 Welcome back to How I Parent, where we get a glimpse into how the nation is raising their kids. This week we are speaking with married couple Stuart Armfield, 39, and Francis Haugen, 36, from Beaconsfield, who used a surrogate to have their son, Rio, who is almost two. The pair felt it was important that Rio drank breastmilk, and so they went to great lengths to ensure he had a steady supply. 'We managed to give him only donated breast milk for the first four months of his life,' Stuart tells Metro.co.uk. After meeting over 13 years ago at a friend's party, Stuart and Francis fell in love quickly, and say they soon discussed their future together. They wanted a family – even making a vision board for their future – but had no idea how to make their dreams a reality. They met at drama school and instantly knew they were going to be together ( (Photo: S&F)) 'Gay marriage wasn't even legal then when we met back in 2010,' shares Stuart. 'We didn't grow up in a world where having kids as a gay man felt possible.' Stuart says that in 2018, they started to 'look into options' but it was 'very overwhelming.' 'We didn't know where to begin or how much it would cost,' he says. They started looking for a surrogate in the US but found one a lot closer to home(Photo: S&F) Then, when the pandemic hit in 2020, the pair had time to look into things more seriously. 'In 2020, our vision board was still the same, but we were no further in the process,' says Stuart. 'So, we sat around the house reconsidering what we wanted in life and decided that it was the perfect time to start trying to have a family.' The pair began looking into surrogacy and egg donation – they knew that they wanted the donor to be a stranger, rather than feeling like they were 'sharing' their child with a friend. Documenting their journey online has inspired others looking at surrogacy(Photo: S&F) They w){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Welcome back to How I Parent, where we get a glimpse into how the nation is raising their kids.
This week we are speaking with married couple Stuart Armfield, 39, and Francis Haugen, 36, from Beaconsfield, who used a surrogate to have their son, Rio, who is almost two.
The pair felt it was important that Rio drank breastmilk, and so they went to great lengths to ensure he had a steady supply.
‘We managed to give him only donated breast milk for the first four months of his life,’ Stuart tells Metro.co.uk.