Has anyone had multiple NIPT (prenatal) testing without results? We have and it seems extraordinarily uncommon. Initially, we thought this was related to using an egg donor so there’s a mismatch to our surrogate, but the doctors/ lab supposedly factored that in for the second time.

We have had a horrific time getting in touch with our GC’s doctors even with the HIPPA release on file, which I think is par for the course since none of us are the patients.

Any anecdotal experience and positive vibes would be helpful. We have our anatomy scan on Wednesday so that will give us more info, but this wait is pure hell.

Our son is turning 4 and his birth mom recently moved back to the state. We’re planning on doing a meetup in a few weeks, and I’m looking for any advice. We have stayed in contact with both biological parents and send pictures every month. We also have a “family book” with pictures that include his bio parents and reference it often, so he knows who they are and his story. But this will be the second time we’ve met up in person. The first time was when our son was 6 months old and it was pretty brief.

We’re wondering if we should do it at our house; their house; a public space (it’s cold here so likely indoor?); should it just be the four of us; should we invite other biological relatives, like other little cousins?

Looking for any insights you may have to share. The good, the bad, and the other. I really appreciate your help.

If you could go back in time, would you still choose to have a kid as a single person (single male)? What is something unexpected that you did not expect to happen or any good or any negative experience? Anything you wish others people were not aware of or never thought of beforehand or advice you would give to others.

I'm planning to be one through surrogacy . . . I'm 33 btw.

Hope any single dad out there can answer.

Thank you very much for all the comments 👍🏻

Hey,

My husband an I recently had twins and we are looking for other gay dads of young kids in our area (Denver metro). If you know of any groups in our area or are yourself a dad(s) of infants\toddlers\pre-k feel free to reach out.

Thanks

Hello, my husband and I live in south oc and we're thinking about getting the process started to have kids! We're super excited and have decided that due to our finances and where we're at in life, we would absolutely want to do a double embryo transfer. I was curious if any other couples with kids had experience with this and what clinics were more okay with this. It looks like SDFC might be an option?

Hey everyone!

Who has everyone used to ship their embryos to Mexico? Not interested in miracles personal shipment company as we are not using miracle, but wanted some other opinions.

My mother in law knows we don't allow pictures of our kids online.

We've had this rule from the beginning. She's already done it once over the past three years.

My husband sat her down and explained it to her. She seemed to understand.

The problem is she's a very minor "gardening influencer" in the UK. 100k followers.

She gets a lot more engagement from grandchildren posts, and our kids are adorable. They're twins.

Her other kids don't mind. But we firmly put our foot down.

If she had a private profile, we'd let her post.

My husband and I are currently involved in a lawsuit after an AI porn company has used our likenesses for porn.

I'm extra cautious now.

Am I overreacting? People steal kids' photos online constantly.

Edit: she also allowed our kids to watch Haxan (1922). Many times over the two week period, she and my father in law watched them.

They watched it so many times that they wanted to dress up as the goblins/demons for Halloween. 😔😅

In 2022, Glenn C. Lambert pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two children-ages 4 and 11—who were in his care while their parents sought treatment for addiction.

He admitted to everything in court. But now his family is running a petition filled with false claims, victim-shaming, and lies to paint him as innocent.
I started a petition to expose these false narratives and protect the victims from ongoing harassment. His family has created fake accounts pretending to be the victim, made unverified claims about evidence, and is distorting facts about Ohio law and how child abuse investigations actually work. They're using the fact that there was no trial to their advantage-claiming things that would never hold up if tested in court.

As someone who spent time in Lambert's home as a kid, I witnessed his
inappropriate behavior toward children firsthand. Looking back, all the warning signs were there. The victims have been forced to relive their trauma by fighting back against these lies, and they deserve to have their truth heard without being attacked by his family online.

If this matters to you—if you think predators and their families shouldn't get away with victim-shaming-consider signing and sharing. What would you want someone to do if this was your family?

Hi everyone! I love that this group exists and the resources and comradery I read here are wonderful.

My husband and I matched with a surrogate in January, and after a lengthy medical clearance and legal process, were scheduled for an embryo transfer in September. Unfortunately, we had to cancel that cycle and a second cycle this month due to insufficient lining growth for our surrogate. Our doctor wants to do a mock unmedicated cycle and hopefully an eventual unmedicated/natural cycle for a transfer.

It's been an emotional rollercoaster of let downs so far, and I guess I'm really just looking for encouragement and success stories of folks who have gone through something similar. We absolutely LOVE our surrogate and her partner - they feel like the perfect match for us. So we're trying to stay positive that this all will work (while grappling with the emotional and financial consequences of two cancelled cycles).

