PRIDE MONTH FAMILY SPOTLIGHT: MEET THE DADS BEHIND @TWODAPPERDADS

June is a special month for our brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ+ community. For Pride 2021, we celebrate and spotlight stories of families that are created with love and, in many cases, frozen donor egg, just like the dads behind @twodapperdads. We had a chance to catch up with this amazing donor egg family. Meet Justin and Chris Michael, and little guy, Elijah hailing from St. Louis, MO! ​

Dads: Justin & Chris ​

Kiddo: Elijah ​

Location: St. Louis, MO ​

Follow their story on Instagram: @TwoDapperDads 

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Q: Why is sharing your story openly on social media so important to your family? ​

A: As gay men, a lot of our life was spent internalizing feelings and actions. There were times in both of our lives where we were not able to be our authentic selves. Today, we live open and authentic, and we love every part of life! We share our story to show others that living open and authentic is beautiful and matched with a ton of support from other members of our community and beyond. Additionally, LGBTQ+ parenting through surrogacy is new in the grand scheme of things. By sharing our story and our adventures, we hope to “normalize” the fact that families come in so many different forms. ​

Q: Who inspires you as a parent? And Why? ​

A: Parenting is a very personal experience. What works for one family may not work for another. We take inspiration from our parents, other friends and family in our lives, as well as our IG friends. Anyone who parents with love as their main focus is an inspiration to us! ​

Q: What advice do you have for other parents-to-be that are now on a similar journey to yours? ​

A: The path to parenthood is quite an experience, especially for members of the LGBTQ+ community. There are many hurdles to jump throughout the journey and there will be times of stress. However, as long as you go into the journey with an open and positive mind, it is an enlightening experience. ​

Q: What would you like people to know about your journey to parenthood? ​

A: Our journey was supported by our amazing family. There are other families that will chart their path to parenthood without any support. The only thing that truly matters is that you chose love as your motivator. Our path to parenthood was full of emotion, excitement, fun, stress and everything in between, but the end result has been the best thing in our life. Our son makes every day amazing.