Taking leave from work to welcome a new child isn't easy for a lot of parents — and LGBT families often have to navigate policies that were designed with cisgender, straight couples in mind.
Here's what LGBT parents in the BuzzFeed Community had to share about their experiences taking leave to care for a new child.
1. "We are so, so fortunate to work for large companies that recognize both of us as parents and give us both leave."
2. "Our daughter was our little miracle. It's just ridiculous that one of her mothers got so much time with her and the other so little."
My wife and I used a sperm donor, and we have a 7-month-old daughter. After giving birth I had six weeks of paid maternity leave, then another six weeks of unpaid leave. We then decided that it would be cheaper for me to stay home than to pay for child care.
My wife was not able to get paid leave through her job, despite working with the company for almost three years. She took one week of unpaid leave beginning the day before I had to be induced. It was very hard for me to care for a newborn baby by myself when she went back to work. It was completely unfair that she didn't get any paid maternity leave when it was her child too.
After trying for so long to conceive, our daughter was our little miracle. It's just ridiculous that one of her mothers got so much time with her and the other so little before returning to work.
—Alice, 25, bisexual, works in banking, US (Maine)
3. "I had people at work even tell me I didn't deserve to be tired because I wasn't his 'real' mom."
4. "My employer is a large international company with an LGBT support group and a generous adoption policy. But they were completely thrown by a gay man asking for leave."
We started our family through surrogacy and have a 6-month-old daughter. I took 18 weeks paid adoption leave. It was so important for bonding with my daughter and supporting my partner. I can't imagine how we would have coped otherwise.
My employer is a large international company with an LGBT support group and a generous adoption policy. But they were completely thrown by a gay man asking for leave and were very reluctant to grant it, despite having a policy. I had to threaten legal action.
—Anonymous, gay, works in finance, UK (London)
5. "My premature daughter spent her first month in the NICU. It was upsetting that I had to spend so many hours in the hospital alone while my wife worked every evening."
I have an 11-month-old daughter, conceived the natural way with a trans woman. (Three years on hormones did not affect her fertility.)
I worked in retail while I was pregnant, and my wife works in a restaurant. My job only offered six weeks of leave, so I resigned. My wife wasn't offered anything. She had to call off the day after I gave birth, and it was unpaid.
My premature daughter spent her first month in the NICU. It was upsetting that I had to spend so many hours in the hospital alone while my wife worked every evening. We needed the money, though, and her job didn't care that her family needed her. I resigned right before having my baby because my job didn't understand. I had severe preeclampsia and had my daughter two months early, yet my bosses didn't seem to believe how much pain I was in and still wanted me to work full-time on my feet. I definitely wasn't going to go back.
—Artemis, 24, cis female/queer, US (Buffalo, New York)
6. "It was painful to leave my wife, who was recovering from a C-section, and my new tiny person after seven days."
7. "My wife was not eligible to take any paid parental leave until she adopted our son (financially impossible for us at the time)."
We have five kids, with the first four (ages 11, 9, 8, and 7) coming with us from previous marriages. We had our last child together, who is now 3.
I carried our last baby. My wife was not eligible to take any paid parental leave until she adopted our son (financially impossible for us at the time), and all we could afford was for her to take three weeks of unpaid leave. She had to work extra hours during my pregnancy so we could save enough to be able to afford this.
It negatively affected my wife's bonding with our son, and it caused issues in our marriage. As the at-home parent, I had an extremely hard time being alone with five young children while recovering from giving birth.
Even in a country as liberal and progressive as Canada, there is still much to be done in terms of recognizing the rights of same-sex families. My wife needs to adopt her own child in order to be legally recognized as his parent and to have the same rights to him. It's humiliating, frustrating, and unfair when we are just as valid a family.
—Andi, lesbian, works in education, Canada (British Columbia)
8. "I don't feel our story is that different from heterosexual couples'."
9. "As we all went back to our 9-to-5 schedules, it became very clear just how hard it is to balance all of the appointments and visits a young kiddo needs."
We have one kiddo who we adopted when she was 5. She's 6 (and a half, she'd want us to say) now. I took a month off with partial pay when she joined our family. My partner took six weeks of full pay and could have taken six more unpaid.
Leave was important for both of us to help kiddo settle in. Going back to school and work was also VERY important for us. We were feeling a bit cooped up. But as we all went back to our 9-to-5 schedules, it became very clear just how hard it is to balance all of the appointments and visits a young kiddo needs, especially one new to a family. Figuring out those logistics on top of two full-time jobs was exhausting.
Additionally, we could not find good after-school care for many weeks, forcing kiddo into a program that wasn't a great fit at all. Having more flexible paid time off would have been quite a boon during that difficult time.
—Heron Greenesmith, 34, bisexual/queer, attorney and policy analyst, US (Massachusetts)
10. "In Germany it doesn't matter if you are LGBTQ or not when it comes to parental leave."
My wife had our son using donor sperm. He's 3. We took the first two months after birth together (both paid). Then my wife took 10 more months (paid) and I took 12 months after that (six of which were unpaid). It was amazing. Having 24 months of leave is great and I am thankful Germany makes this possible.
Here it doesn't matter if you are LGBTQ or not when it comes to parental leave. We even got more money than usual because our son was born prematurely.
Getting IVF treatment is difficult, though. In the end, we went to court to get our health insurance to pay for the treatment (because my wife has infertility problems), which they ended up doing. Initially, the insurance company had refused to do so on the basis that we were in a lesbian relationship, though IVF is routinely covered by German health care if medically necessary.
—Fran, 33, queer, high school teacher, Germany (Baden-Württemberg)
11. "My wife had the baby, but I took three months of unpaid maternity leave with no issues."
12. "Only a few coworkers knew I am a lesbian, so when I announced the pregnancy it was news to my manager and the owner of the company."
My wife and I did at-home insemination. It took on the first try and we ended up with twins. They are 8 months old, a boy and a girl.
Only a few coworkers knew I am a lesbian, so when I announced the pregnancy it was news to my manager and the owner of the company. I could tell there was a change, and part of me feared it was because I'm gay. A few weeks later when I came in for work my manager pulled me aside and said they were letting me go because I was no longer the right fit. I felt hated for being gay, and I honestly feel that's why they let me go.
Our twins ended up coming early, and I didn't have a new job yet. I guess it was a blessing being let go. I was there every step of the way, from their arrival to their time in the NICU. My wife (who gave birth) did have to return to work before the twins were released. We had no choice because she had to use her PTO for the two weeks she took off, and once that ran out it was back to work she went.
Paid parental leave should be offered to all new parents. Getting to bond with your new little ones is so important, and families shouldn't be robbed of that.
—Nichole, 36, lesbian, dog walker, US (Washington)
13. "It would have been a nightmare if we didn't have any vacation hours saved up."
14. "Trying to get parental leave is hard, and it's even harder when you are a queer parent."
We have four kids total. We used a sperm donor for our first two (Veronica, 15, and Spencer, 11) and adopted our third and fourth kids (Danny and Hallie, 7-year-old twins).
My wife Annelise took maternity leave for our first baby, and I took 12 weeks of paid leave and six weeks of unpaid leave. I was able to take maternity leave with our second, and my wife took four weeks paid and two weeks unpaid leave. She was able to take more time with Veronica since she carried her, and I was able to take more time with Spencer since I carried him.
Not being able to take leave affected my relationship with my kids. Veronica is much closer to Annelise than to me, while Spencer favors me over Annelise.
With our twins, Annelise took three weeks unpaid. I took two weeks paid and two weeks unpaid. Our twins love us both equally, but I wish we were able to take more time off from work. We adopted them when they were 5.
Trying to get parental leave is hard, and it's even harder when you are a queer parent. Take as much time off as you can. Every moment I get with my kids I treasure.
—Victoria, 39, and Annelise, 37, both lesbian, nurse practitioner and high school journalism teacher, Canada (Alberta)
Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.