Pushing the pram, my face broke into a grin as I could hear my boys getting excited. Me and my wife, Kirsty, 31, had taken our twin sons, Stanley and Dylan, two, for a day trip to a farm. With me working as an A&E nurse, and Kirsty a paramedic, the different shift hours didn’t always make it easy for us all to enjoy a day out. So this was a treat, especially as the twins loved animals, and we’d just reached their favourites.
‘Goats!’ exclaimed Stanley joyfully. Kirsty and I couldn’t help exchanging wide smiles, it was at times like this that we still couldn’t quite believe that we were parents.
Exploring the options
I first met Kirsty in 2013, through my work at King’s College Hospital in London. We were both passionate about helping people, and family was really important to us. Even early on in our relationship, we discussed how we both wanted to be parents one day. ‘I’m desperate to be a mum,’ I said honestly. As a gay couple, we knew it wouldn’t be a straightforward process, but there were some options we could explore.
Kirsty proposed in August 2014, and we got married in Ibiza surrounded by 55 of our friends and family in September 2015.
Once we returned home, Kirsty and I began to look seriously into having a baby. When I’d studied Midwifery in 2009, I’d learned about ‘shared motherhood’, an option for female couples that uses an anonymous sperm donor to fertilise eggs taken from one woman.Then the other partner carries the baby.
Denne historien er fra October 28, 2019-utgaven av WOMAN'S OWN.
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Denne historien er fra October 28, 2019-utgaven av WOMAN'S OWN.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FAST & THRIFTY DINNERS
Filling family meals to save you time and money
ARE VIRAL FITNESS TRENDS WORTH THE HYPE?
Keen to know if the workouts she sees online can actually make her fitter, Rachel Tompkins, 44, gives them a try
GO OUT OF SEASON
While some European cities seem to go into hibernation over winter, others just get better in the colder months
MY LIFE IN MUSIC
Monica Cafferky, 55, reveals how certain tunes bring back special memories
THE DECISION THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
After trying diets without success, Breanne Concannon, 31, was left feeling hopeless
MY TOY ΒΟΥ KEEPS ME YOUNG
For Trish Hughes, 44, the thrills of being married to a man 20 years younger is worth all the judgement
'THAT'S NOT MY BABY'
Lying in the hospital bed, my husband Michael had tears of happiness in his eyes as he showed me a photo on his phone. 'Here she is,' he said proudly. 'This is our beautiful baby girl.'I stared at the photo and shook my head. 'No, that's not my baby,' I said. 'There must be a mistake.'It was August 2010 and I'd not long before had an emergency caesarean. I'd not had a chance to see Winnie when she arrived as she'd been whisked away for tests because she was nearly two months premature.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Hayley, 45, has her son to thank for crucial evidence
'I'D LOVE TO DO EASTENDERS'
Loose Women's Linda Robson on the daytime show, dating and her next career move
Beckhams INSIDE THEIR PROPERTY EMPIRE
We take a look at the power couple's posh pads
