Lachie's dads were floored by what he brought home from daycare for Father's Day
There are more families like Lachlan's in Australia today than ever before, with more than 10,000 kids being raised by parents like his right now.
Despite the numbers, Lachie's dads were still moved when their 19-month-old came home from daycare with not one but two Father's Day cards.
"They thoughtfully made sure that, when it came time for the kids to prepare their Father's Day gifts, Lachie made two," Ben Harris, 42, tells 9honey.
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Ben Harris and Danny Cowan with their son Lachlan in the Philippines. Supplied
"So there was one for each of us, rather than us having to share, or one of us missing out."
He and partner Danny Cowan, 37, embarked on a years-long journey just to become parents, making milestones like Father's Day feel all that more special.
The couple met in 2014 and knew from the early years of their romance that they wanted to become dads one day.
"When we talked about our relationship and the future, a family was always part of that conversation," Cowan says.
At first they planned to adopt, starting the process in 2017 while they were living in London. They had to shift gears when they moved back to Australia in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The couple met in 2014 and knew they wanted to become dads one day. Supplied
As a same-sex couple, Harris and Cown always knew the road to parenthood would be a "multi-year journey", but they didn't quite expect a global health crisis to throw a spanner in the works.
Eventually, they came to the conclusion surrogacy was going to be a better option for them to start a family.
"We had the benefit of knowing if we want this to happen, we need to start making it happen sooner rather than later," Cowan adds.
As soon as the pandemic started to ease in 2021, he and Harris started the surrogacy process. Two years later, in January 2023, they stood in a hospital room and watched their son arrive.
Lachlan was born in January 2023 after a long road to parenthood for his dads. Supplied
"Over the course of the pregnancy, we developed a really strong bond relationship with our surrogate, and she was very happy for us to be both in the room with her when Lachie was born," Harris says of that incredibly special moment.
"We were there, holding her hand and helping her through it," he adds, though Cowan quips that they probably weren't much help: "When you're just watching it happen, you feel a bit helpless."
The moment he and Harris first held their son had been years in the making. Still, nothing could have prepared them for it.
"Nothing that will ever feel like that moment again," Cowan says.
"Just cradling this little human, your life is forced through a transformation that you can't quantify. It's amazing how much can change in one moment alone."
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"Nothing that will ever feel like that moment again," Cowan says of the first time he held Lachie. Supplied
Nine months later, he and Harris marked their first Father's Day on a family holiday in Fiji, salt from the Pacific Ocean on their skin and smiles on their faces.
This year, they'll dip their feet in the same ocean as they celebrate with three generations of Cowan's family in the Philippines.
Neither he nor Harris can say too much about their plans for the big day without giving away the surprises they have in store for one another. (One pitfall of Father's Day with two dads: there are twice as many secrets to keep.)
Though their celebration this year will be pretty low-key, approaching their second Father's Day had both fathers feeling reflective.
"It puts in perspective, in respect to our own fathers, what they've gone through as dads," Harris says.
"You realise, once you're in the thick of it with a toddler and changing the nappies, like 'oh gosh, they did all this for us too.'"
For Cowan, looking back also gives him perspective.
No parent is perfect and reflecting on some of the approaches his own dad took to fatherhood inspires him to learn from the good and the bad to be a better dad to Lachie.
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"Father's Day to me is a moment to reflect on the deep responsibility we have to be the best dads for Lachie." Supplied
"I want to make sure with each generation that passes, there's better lessons and better role models and better experiences for everyone," he says.
"Father's Day to me is a moment to reflect on the deep responsibility we have to be the best dads for Lachie."
Because when he and Harris open their Father's Day cards from Lachie, they won't be thinking about all the years it took them to get to this point, or the challenges they faced along the way.
They'll be thinking about the future with their little boy, and what a bright one it is.
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