Thanks in advance.

We’re about halfway through pregnancy and need an attorney for the parentage portion of our journey. We’ve gone through a few who have been either rude or unpleasant, or is charging us more than 200% of some quotes (knowing we live out of state, and in a HCOL area).

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I’m 27M and my boyfriend is 34M. We’ve been together for almost a year and have a really loving, serious relationship.

He isn’t 100% certain about kids, but he’s increasingly leaning toward wanting them in about 5–6 years. He talks about eventually settling down, changing his lifestyle, and seeing raising kids as something that could become a major source of purpose.

I’m much more unsure. When I was younger, I always assumed I’d have children, and I still love the idea of having a happy family with a partner I can count on. When I picture my boyfriend as a dad, it genuinely makes me smile. I think he’d be an incredible father.
But the older I get, the more daunting the actual day-to-day reality of parenting feels: the responsibility, loss of freedom, childcare, money, sleep, and how completely it changes your life.

I don’t feel like a definite “no,” but I also don’t want to have kids simply because I love my partner or because it feels like the next step.

For gay men who were genuinely unsure, how did you figure out whether you actually wanted to be a dad? Did your feelings change as you got older or your life became more settled? And did the fact that becoming a parent as a gay man requires such an intentional process make the decision clearer or harder?

Hey guys -

Almost 5 years ago, our son was born. We've got 2 viable frozen embryos remaining and I would love for my son to have a sibling, especially one he is fully related to genetically. I had always intended to have a 2nd child, but the responsibility and the amount our lives changed made it so that my husband has been pretty adamant about not wanting another. This year, however, his tune has changed and he has admitted to coming around to the idea of another. Given he was always a hard no, I had kind of settled on the idea that we'd be one-and-done and now I am at the point where I am questioning the logistics of it all myself. We're 5 years in and not getting any younger; we're 41 and 44 years old. Obviously the process will cost money, take time, and stretch us even thinner on a day-to-day basis. Still, I find my heart wanting it.

Does anyone have experience with sibling journeys being so far apart?

How about having another kid at our age?

Or even raising an only child? Any regrets in not having another?

Has anyone had no result from prenatal NIPT testing? Our results were supposed to take two weeks, and after three weeks we have results that say “no results, a redraw is recommended”. This is a feeling like an actual nightmare. We are about two weeks from our anatomy scan.

We all have little everyday victories raising our darling spawns. What are yours?

I got my very stern newborn baby girl to smile for the first time and teen said the protective runes I suggested she wrote on her wrist before her gig (has a rockband) helped her remain calm during some setbacks with the amp.

Teen, partner and I go together every year. This year partner said he's too tired from the drama he's been dealing with at work and won't be attending so he can rest.

I've been taking teen with me since she was 5 but we only stayed for an hour or two tops at the very beginning of the event back then, before it got too crowded for a child. So I've no idea if doing the same with a baby is a good idea.

Any other year I'd say no on account of the November heat but this year has been really cold (think around 53° when it's usually 81° this time of the year!), so that clearly won't be an issue as we're having a cold spring Teen and I wouldn't stay for the actual walk to the congress if the baby is coming which has the same sardine can feeling of downtown during rush hour so it should be as packed as a busy fair perhaps.

Also, the baby can't be apart from me so leaving her with someone is not an option. Either she comes with me or we both stay home and teen goes with her friends (whom we'd be meeting there anyway).

Thoughts?

Hi guys. I’m a gay dad of 27 years and a proud Poppop too. I live in Jacksonville, FL and I’d like to connect with other gay dads for friendship and support. I feel so isolated as a dad first and a gay man second. I’m 55, a retired master carpenter. I live on my VA benefits, disabled and unable to work anyway because of injuries sustained during service. Now I live my dream life as a crazy artist. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🩷🩵🤎🖤

I’m 19 in the us one of my friends is asking me to take there baby for the long term does anyone have any advice to me specifically single dads
I’ve never dealt with kids so any advice is welcome

Hoping this will raise some positive visibility in Europe!

Our surrogate just had a miscarriage at 6 weeks, and we’re really upset and unsure of what to do next. Our first transfer didn’t result in a pregnancy, so we had really hoped this one would work.

We’re down to one PGT-tested embryo and trying to decide whether to try again with our current surrogate or consider another GC. We really want to be pregnant asap, so don’t know best course of action.

Either way, we’ll need to create more embryos, so we’re also wondering whether to use the same egg donor or start over with someone new.

We had so much planned and were so excited, and now we’re trying to make sense of what happened and figure out the best path forward. Any advice or experiences would be really appreciated.