
Brynne’s show of support also included some original puns: “So sorry about your Ding Dongs,” “You are the original hand job jerky,” “No more racing toward eggs,” “Just a nutless Nerd” and the ever-poetic, “Snip snip hooray, it’s Brad’s vasectomy day!”
“Your Nuts Hella Hurt” and more punny presents
Mom Tonya Morton took the punniest route possible when putting together a vasectomy haul for her partner. “I put this basket together because I thought it would be hilarious to poke fun at random things that don’t make sense but still show I was thinking of him,” Morton tells What to Expect.
That included a cute “More couch, less ouch” card, “some new nuts,” Fireball (get it?!) and more. Were the snacks and oils valuable during recovery? “He didn’t actually need any of it,” admits Morton, “except maybe the laugh!”
Happy retirement
Carla Roman loves a good “retirement” celebration. “To mark the occasion, I put together a creative and humor-filled vasectomy basket,” she tells What to Expect. Inside, she included beef jerky labeled Extra Tender, a soda bottle reading “No More Dew Dates” and a box of Sour Patch Kids with a sticker to say “No More Kids.”
She also “included an ice pack labeled ‘Ice, Ice Baby’ because, well, relief is key!” says Roman. As a final touch, she added a T-shirt proudly marking the wearer a “Retired Baby Maker - Vasectomy Survivor.” Talk about ready to rock the next chapter.
Thanks for a good season, Coach
Nesha Withers puts together great gifts on the regular, and V-Day is no exception. Her epic and well-designed basket came in a bucket emblazoned with “The swim team may have been cut, but the coach will never retire.”
The goodies inside are crowd pleasers for sure, from “You’re shooting Duds” Milk Duds to “Goodbye to your swimmers” Goldfish crackers. She also tossed in some cute buoys for good measure, to keep with the swimming theme, and the pièce de résistance: a bendy ice pack for pain relief.
Balls voyage and good riddance
“While I love a good party, it’s the special requests like these that keep me going,” Deniece, cookie master at Bake, Sis! Bakery tells What to Expect of a recent request she got to create themed cookies for the burgeoning vasectomy basket trend. The treats in question include images of scissors, sperm, and a “Balls voyage” anchor cookie.
“It brings joy to my heart knowing that my work makes people feel special and celebrated, no matter the occasion,” she says, adding that V-day is no exception. “I look forward to continuing to be inspired by my clients and helping them mark all of life’s moments — from baby’s first birthday to Vasectomy Day!”
How to create a vasectomy basket that will actually help — and give your partner a chuckle
As the moms we spoke with can attest, what to include depends on your dude. Maybe it’s a favorite beverage or snack, a comfy new pair of sweats or socks for lounging or an UberEats gift card (so that you don’t have to cook for him, bonus). Plus, every patient can appreciate a good laugh, and luckily there’s no shortage of vasectomy jokes online — from social media to Pinterest — to provide plenty of puns for cards and gift labels alike.
But aside from treats and nut puns, what should moms keep in mind? Is there anything actually helpful to add to a vasectomy basket beyond the comical? The answer is yes, says Brittany Busse, M.D., who's a general surgeon in California.
Here are a few items to try — and avoid:
- Stock up on supportive underwear: "More than ice packs," says Dr. Busses, " when my husband had a vasectomy, what he really wanted was supportive underwear, because his balls would ache when they were hanging down.” And Robert Roopa, M.Ed, C.Psych, a psychologist in Canada, had a vasectomy himself, and says he recommends brief underwear to help provide support during recovery. “Brands with a supportive cup system are best; Saxx underwear is one he found that works well, with its aptly named BallPark Pouch. “It absolutely helped,” he says.
- Stick to Tylenol: Avoid Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), says Dr. Busse. “This can thin the blood and lead to bleeding or bruising,” she says. “It also impairs wound healing.” Stock up on Tylenol for Dad’s pain relief post-surgery, and always talk to their provider if you have questions.
- Use ice packs with caution: “I know that men always talk about sitting on some frozen veggies and ice packs, but ice will actually impair blood flow and could lead to delayed healing,” says Dr. Busse. Oops. So much for my “gift” of frozen peas. "Ice should be used sparingly, only for some short-term numbing," she says, adding that you can "try placing an ice pack on the area for just 15 minutes at a time, every four to six hours."
- Skip the healing balms: If you’re tempted to include any healing balms, in your partner's basket, skip ‘em, says Dr. Busse. “Once a wound is sealed with stitches, there is no reason to apply any antibiotic cream or ointment. “This could actually cause the wound to come apart.” Although, she adds, because a vasectomy wound is so tiny, this is unlikely, so don’t stress.
And one last tip? It usually takes 20 to 30 ejaculations to completely clear sperm count post-procedure, says Dr. Busse, so keep that in mind once your partner has healed and you're ready to head to the bedroom.
Yes 
No 
Trending On What to Expect
