#so Always Do Test Prints First™

[egophiliac]

hey so I know you said art for personal use is okay but i was curious as to if you would be okay with me printing out your art 😭 i need things on my walls in my dorm and ive been obsessed with your unique magic series since you posted them lol. totally ok if not!

oh yeah, that's absolutely fine, thank you! ❤️❤️❤️ and if you're after the UM posters specifically, I put up higher-res versions of them here so they should print pretty nicely! :>

[junodiagnostics]

LGBTQIA+ Parenthood: Our Pregnancy And Twin Journey

My name is Sarah, and my wife (Cindy) and I are having twins soon- a boy and girl! We’re so excited to meet our littles and have loved having Juno as a part of that process. So here we are, sharing our twin journey with you! From IVF to the Juno Birch™ test!

Introduction: Sarah and Cindy's excitement about the future

From a young age, I always wanted to be a mom. As a kid, I loved playing the mom, and I have always known that it was something I wanted to be. So, when Cindy and I first started dating, it was something that I brought up pretty early on. Cindy hadn’t really thought about having kids but was on board with the idea of one day having a family together.

Embracing motherhood: Sarah's desire to be a mom and Cindy's journey towards parenthood

When we got married in 2020, we started talking about what growing our family would look like, and ultimately we decided to start the process to try and pursue adoption through foster care. After we went through a very rough, failed adoption, we decided to switch gears and start trying to have a biological child.

Choosing the carrier: How Sarah's pregnancy dream became a reality

Deciding who would carry our baby was a very easy decision for us, as I had always wanted to experience pregnancy, and Cindy did not! Luckily for us, when we didn’t have anything but support from our family, friends, and LGBTQ+ community about our decision. Cindy is an only child, and I’m the eldest, so our baby would be the first grandchild, and both sides of our family were instantly excited about the idea. They had also seen the foster care adoption process's impact on us (and them), and everyone involved was and is very excited about the idea of us having our own baby.

The next step: Exploring options for creating a baby with two women

So, after deciding who the carrier would be, we moved on to the next important thing to figure out: how to create a baby with two women.

Overcoming challenges: From home insemination to exploring IVF

We decided to try home insemination first, mainly because it was so much cheaper than doing anything else fertility related. But we needed to find and select the perfect sperm donor. This was one of the most fun parts of our pregnancy journey! We spent about a week pouring over all the donors on the sperm bank website before we ultimately made our decision. We looked at everyone’s medical history, but the thing that stuck out most to us about the donor we chose was that he had an amazing “staff impression!” We loved the idea of our donor being a warm, kind person- and while I know that doesn’t necessarily transfer over to our kids, it was a big part of our decision.

Discrimination in fertility coverage: Navigating insurance hurdles

After tracking my cycle consistently and trying home insemination a few times, we realized we weren’t catching my ovulation. So, we switched gears and decided to look into IVF. When we first started looking into IVF, we were so excited to see that my insurance would help cover some of the procedures! But our excitement was very short-lived because when we looked at the fine print, we realized that my insurance specifically said it would only help with the costs if we were a heterosexual couple.

This was so disheartening. We realized that if we wanted to go through a fertility clinic, we would have to pay out of pocket. It was so frustrating to know that if we were a man + woman seeking to do this, we would have so much covered, and it was really the first time we had experienced discrimination like this. Since there wasn’t anything we could do about that part of things, we went forward with figuring things out on our own and luckily managed to find a low-cost clinic in NYC. With the much-appreciated help and support of all of our family, we were able to pack up our bags and begin our IVF journey!

Grateful for support: Our LGBTQ+ community and family

We are so thankful that our community was and is so happy for us. Having a baby as an LGBTQ+ couple is not easy, and I think there is a lot of support and love for everyone that has gone through, is going, and might go through this process. I recognize that not everyone has a supportive family or community, and we feel very lucky to have both.

Come back for part two, where we’ll be talking about finding out the sex of our babies and Juno’s part in that process! Important Juno Community Update: Sarah and Cindy have since welcomed little August and Avery to the world! To show your support and get all the latest updates on the Metzger family, give them a follow: @sarahandcindy

Please be aware: JunoDx.com and the materials and information it contains are not intended to be and do not constitute medical advice, other health advice, or diagnosis. Do not use JunoDx.com or the materials and information published at JunoDx.com as a substitute for medical care and treatment. You should always consult with a qualified physician or healthcare provider about your specific circumstances.