Terry 
Finnegan and Selina Evans seemed to everyone in their childbirth classes to be a normal couple. But there were a few things their fellow expectant parents didn't know: like, Terry is gay and the two met online because they each wanted kids and weren't sure how it was going to happen (Selina was divorced and didn't want to be a single mom). They became close friends, drew up a "baby contract," Selina used a "donation" from Terry to inseminate, and now they are ecstatic new parents, talking about moving in together, but needing to get a place large enough to have their own rooms.
It was fun to read about, but honestly, I'm not even sure why an arrangement like this is news any more. Quads made up of two gay men and two lesbians have been doing versions
of this for years. I knew a straight man who was not only the donor but
also the active father for his queer best friends' kids. Parents who
have fallen out of love/lust but are still friends raise kids together
all the time.
After all, why do you need to be sleeping with someone to parent with them?
Most of the worries that are raised are so weak as to be laughable: "Some day Isabella will ask why mummy and daddy sleep in different bedrooms." Oh my. Please let all children never have to ask anything more troubling than that.
Even the idea that some day they would each find romantic partners and she might have three dads is a bit ho-hum. Like, um, umptyskillion children of divorce everywhere? Except without the breaking apart of the family first? And with a written contract that stipulates responsibilities and priorities? It would be a change, true, but its effects would all be in the handling. (It should be noted also that they are both very clear on putting the kid and their role as parents first and not intending to introduce step-parents to the mix even if they date.)
Yes, of course there will be oddities and challenges. There are in every family. Such an arrangement wouldn't be for everybody. But as far as I can tell the most abnormal thing about these two is they have a five-month-old and didn't mention sleep deprivation once.
(Hat-tip Proud Parenting.)
More by this author:
