Same-sex couple share path to parenthood on YouTube

In recent years, YouTube has become more than a way to gain five minutes of fame. It’s an outlet and support system for anyone going through a struggle, especially mothers.

Northwest-area resident AnToni Quimby-Logan began her YouTube channel, “Lesbian Family Diary,” in 2012. The idea came to her because she wanted to document her journey to becoming a family in a same-sex relationship.

“Being pregnant is something I always dreamed about, but being in a same-sex marriage made the process difficult,” Quimby-Logan said. “I didn’t know anyone going through this process. Documenting my story became a way to help lesbians or couples who are infertile.”

Like many lesbian and infertile couples, Quimby-Logan and her wife, Cherise, began looking for alternative methods to conceive.

After interviewing multiple doctors, they settled on Dr. Geoffrey Sher of Sher Institutes.

“I didn’t just want to adopt. I wanted everything from the kicks and flutters and all of the ups and downs that you experience in pregnancy,” AnToni said.

Her videos take viewers through her unsuccessful and successful procedures and the first year of their daughter’s life.

The couple first volunteered for a free study called in vitro maturation, in which eggs are removed from the ovaries when they are still immature. They are then matured in the laboratory before being fertilized.

However, a year later, the study proved unsuccessful.

In 2012, the couple decided to try intrauterine insemination, a fertility treatment that involves placing sperm inside a woman’s uterus to facilitate fertilization.

“Finding a sperm donor was a process in itself,” AnToni said. “I wanted someone who was artsy, smart and had a mixed ethnicity.”

The first and second cycle failed, but the third was a charm.

In March 2012, AnToni became pregnant.

Despite experiencing morning sickness, she said she loved every minute of her pregnancy.

“After she started her YouTube channel, she ended up having a huge following,” Cherise said. “They began emailing her questions and even recognized her in public. A lot of people have gone and will go through what she went through as far as trying to conceive.”

On Dec. 2, 2012, their daughter Caidyn Aolani Quimby-Logan was born.

Shortly after, AnToni quit her full-time job as a leasing agent for a property company to become a stay-at-home mom.

“AnToni is a great mom,” Cherise said. “Having her stay home with Caidyn gives me a peace of mind. It was a leap of faith that everything worked out.”

To continue to support her family financially, AnToni started a video-editing company called SurReel Video.

The couple plan on having a second child using Cherise’s egg.

“I rarely post YouTube videos now because it’s hard to separate videos for work and this, but people really want to know what’s going on,” AnToni said. “The people that I met on YouTube have been so supportive of us and our well-being. We ended up helping each other through the whole process.”

To reach North View reporter Sandy Lopez, email slopez@viewnews.com or call 702-383-4686. Find her on Twitter: @JournalismSandy.