How well do you remember the moment you welcomed your first child into the world? Do you remember the way you felt? The look on your face? The emotions that flooded through your body? A video going viral on Instagram this week is capturing that very moment for two newbie dads who react with shock, awe, and lots (and lots) of tears as their newborn daughter is placed in their arms. Just in time for Pride Month, the tearjerking clip is once again highlighting the fact that there’s more than way to make a family — the only ingredient you truly need is love.
The video was shared on Thursday by 'GMA'
And, in just a few short hours, it’s already racked up hundreds of thousands of views and countless comments from social media users who’ve been literally moved to tears by the footage.
But it’s hardly a surprise as to why.
The video, which includes birth footage shot back in 2017, illustrates the very moment a nurse placed Ben and Aaron Ptashinsky-Skinner’s daughter, Charlotte, in their arms. And in turn, they say, it’s “the moment our lives became complete.”
View this post on Instagram
It's a moment the couple has shared before
In fact, Ben — a comedian with a sizable social media following — has been chronicling their life together with Charlotte ever since she arrived.
View this post on Instagram
Today, their little girl is nearly 4, and quite honestly the best thing to ever happen to them.
View this post on Instagram
That's why they want to share their joy loud (and proud) for all to see
As they each told GMA, Ben and Aaron believe that sharing their own story will help raise visibility, and in turn, acceptance of all sorts of different families.
“This was our way of celebrating Pride,” Ben told the outlet.
After all, he continued, “Parenting is about love, and we have so much love to give.”
View this post on Instagram
They certainly do.
Both dads hope their birth video helps normalize gay parenting for the better
And really, how can it not? After all, any parent can relate to the rollercoaster of emotions that welcoming a new child can send you on.
View this post on Instagram
That said, not everyone experiences quite the same journey that gay couples do in their quest to become parents.
As Ben and Aaron have shared before with the parenting blog Gays With Kids, they met and fell in love back in 2006, shortly after Ben answered a lighthearted “boyfriend application” that Aaron posted on his MySpace page.
In 2011, they became engaged, and in 2015, they were legally married. But their next step was the most exciting — and emotional — one yet: embarking on a path to fatherhood through adoption.
It wasn’t long before the couple learned about the Heart of Adoptions, a Florida-based adoption agency located near their home. And, after completing all the necessary paperwork and interviews, the couple waited patiently to be matched with a birth mom.
Luckily, they didn't have to wait too long
In just about a month, they got the call they’d been hoping for.
“[Our birth mom] was 6 months pregnant when we were matched,” Aaron told Gays With Kids. “We were able to attend the gender reveal a week after being matched, and the room was filled with tears and love. [She] was so amazing to let us be a part of that. Treated us as if we were actually the biological fathers of our baby.”
Finally, in July of 2017, little Charlotte arrived — and their lives have never been the same.
View this post on Instagram
“As cheesy as it sounds, my life has been enriched,” Ben said in 2018. “We still are able to do everything we did in our old life – dinners, travel, movies, etc. – however, we have this beam of light who gives us purpose every day.”
So far, the video has received a flood of supportive comments
“This is so beautiful,” wrote one Instagram user. “I grew up without parents. I wish I had parents like them.”
“Totally love this!” added another. “Each time I see it, it warms my heart!”
“We need more of this in the world,” wrote another commenter.
We certainly do.
At Wild Sky Media, we recognize that not all pregnancies and parenting journeys look the same. That’s why across all our sites — CafeMom, LittleThings, Mom.com, and MamásLatinas — we are committed to using inclusive language as much as possible, recognizing that all forms of parenting are valid and celebrating the shared experiences and unique differences among moms, dads, nonbinary and noncisgender parents, and all forms of caregivers.
