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

If you have been listening to this podcast you know that I have been excited to introduce you to two incredible Canadians, Jen and Shawnee Kish. They joined me today to share their family creation story and explain how they made the decisions that they made on their path to becoming parents. 

You can learn more about these Canadian icons by following them on social media. You can find Shawnee on TikTok & Instagram @shawneekish  You can find Jen on Instagram @jen_kish. And sweet Harley has her own Instagram channel @harleykish

Full disclosure, not only have I been a fan of mombian.com and it’s creator, Dana Rudolph for two decades, but I also love chatting with both Dana and her wife Helen about women’s sports and specifically the PWHL. 

Today I share with you my chat with both of them. We talked about their family creation journey, and about choosing a donor. We also discussed the evolution of mombian.com (IG: @mombian) and coming to a place in the world where we acknowledge how far we have come even when we know there is a vast distance yet to go. 

Bios for both:

Dana Rudolph (she/her) is founder and publisher of the two-time GLAAD Media Award-winning blog Mombian, which since 2005 has offered lesbian moms and other LGBTQ parents a mix of news, opinions, resources, and more. It includes a growing database of over 1,700 books for and about LGBTQ families. 

Helen Maynard (she/her), Dana's spouse, is a retired semiconductor engineer who now spends her free time 3D printing. Helen and Dana have been together almost 32 years and have a son in college.

Rebecca Nayak is many things; a mom, a step parent, a coparent, a lawyer. Today we have a chance to learn from her about some of the legal framework as it exists for Queer parents in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She offers insight into questions hopeful, expectant, and new parents may want to ask their own legal teams as they navigate family creation.

You can learn more about Becca by emailing her at: [email protected]

Or finding her through her  law firm:https://www.hangley.com

Other resources Becca made note of include:https://adoptionart.org/find-an-attorney/attorney-directory/#!directory/map/ord=rnd andhttps://lgbtqbar.org/programs/member-practice-area-groups/family-law-institute/family-law-attorney-directory/

When you ask Mathew Boudreaux how he feels about being a parent to 11 year old Helena, you can feel the excitement through the screen.

Their journey to family creation came by way of public adoption. It was not a traditional way along that pathway though and it was intriguing to hear Mathew lay out all that transpired to allow them to be the family they are today.

You may also know Mathew as @mxdomestic. They have a HUGE social media following for doing what they love to do . . . sewing, crocheting, weaving, quilting and they educate the world as to some of the techniques to massage your hidden talents!

It’s true that Ben Ptashinsky-Skinner is likely best known for his acting and comedic prowess but for the last 7 years he has shifted his focus to be dad to Charlotte.

Ben and his husband Aaron adopted Charlotte by way of public adoption. They had considered all of the options available to them, as ways of building their family, and adoption felt like the path the resonated most. 

We were also able to spend some time talking about “blue circles” and he helped to debunk the idea that just because one resides in a state that is perceived, from the outside, as being intolerant, it doesn’t mean it is the lived experience of Queer parents in that state. It is always refreshing to be educated and encouraged to think outside of our expected boundaries.

You can learn more about Ben by following him @equityben

One of the most entertaining and engaging facts about chatting with Sa’iyda Shabazz is that you never know where the conversation will go but you DO know that you will love every second of it!

Today we chat about coming into one’s own sexuality after becoming a parent as well as then navigating the world of parenting during times of huge international upheaval and turmoil.

You can learn more about Sa’iyda by reading her writing on https://www.autostraddle.com and https://substack.com/@saiydashabazz

She is also on IG @xoxsai and Bluesky

Today I have the opportunity to introduce you to Calvin Ozzi. We know a little bit about Calvin's current living arrangements and family dynamics from the conversation I had with his spouse Dr. Jeni Wahlig in season two.

This time we dive into Calvin's family creation story from before he partnered with Jeni. He talks about his relationship with his ex-wife and stepping into the role of bonus parent to his stepson 15 years ago. We follow that with conversation about his own egg retrieval and his reciprocal IVF path with his ex-wife which resulted in a singleton birth followed, two years later,by twins. 

Now Calvin is sharing his gift even further by allowing families to adopt his embryos so they can carry a child of their own through the organization: Embryo Connections (https://www.embryoconnections.org).

I found my conversation with this relationship coach who works alongside his spouse to be engaging, fun and dynamic.

You can learn more about the work that he and Jeni do through their business, https://www.powerfulove.com

Follow him on IG & FB @osilical 

He's a fantastic conversationalist so it was easy to slide into an informative and educational discussion about family creation with Christopher Katis.

Christopher isn't new to the parenting process. He and his husband Kelly have two adult sons. That said, his lived experience in creating his family with his husband is remarkably familiar. 

He is also an author and he has been writing the “Whose Your Daddy” column for QSaltLake.com for years.

You can learn more about Christopher and his family by following him @christokatis

I promise I didn't spend the whole time fan-girling . . . but I wanted to. 

I am extremely honoured to be able to speak with the brains behind the outstanding movie, “The Mattachine Family,” writer Danny and director  Andy. The Vallentines.

If ever there was a movie that highlighted some of the honest and raw emotions that surround Queer family creation, this is it. It is a major motion picture and it has done the Film Festival circuit. You want to see it!

Our conversation wasn't only about the work that they do. In fact, the first half of our conversation was about how the two of them created their family together, as it is so far.

To learn more about the Vallentines, you can find them on social media: @Andyvallentine & @dkishvallentine

Watch their masterpiece: The Mattachine Family - Apple TV (CA)Apple TVhttps://tv.apple.com › movie › the-mattachine-family

I can't believe that we are standing on the precipice of Season 3 after over 80 episodes have been released to date.

On "becoming babyREADY" we talk about the best parts of life - even when there are struggles - as they relate to our Queer families and our Queer family planning and creation.

This year I will introduce you to both new and seasoned parents as well as professionals who help make these families happen.

Are you someone I NEED to connect with? Do you know parents or professionals who would be a PERFECT fit to be guests? Let me know: [email protected]