Baby Steps

Everyone’s fertility journey is different. Dionne’s began when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her doctor told her that cancer treatment would drastically impact her fertility, so if she thought she might want biological children in the future, she’d need to undergo oocyte cryopreservation (egg freezing) immediately. In preparing for chemotherapy and the brutal battle with cancer, Dionne also now had to consider her fertility. In this episode, she shares how she managed it all.

Show notes

Dionne’s YouTube channel chronicles her fertility preservation journey during cancer treatment. Dionne’s oocyte cryopreservation process happened in tandem with the first steps of her battle with breast cancer.

Having a child via gestational carrier, a process commonly referred to as surrogacy, can be complex for one pregnancy. But George and his husband were hoping to have two babies at the same time—“twiblings.” Between finding an egg donor, a reputable clinic, two gestational carriers, and managing everything there is to do when preparing for two new additions to a family, George and his husband had a lot on their hands. Here’s how they did it.

Omair and his wife had known that they’d want to adopt a child from the time they were in high school. The adoption of their son, therefore, was essentially 17 years in the making. But how long did the adoption process actually take from start to finish? What was it like when a social worker visited their home to see if they’d be “fit to parent”? And how much did everything cost? Omair answers all of these questions and more as he talks through the story of how he and his wife adopted their son.

This podcast is about the pursuit of parenthood, but pursuing something does not mean a promise of any particular result. When it comes to fertility, there are no guarantees. That’s something Lauren knows all too well. She has PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), one of the symptoms of which is that ovaries fail to regularly release eggs. Her struggle with infertility has changed her perspective on the world and the way she thinks about motherhood. Today, she’s sharing her story.

Show notes

Lauren chronicles her infertility journey on her Instagram @mamas.waiting.season.

For a long time, Trystan had been led to believe that he could never have biological children. He is transgender, and doctors had told him that when he transitioned, he would not be able to get pregnant. But fast forward a few years, and Trystan and his partner, Biff, have three children—two they adopted, and one biological son. Today, Trystan shares the story of how he built his family and talks about what his pregnancy was like.

Show notes

Trystan Reese is the Director of Family Formation at Family Equality, the nation's leading nonprofit dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ families and those who wish to form them.

Trystan’s blog chronicles his family-forming journey and other aspects of his and Biff’s life together.