Modern science is truly a marvel to behold. Continuous advances in all fields improve our lives every day, and perhaps nowhere is that improvement recognized more than in the field of medicine.
Doctors and scientists are forever finding new ways to cure or remedy diseases, as well as making leaps when it comes to ensuring the continuation of our own species.
Just ask two dads from London, who get to thank medicine for allowing them both to simultaneously boast being biological parents of the same twins at the same time. Simon and Graeme Berney-Edwards would have been forgiven for expecting that only one of them would be able to provide sperm with which to be implanted into an egg via vitro fertilization.
You can imagine their surprise, then, when doctors told them this wasn’t the case; that they could both be fathers whilst impregnating the same woman.
According to the Daily Mail, Simon and Graeme’s journey began when they started to investigate the idea of surrogacy in their home country of England.
It wasn’t long, however, before they ran into certain obstacles. First and foremost, it can take up to six months to get parental order to change the baby’s parent from the birth mother to someone else once the baby has been delivered.
Simon and Graeme thus turned to the process of trying to find a way they could legally be parents on their child’s birth certificate from the moment he or she was born. They looked to Canada, and in doing so found a mother of two, Meg Stone, would completely change their lives.
As Meg explains: “I saw Simon and Graeme’s profile on a surrogacy website and I thought they had lovely smiles.
“I had recently split with my partner and I wasn’t ready for another baby, so I wanted to help someone.”
With Meg onboard when it came to being their surrogate, the men decided to use an egg donor to add the final piece of their puzzle. They flew out to Los Angeles in the belief that only one of their sperm samples would be used to fertilize the egg.
“We couldn’t decide on who would be the biological father. Graeme said it should be me, but I said that he had just as much right as I did,” Simon recalled.
It was when they got to LA, though, that their doctor surprised them with a truly great answer.
“When we spoke to the doctor at the clinic, he stunned us with his reply. He told us that it could be both of us. They said that we could have half the embryos fertilized with my sperm and then half with Graeme’s sperm,” Simon said.
Simon and Graeme got married soon after, and opted to take their honeymoon in Canada so they could meet their surrogate.
“We were nervous at the beginning — in case that we didn’t click with her. But we needn’t have worried,” Simon explained.
“Meeting Meg was like being reunited with a long-lost sister. She wrapped us both in a hug before introducing us to her adorable boys. We didn’t how to thank her. We told her we were so grateful to her — she was changing not only our lives but our families too.”
The insertion
Just six months later, one fertilized embryo from each of the men was inserted into Meg’s womb. From there it was a rocky road filled with uncertainty, right up until Meg called Simon and Graeme and told them she was pregnant. They wouldn’t know if both embryos had taken for a few weeks, however.
As Simon described: “[Meg] FaceTimed us from the scanning room. First of all, we saw one heartbeat, and our stomach clenched with nerves.
“Then we saw the other heartbeat. Graeme and I just hugged each other. We were just over the moon. We were both going to be dads — she was pregnant with both of our babies.”
The couple and Meg kept in regular contact throughout the pregnancy, while Simon and Graeme traveled to Canada to be with the surrogate for her 19-week scan.
It was at this scan that they were able to put their hands on Meg’s stomach and feel their babies kicking.
“We got to meet her family, too, which was lovely. It was great to see her being a mom to her children. We knew that our babies were in the best possible hands,” Simon said.
The couple flew out to Canada again at 31 weeks, after Meg had sent them a message telling them she was in pain and thought she was going into labor.
Close call
“We packed our stuff and caught the first flight out to Canada,” Simon said. “But while we were in the air we couldn’t contact Meg to find out what was happening. The wait was agonizing.”
In the end, though, it turned out to be a false alarm. Even so, Simon and Graeme stayed in Canada until 36 weeks, when Meg was ready to give birth. Their daughter, Alexandra, was born first, followed by their son, Calder, a few minutes later.
Simon remembers: “When we both held them for the first time, we couldn’t believe that we were both daddies. It was a long way to go and do this, but it was worth it to both be able to have fathered one of the twins each.”
Though the twins are technically half-siblings, they’re still classified as twins. They’re now living safely and soundly at home in England, and Simon and Graeme invited Meg to visit on their first birthdays.
“It was incredibly special having her there to celebrate the twins special day with us. It’s hard work having two babies, but Graeme and I are loving every minute of it.”
Their journey was long and unconventional, but Simon and Graeme are now loving parents to a little girl and a little boy. Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine they were able to do something that even ten years ago may have been completely impossible.
True love has no color, no creed, no sex. It is recognized by those who are willing to accept it and give their all, which Simon and Graeme truly are. We’re so happy their kids will grow up in a happy family!
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