A lesbian couple in New Zealand got a twin surprise when both conceived just weeks apart, even though their initial plan was to have one kid at a time.
After two years of being together, 33-year old Kat Buchanan and her fiance, 31-year old Taryn Cumming– both hailing from Auckland– wanted to start a family by the end of 2020.
New Zealand couple’s pregnancy journey
Fertility tests had informed Buchanan and Cumming that they were both short on eggs and their hormone levels were low. The doctor told them they had to start quickly as it could take 6-12 months to get pregnant.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Cumming said, “IVF is very expensive here. A straight couple can try and conceive at home and if not successful after a year they qualify for public funded IVF.”
“As a lesbian couple that doesn’t count. We would have to have six cycles of IUI at a clinic before qualifying for public funded IVF,” she added.
Currently, IVF in New Zealand costs $10,000. Meanwhile, intrauterine insemination (IUI), when sperm is injected into the uterus via a catheter, is $1,700.
Because of this and a two-year waiting list for sperm donors at the fertility clinic, the two decided to use a Facebook page for sperm and egg donors.
A surprise for the New Zealand couple
Fortunately, they met someone in December they liked and they went through the process. Cumming told New Zealand Herald, “With our low fertility we had no time to waste.”
“We know his medical history as well as family history. He goes for STD checks and his sperm was analysed, and we have a contract in place for his and our protection,” she said.
Cumming’s first artificial insemination attempt didn’t work, so Buchanan took her turn two weeks later. Two weeks after that, Cumming tried it again. That was when they got a surprise.
“We found out Kat was pregnant and a week later to the day we found out I was pregnant,” Cumming said.
Presently, they have four names picked out: Luca and Nate for boys, and Piper and Blake for girls.
What happens when both parents are pregnant?
Cumming said a doctor later told them the chance of both of them conceiving so quickly was like winning the lottery, given their age and fertility levels.
The doctor said that it’s also highly likely that the babies will be born around the same time as women feed off each other’s hormones.
Cumming said they already have a midwife to help them through the process: “She’s a great help, guiding us through this whole process.”
She added that, “It’s a lot to think about, going from this single lifestyle and knowing only the basics about children to oh my God, we’ve got all these things to learn.”
She explained that they picked the same donor for their kids so that they would be genetically related and have “some sort of normalcy to everything.”
“They’ll already have a bit of difficulty with two mums and no dad, so being related and looking quite similar will be really great,” she said.
New Zealand couple takes on the world
The two have set up an Instagram account and Youtube channel to document their experience, called “2 Bumps Same Love.”
“This way I can tell women about our experience with artificial insemination, how we did it, what tools we used, how to find a donor and what questions to ask your donor,” Cumming said.
They also plan to go on maternity leave together. Cumming said, “We’ve both got boobs so we can feed the kids. We’ll probably look at me going back to work after two- to three months.”
They also said they’re not aiming for child support money from the donor, nor going on benefits. She said, “Me and Kat are solely responsible for these children, and we’re the only ones on the birth certificate.”
But she added that while they didn’t plan for this, one of them will always be going to carry on working.
“We’re not doing it for the money thing. It just happened, we’re a normal couple that wanted to have kids and here we are,” she said.