“We were always interested in being parents, and we were very fortunate to go through a surrogacy journey and end up with little Elsie, who's just been a joy in our life and a lot of fun,” says Sam.
“As a rainbow family, we were a bit nervous about things like our antenatal classes and then Plunket. We wondered if it was going to be super traditional and not very responsive to different family groups,” his husband Tyler says.
“But we had an amazing Plunket journey and an amazing nurse. She really approached things in a non-judgmental way and just went that extra mile to think about what might be different in a two-dad family and what our needs would be.
“It was a really person-centred approach – she even suggested other two-dad families that we might like to meet to be able to share some of the challenges. She was really thinking about us.”
Their daughter Elsie is now two and both parents have found Plunket’s Well Child Tamariki Ora appointments and the PlunketLine free 24/7 health-line “super helpful”.
“It was really reassuring to get all of the measurements done and make sure that she was tracking well, to share your challenges in a really non-judgmental environment, to get some tips and tricks and get referred to different services like sleep coaches,” Tyler says.
Having a baby is a stressful experience and you get a lot of advice, Sam adds. “I think as parents it's your job to choose what advice you would like to listen to… the advice coming from Plunket is based on research and science and is very well considered.”
For Sam, his Plunket journey has come full circle.
“Growing up in New Zealand, I was a Plunket baby. I was privileged to be a Trustee on the Plunket Foundation years ago – but always from the perspective of not knowing if I would have kids as a gay man. So, for Tyler and I to have a child and be supported by Plunket – it's been a very special journey.”
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Ellise's story
