Showing posts with label gay becoming a dad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gay becoming a dad. Show all posts

Thursday, 30 July 2015

Testimonial from a new Dad 'Thank you Pride Angel'

Dear Pride Angel,
I have been wanting to write for a long time but finally I have taken the time to do it. Thanks to this website I am now a dad. Ethan was born 17 July 2014. He lives with his two amazing mums Jane and Sarah. I can't believe how lucky we are. We feel so blessed! Legally they are the parents and Ethan is very lucky having the two best mums in the world! Ethan will always know that I am the dad and will call me dad. I think it's important for all children to know where they come from. That was what I wanted from the day I posted my initial profile here on Pride Angel and I was lucky to find Jane and Sarah who wanted the same as me.
I did find another couple on Pride Angel before Jane and Sarah and we tried 11 times to get pregnant but it didn't work out. It was a hard decision to tell them I didn't think it would work. I almost gave up becoming a dad but my paternal instincts were so strong so I tried to find another lesbian couple through Pride Angel. I couldn't believe my luck when I heard from Sarah and Jane- that lived just 10 minutes walk away! We met up many times, we had to build a lot of trust and shared our values and lives. After a while Jane and Sarah trusted me, and I trusted them that they wouldn't cut me off after Ethan was born. I think we tried the artificial insemination at their home 4 times before Ethan was conceived. The following 9 months felt like 9 years, we were so excited.
Realizing I was gay at 15 years old, I never thought I was going to be a dad. So to see Sarah pregnant knowing that another human being was inside her, with half of my DNA felt both amazing and surreal. Towards the end I truly realized the magnitude of what Jane, Sarah and I had done- creating a child! Many thoughts went through my head, were we selfish putting this child into a world that wasn't 'normal'? Was our child going to be bullied? Were we playing God creating babies artificially? Now looking back all those questions seem silly but right there and then, that was what I thought about. When I saw the photo of a new born Ethan and the happy face of his two mums, I felt a sense of piece, my life felt so accomplished. This was what I wanted for such a long time; to help a lesbian couple having a family and somehow passing on my own legacy. It's hard to explain with words how happy I was. Ethan is the most amazing little kid I have ever met, he's so sociable and confident. It shows what an amazing job Jane and Sarah are doing, they give him so much love. Ethan is also surrounded by their amazing family and friends making him feel even more loved.
I see Ethan about every two to three weeks, sometimes more, sometimes less. But only when it feels natural for all of us. There's no pressure. Jane and Sarah have become my two soul mates, they know everything about me. I sometimes come and tell them all my love or family problems and they always listen, they are amazing people. I'm so lucky. And I guess they are lucky too but foremost, Ethan is lucky to come in to this world with so much love. And if it wasn't for your website, he wouldn't be here today. So a huge thank you from Jane, Sarah, Ethan and I.
Kind regards, Andrew
PS. The first couple that I met through Pride Angel was in the end also lucky to have a baby called Jude. They had to do it a bit more complicated with the help of a clinic, they took an egg from one of the mums and planted it into the other mum that didn't have any eggs. A friend of theirs is the donor. So they also had a happy ending and we are all so grateful for each other. maybe one day Ethan and Jake can play together.

Saturday, 30 October 2010

A Guide for Gay Dads - launched by Stonewall

Stonewall has launched this week 'A Guide for Gay Dads', giving gay men practical advice in plain English on how to become a dad.
The guide is the brother publication to Pregnant Pause, released earlier this year. It guides prospective gay dads through all their options including adoption, co-parenting, surrogacy, sperm donation and fostering. It includes a handy glossary and spells out all the recent legal changes in plain English to help demystify the process.

Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive, said: ‘There’s never been a better time for gay men to start a family in Britain. The law is now on their side. And this comprehensive new guide – the first of its kind specifically aimed at gay men – outlines all options, with handy tips and places to go for further support. We hope it’ll convince some gay men who might have otherwise written off the prospect of raising children to re-consider.’

Stonewall we have worked hard to ensure that gay people can have and raise children like everyone else. While our lobbying has helped changed the law – allowing gay couples to adopt, removing barriers to fertility treatment for lesbians and outlawing discrimination in goods and services, including organisations offering social and family services – there is still lots to do.

Not only does the 'Guide for Gay Dads' give vitally useful legal advice on what parenting rights you may have in different situations but it gives you an overview of what you can expect from each route to becoming a dad. Given the recent changes to the law it is a must-read for any gay men considering starting a family.

Cambridge University research for Stonewall published earlier this year demonstrated how children with same-sex parents have the exact same quality of upbringing as other children. Alice, 7, who was interviewed for the research said: ‘I’ve got two parents who love me. It doesn’t matter if they’re a boy or a girl.’

Stonewall’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/stonewalluk currently includes an interview with Jess Sweeney, 17, whose dad is gay. She told us: ‘Every girl wants a gay best friend, but mine is my dad, too.’

If you would like a free hardcopy of the guide, email Stonewall at info@stonewall.org.uk
or Click here to download A Guide for Gay Dads

It’s the latest in a programme of recent work to ensure lesbian and gay people can start families and bring up children free from homophobia. Earlier this year Stonewall published their groundbreaking (Different Families) research which for the first time allowed the overwhelmingly illuminating voices of children with gay parents to be heard and last year they published (Pregnant Pause), a guide for lesbians on how to get pregnant.

Read more about the guide at www.stonewall.org.uk

For more information about gay parenting, becoming a sperm donor or co-parenting visit www.prideangel.com

To read more go to http://bit.ly/94M2AZ