When she was first on the podcast back in December of 2018, Valentina D'Alessandro had only been in the U.S. for three years, and had been married to her wife Cynthia for just under two. What we did *not* reveal during that episode was the fact that she and Cynthia had also spent the past year trying for a baby. At that point, they were still hopeful, despite a number of emotional, biological, and financial hurdles that they'd already encountered. But after five years of trying absolutely everything they could to conceive, they were forced to come to terms with the fact that it was not meant to be. Valentina shares all aspects of the emotional rollercoaster she's been on for half a decade, and how the grief of infertility led her and Cynthia down the path of fostering. This episode is a beautiful and candid look at what it means to become a family, and we are so grateful to Valentina for sharing such an intimate part of her life.

Check out the *fantastic* resource Valentina has created (plus adorable pictures) at @queerfosterfam on Instagram!