Stories · Liquid-Glass Reality
The Beautiful Price of Becoming Two Dads — The Devooght Story
This is not the sanitized version. It’s the version with the bills, the paperwork, the shaky hands at 3 a.m.— and the two small voices that made every “no” worth chasing a louder “yes.”
CHAPTER 1 — The Inciting Question
The story didn’t start with a clinic. It started with a sentence: “What if we could?” Two men in a kitchen, counting reasons to say no—and deciding to move anyway.
CHAPTER 2 — The Maze
Laws. Agencies. Clinics. Contracts. Ethics boards. Opinions from people who will never rock your child to sleep. The Devooghts learned fast: Germany says no; other countries say yes, with rules. So they did the responsible thing—found a legal route, vetted teams, and built a plan that protected everyone involved: the child, the surrogate, the egg donor, and themselves.
CHAPTER 3 — The Cost Nobody Posts
Money leaves before babies arrive. Deposits, attorneys, screenings, meds, travel, insurance, more attorneys. And then the emotional invoice: weeks that feel like years, the terror of a ringtone, learning to breathe between updates.
Two extraordinary women—Ericka and Amelia—carried their children. One egg donor enabled genetic links to both dads, making the kids half-siblings. Gratitude isn’t a big enough word.
CHAPTER 4 — Fear Has a Sound
It sounds like “We need to talk.” It sounds like silence after a medical portal refresh. It sounds like your own heartbeat. This is the chapter Instagram skips. They didn’t.
CHAPTER 5 — Becoming Fathers (Not Just Getting Kids)
Fatherhood didn’t land like a trophy; it unfolded like a practice. Paperwork ended; the real work began. Nights, bottles, boundaries, therapy, patience. The soft skills are the hard skills.
CHAPTER 6 — The Manifesto (for Anyone Starting Now)
- Name the cost out loud. Money, time, privacy, anxiety. Naming it won’t break you; hiding it might.
- Pick ethical teams. Regulated programs, clear consent, fair compensation, real screening, real aftercare.
- Document everything. Dates, decisions, medical notes, invoices, calls. Your future self will thank you.
- Guard the relationship. Therapy > assumptions. You’re building a family and a marriage at once.
- Expect the wait. Create rituals. Celebrate micro-wins. Rest like it’s part of the protocol—because it is.
Produced by IVF Daddies · Featuring @dads.kids.miracles (Tobias & Dennis Devooght)
