By Ben Barry via SWNS
Two best friends fell pregnant at the same time – and then made each other godparents of their sons.
Kim Nash, 33, and her partner, Charley Hamilton, 28, found out they were expecting their son, Teddy – conceived using IUI and a sperm donor.
A month later friends Zoe, 31, and Steph Greenway, 32, found out they were expecting first child, Oakley – through IVF and a sperm donor.
Zoe and Kim, who carried the babies, say they could not have gotten through their pregnancy without their close bond.
The boys were born six weeks apart at the same hospital.
Since the birth of the two babies, both couples made each other godparents to their children.
Zoe, a primary school teacher, from Grove, Oxfordshire, said: “It was the biggest blessing really.
“Kim and I have got so much closer over the last four to five years.
“I just don’t think I could do parenting without her. She is the most amazing support.”
Kim, an assistant team manager, also from Bicester, Oxfordshire, added: “Originally the two friends were Charley and Steph as they play football together.
“Zoe and I were always the other halves, so we became friends because our partners were friends.
“Then we became good friends but now our friendship is mom friendship and it has made us closer.
“They’re godmothers to our children – we’re one big family.”
Kim and Charley’s IUI journey started in 2019 when they contacted TFP Fertility Oxford.
Charley, a professional decorator, said: “Although I wasn’t the biological mom, they included me very much through the whole process and I was always an equal in the room.â¯â¯
“I would recommend TFP Fertility to anyone and if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to become a same sex family and have our wonderful boys.”â¯
In 2019 they started their first round of IUI where Kim took medication to stimulate her egg production.
However, her body responded by producing too many eggs and two IUI procedures were postponed.
After one failed attempt the procedure was successful, and they welcomed their baby boy Arlo, now aged three, in November 2020.
Kim said: “It was my natural cycle. I didn’t need anything else – I just needed the sperm.
“Our story is totally different to Zoe and Steph in regards to IVF.
“If I went through IVF I don’t know if I would think differently as that is such a tough process to go through.”
In October 2022 the couple did a successful round of IUI and welcomed Teddy at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, on June 29, 2023, via C-section, weighing 7lbs 11oz.
Zoe and Steph also found out they were expecting their first child together in December 2022 after going through IVF treatment at the same clinic.
After the trigger injection – which stimulates the release of the eggs – Zoe had her egg collection procedure at the clinic where they retrieved 14 eggs.
â¯Using a sperm donor, they had five viable embryos.â¯
Zoe said: “We watched the whole procedure on the screen and saw a little embryo placed into the perfect location.⯔
Zoe said she had a textbook pregnancy and it was a “blessing” to go through the pregnancy experience with her friends Kim and Charley.
Oakley, was born on August 10, 2023, weighing 8lb 11oz, at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.
Zoe said: “We were in our own little bubble – we were so in love.
“We came home and we sat down and he was just here. It is a surreal feeling, like he was always meant to be here.
“He is a little social butterfly, he is amazing.”
All four are closer than ever.
Reflecting on her experience as a woman in a same-sex relationship going through of IVF, Zoe said: “It’s difficult going somewhere and always having to say, ‘I don’t have a husband, or I don’t have a boyfriend’ and keep reminding someone that it isn’t a mommy and daddy situation.â¯
“TFP Fertility Oxford weren’t like that. I don’t think at any point anyone made the mistake of talking about a man. It was a relief.”
The two boys were christened in separate ceremonies where all four were made godparents.
Kim said: “Going through this pregnancy with Zoe and finding out she was pregnant so close to us was magical.
“It has made us all so much closer and it is a whole different level.
“When you are a mom, you need somebody who understands what it is like to be a mom.
“You just need that person to talk to, to sound off to and care and not judge you.”
