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June is the perfect time to reflect on how we’re doing with making LGBTQ+ parents feel welcomed in social situations. Whether you’re an ally or part of the rainbow community, there’s always more to think about, learn, and un-learn when it comes to treating queer families with respect.

This time of year traditionally means a break from our regular lives to rest and relax. But for many LGBTQ+ parents and parents-to-be, this is also the time we brace ourselves for dealing with ignorance and intrusive questions. How can queer parents navigate the unique social stress of the holidays? We have some ideas we hope will help.

No matter what holiday(s) your family celebrates, the season can bring heightened emotions, financial or family-related stress, worries about making it magical for your kids, and the pressure to maintain old holiday traditions that may not fit your family anymore. Here are some easy ways to navigate this time of year with maximum joy!

When the ultrasound showed two, healthy, strong heartbeats, the look on my wife’s face was priceless. She turned to our fertility doctor, wondering if he was certain that we were having twins. “Are you sure?” she asked, quickly followed by: “There aren’t any more, are there?”

Photo: The Rathkopfs Dinushka, my now wife, and I met on a dating website over 16 years ago. We got to know each other via phone calls and emails for a month before our first date in 2007. Over email, I first shared with Dinushka that I wanted to have kids. Then, she shared with me that she did not. This is the story of what happened next.

One of the most important relationships you will have on your surrogacy journey is with your gestational carrier, and this complex, layered connection requires good communication and mutually agreed-upon boundaries and expectations. In this blog, a dad of three through surrogacy shares eight things he's learned about building a relationship with this very important member of your family-building circle.

There are many paths to parenthood for LGBTQ+ parents, with some being more stressful and trying than others. Regardless of how you choose to grow your family, it can be challenging to prioritize your mental health and emotional wellness throughout the process. Whether you're adding a child to your family by adopting, going through fertility treatments like IUI or IVF, or working with a gestational carrier (surrogate) to help make your dreams come true, it's common to experience added stress and anxiety at times. Here are some ways to help you maintain balance and emotional wellbeing!

Navigating any surrogacy journey is challenging, but what does it look like to embark on one during a global pandemic? In this blog, new dads Robbie and Mackenzy share what it was like to become parents during the COVID-19 crisis, how they maintained a connection with their gestational carrier long-distance and everything else they learned along the way.

When any parent-to-be embarks on a family-building journey, the last thing they expect is the worst-case scenario. While most families understand there will be bumps in the road, the majority of them emerge from the process relatively unscathed. This is the story of one LGBTQ+ couple's experience growing their family and grieving the loss of the future they imagined.

While each person's path to parenthood may look a little different, there are many common threads - especially for those who go through fertility treatment to bring their babies into the world. Whether you're a member of the LGBTQ+ community or not, choosing to pursue IVF, egg donors, and surrogacy all look very similar. In this blog, we share Julien's story, a surrogacy journey with some surprises (and obstacles) along the way.

There's nothing more rewarding for us here at Gay Parents To Be than being able to stay in touch with the families we help create. Watching babies grow up, seeing new additions join a family, and remembering how far each patient has come...well, it makes us just a little bit emotional (in a good way, of course).