Enrique and Mason have been together for 25 years.
“We decided to get married in October, 2008, ahead of the election since Prop 8 was on the ballot! We have been together for 25 years and decided to have children in 2014. That finally became a reality in 2018.”
Enrique works as a marketing executive and Mason is an architect specializing in themed entertainment, such as amusement parks. (Editor’s note: How cool is that?!)
“We had always contemplated having kids, but it seemed too challenging and, at times, not possible. However, the world is a different place now, and we met other gay dads that helped guide our way forward.”
Once the couple began to seriously consider their parenthood options, they landed on surrogacy. “We always wanted to have our own biological offspring. We did consider adoption at one point, but at the time we lived overseas (in Asia) and adoption was a much more complex journey that didn’t seem viable for us. Our surrogacy process started out rough and ended beautifully.”
Their surrogacy journey started out in Southern California and Mexico, but after a tumultuous path filled with legal hurdles and setbacks that had significant financial impacts, the dads decided to press the brakes for a few years. (Editor’s note: This is an example of why it’s so important that you work with the best family-building partners, and GWK Academy can definitely help with that!)
After meeting a pair of gay dads in Singapore, the journey started again. “These dads educated us on their process, introduced us to their surrogacy agency, and we started all over. This time around, we did a lot more research, thoroughly educated ourselves on every aspect of the process, and we were much more diligent in our selection of partners. We ended up working with an incredible surrogacy agency and a phenomenal fertility clinic [both in the United States].”
Ready to start your own surrogacy journey?
On August 24, 2018, these guys officially became dads… to twins.
“Amalia and Sebastian! Being parents to these two little humans has been so incredible and rewarding; they charm us every day and we fall more and more in love with them each passing day.”
The struggles, however, were far from done. “The first few weeks and months were a bit chaotic. After leaving the NICU, we first lived with our parents in WI as our house in MN was being remodeled, and then when our parental leave ended, we moved to an Airbnb and, finally, to a semi-remodeled house. The chaos of not being in our home in addition to the constant learning of how to care for twin infants was overwhelming at times.”
The dads credit their “incredibly supportive family (and amazing nanny)” for helping them to create a lifetime of incredible memories.
As advice for prospective dads, the couple shared this: “Do your research, educate yourselves as much as possible, be very selective on who you work with, get guidance from someone who has done it before, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.”
“Every day brings difficulties. Being new parents means that each day something will come up that we didn’t have previous experience with. All we can do is try our best and hope for the best. We know that in the end it all works out. :)”
