It was crucial that we experience this together.

Ask Florida couple Cassandre and Faith Rich, who wanted to carry each other’s biological child and have the infants delivered within a few days of each other, how much planning and luck it takes to coordinate a miracle birth.

Cassandre, 31, tells the media, “I asked [Faith] what she wanted for her birthday, and she looked me dead in the face and said she wanted a kid. “We started considering ideas and moving toward making it happen. It was crucial that we experience this together.

The Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine’s physician gave the Jacksonville couple advice to lower their expectations.

Dr. Teresa Erb explains, “This is the first couple I’ve had that wanted to get pregnant and give birth at the same time. We warned them that things might not go as planned. But both transfers were successful, and they both gave birth at different times. They were adamant. And it succeeded.

March 24, 2023 saw Faith give birth to Audrey Joe, while March 27, 2023 saw Cassandre give birth to Marley Jane.

Cassandre chuckles as she says. “Faith’s family name Joe went to Faith’s genetic baby, and [my] family name Jane went to the genetic baby I was carrying.”

To ensure that there is no doubt that their girls are a part of both parents, they made the decision to carry each other’s kid and switch family names.

The 29-year-old Faith claims, “I got to be able to create a bond with a being that I’m making who may not be genetically mine, but who gave her life.” “And everyone will know that these are and always will be our children.”

The possibility of pregnancy exists in female same-sex relationships, which typically prompts a significant discussion regarding who should become pregnant. In a process known as reciprocal IVF, they can also choose to use their partner’s eggs or their own.

Regardless of the egg-carrying method chosen, these couples require a sperm donor. They have the option of selecting a known donor, who is frequently a friend or cousin of the non-gestational spouse, or an anonymous donor from a sperm bank.

Faith did not want to use a known donor, so the couple decided to use the same anonymous sperm donor for both of their children, creating a biological half-sibling relationship for Audrey Joe and Marley Jane.

Cassandre recalls, “We whittled it down to the physical characteristics we felt would characterize us. We were very lucky to be able to see ourselves and our family when we looked into the faces of our children.

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According to the pair, reciprocal IVF enables the infant to form bonds with both the biological parent and the birth parent. Faith adds that it enables friends and relatives to embrace the children of their marriages as equals.

“My sister does have a son with her ex-wife, and my family said some hateful things,” claims Faith. The simplest solution was to change it up because “I didn’t want any bigotry [with the genetic and non-genetic children].”

They ran into a temporal knot when trying to carry their infants at the same time because it is usual for women to go through numerous cycles before getting pregnant.

Erb chuckles, “If it had just been donor insemination, it would have been so simple. The synchronization of the embryo transfers with their therapies and menstrual cycles required some effort on our side.

But against all odds, they had to overcome the first challenge of becoming pregnant and carrying the baby to term.

Erb informed them that for women under 35, the statistical likelihood of getting pregnant in one cycle using IVF was about 50%. Women’s rates decline as they age since they are born with a fixed quantity of eggs and never produce more. These eggs develop genetic flaws as time goes on.

At their initial consultation on February 1, 2022, Erb informed Faith that due to her fertility concerns, her odds were only about 30%.

“I was devastated,” recalls Faith. They didn’t believe they could recover anything from me because they believed there was only a 30% chance it would even work and I had hardly any eggs. Consequently, the voyage is demanding, but if you have the proper companion, it is worthwhile.

The two initially connected on Tinder in 2016, but Faith ghosted Cassandre because she still needed to work through certain issues and wasn’t prepared for a committed relationship. Fast-forward to six months later, when Cassandre questioned Faith about her silent exit after spotting her at a rock concert. Following Faith’s apology, they both decided to resolve the issue.

“It was kind of just fate,” claims Cassandre. She was pretty clear that she wanted children when we got married in 2020.

Cassandre, who had been married before, had previously shown a little more reluctance to assume the role of mother.

However, after meeting Faith, Cassandre realized there was no one else he could share the biggest adventure of his life—having children—with. “I wanted to be a mother to Faith, not just a mother to myself.”

Cassandre and Faith are examining the challenges of being a same-sex relationship in a place that hasn’t been very accepting now that their girls have arrived.

“Should we remain in Florida? Are we secure here in Florida? Cassandre asks, “I know it sounds dramatic, but do we need an escape route?” Being a member of our community and residing in a hostile state is a very sad and awful reality.

Although Faith’s mother, who is dying of cancer, “supported me growing up, being who I was,” she adds, “the community where I grew up does not feel friendly these days.” Faith grew up in a small town in Florida.

Faith explains, “In my hometown, it got to the point where we couldn’t even go out to dinner at the neighborhood Cracker Barrel.” “It really broke my heart because these are people who know me, and that’s where I grew up.”

Faith, a vet tech, claims she relocated to the Jacksonville region because she felt too uneasy to remain there.

Despite what was taught and how I was raised, y’all are supposed to be my community, but because of who I am and who I love, I can’t live there in safety, says Faith. “I’m not going to introduce our two lovely girls to a world like that,” she said.

Because Cassandre’s coworkers and employer have been so supportive, the couple has been considering moving to Tennessee where she works as a senior project manager.

We are determining what kind of childhood and upbringing we want to offer these daughters, Cassandre claims. Do we relocate to Tennessee and benefit from that support network? We are in a phase of change. We merely wish to provide these girls with everything.