becoming babyREADY with Sam Leeson - All About Queer Family Planning & Creation

Many people in the Queer community assume that they will not struggle with conceiving as long as they have the gametes needed to create a foetus. The reality of the situation is that Queer individuals are no more exempt from fertility challenges than their cisgender, heterosexual peers.

Today I have the opportunity to speak with Katherine Kent about the entire journey she and her wife have been on to create the family they have.

We talk about insurance and cost and benefits and emotional struggles. We discuss honestly the need to find a therapist that aligns with you and Support to the way you need to be supported. That is also true for your care team.

To learn more about Katherine and her beautiful family you can follow them on Instagram @two_mama_bears

When we decide to create a family with a partner many of us assume that we are with our forever love and that our relationship will last forever. Statistics and reality often remind us that that may not be the case.

Today I have the gift of speaking with Ali Hendry of www.alihendry.co.uk about the 4 year journey she and her ex-wife embarked upon to create their family, the ending of that relationship and the value of having a respectful and open co-parenting relationship moving forward.

To learn more about Ali and to follow her on Instagram, please find her @alihendrycoaching 

Unfortunately, the reality of life is that for some people creating a family isn’t easy. 

Today the conversation I have with Ginny Gane is very different than other episodes I have recorded so far. For them, when they started to discuss family creation, there were two uteruses in the relationship however, only Ginny wanted to carry. 

So what if that doesn't work? What if IUI, IVF, etc don’t work and adoption or surrogacy is the only alternative? How do we navigate our feelings and come to terms with the cards that life has dealt us?

You can learn more about Ginny through her website: www.ginnygane.com and on Instagram @ginnygane

We hear people talk about the ways that pregnancy, labour and birth can be different for everyone but one of the most fun ways to talk about that is when there are two people, each with a uterus, from the same family telling their stories.

Today I am speaking with Mariah and Solicia about how each of them were able to carry and birth a child - with the help of a friend who was their known donor, giving them the family they have today.

To learn more about Mariah’s doula work, please find her on Instagram @mariahalbanstoft. Please also consider supporting queer youth in Santa Rosa by following LGBTQ Connection Sonoma @lgbtqsonoma 

The reasons we decide to create our families the way that we do is as varied as the people making these families. Today I have the chance to introduce you to a new mom (names and locations are being withheld to maintain safety for my guests) who chats about how she and her husband, a tradesman, made the choices they did.

They navigated PCOS, a private donor and a challenging pregnancy to become the family of three that they are today.

To learn more about this family, you can follow them on Instagram @familyplansandtrans

The ovulation prediction sensor mentioned can be found at https://www.ovusense.com/

The app that they located sperm with is called: "Just A Baby: Become a Parent"

Please note that babyREADY does not specifically endorse the use of either Ovusense or the Just A Baby app.

With almost 2 years under the "becoming babyREADY," belt, it felt right to pause for a moment, and just highlight exactly how the show got started and some of the kinds of stories we've celebrated. 

On the show today, I take a few minutes to talk not only about all of this but also about the in person event that will be happening next June 2025.

I know I am lucky to be able to do the work that I do and connect with the people that I connect with. Each and every conversation I have had honour to have has been a genuine gift to me.

I invite you to share this podcast with anyone you know who may be thinking about starting or growing a family in the not-too-distant future.

One of the biggest challenges for Queer parents is finding a network and community of Queer peers who have families that look like yours. Chandra didn’t have that  network so she created it.

Today I have the chance to introduce you to Chandra Claybon, the founder of the Lesbian Mom’s Club. 

We talk about the founding of this organization, but we also talked about all three of her children and how she came to be their parent, as well as the book that she and her four-year-old collaborated on. 

To learn more about Chandra find her on IG @lesbianmomsclub

Her organization website is: https://www.lesbianmomsclub.org

And look for this book!: “Through The Lens of Rainbow,” by Chandra Claybon

Throughout my conversation with Julia and Ali, there were moments of laughter and levity, as well as moments of true seriousness as they share their story of family creation. 

We talked about rules and laws in various parts of the world. We talked about midwifery care and doula support. We talked about homebirth and hospital birth. And more than anything we discussed that every human has the right to do what works best for them, their body and their family as they navigate the journey to parenthood. 

This was truly one of the most enjoyable conversations I have had creating this podcast.

Oh, and even though I have been in this industry for over 25 years, I had the chance to learn something new.

You can follow Julia on IG @whoruntheworldsquirrels

When you set out on your journey to create a family, you don't always immediately take into consideration where it is that you live. What are the rules and regulations in the part of the country where you live? What are the expectations?

Today I have the chance to introduce you to JaneiJackson and we talk about the journey that she and her wife (Takiya) embarked upon; using IUI for the first pregnancy and RVF for the second. Sometimes you will hear their sweet son(Blake’s) voice in the background.

We discussed the difficulties and finding black donors and some of the potential reasons for that. We also talk about CNY Fertility. They're an organization based in the US and they work hard to ensure that fertility has the potential to be affordable for all. https://www.cnyfertility.com

You can learn more about Janei by following her on Instagram @sayhey_mrsjackson

Sometimes when you come out later in life, you have already experienced things like having a family that potentially your new partner hasn’t had the opportunity to enjoy. So what do you do? 

If you are David Miller, then you start the journey with your new love, and you plot out, of course, to create a new life through surrogacy. Today I have the opportunity to share and Dave’s story with you about how their son Miller came to them.

Learn more about David and Dave follow them on Instagram @2davesandababy