'I Want A Baby!'- Part One

Parents such as Tracey from Dubai have shown that there’s more than one way to have a family

- Collette Merritt

Many of us have felt the heartache of a friend who isn’t able to conceive or carry a baby herself. There’s a note of deep sadness, tinged with an unfulfilled need; a frustration that morphs into desperation.

For this year-end festive edition, we’ve found families who assessed their situation and boldly went out to find other solutions to make a family. These are brave, persistent men and women who simply never entertained the possibility of not having a child.

There are various alternative ways to have a baby if you aren’t able to do so naturally. Here we explore these other possibilities— celebrating tenacious parents, beautiful babies, determined love, and the single-minded urge to make a family.

ADOPTION

Tracey is a successful career woman who always dreamt of having a husband and family, but life took her offon other adventures. Originally from Johannesburg, she currently lives and works in Dubai. Here she shares her story of adoption, which was made slightly more complex by getting a child from abroad (Ethiopia), while working and living outside her home country. What a challenge! Her success is testimony to how determined she was to be a mom.

“I’ve always wanted to be a mum (I think I was broody in my early 20s!), and strange as it may sound, I believe Laila was waiting for me—she was meant to be my daughter.

I arrived in the United Arab Emirates in 2007, and had attempted in vitro fertilisation twice while in South Africa, but both times were unsuccessful. I realised I couldn’t try again, as it had taken a toll on me physically, emotionally, and not to mention financially.