Jessi and Millie were the faces of Australia’s marriage equality YES campaign in 2017, which threw them into the Australian and world-wide public eye. 2 years later, they lived their dream of officially getting married. They developed a large and loyal following quickly and took their audience on their journey of being foster parents and starting IVF to have a baby of their own.
Hooray you’re pregnant! What has been your journey to get here?
Jessi:
- June 2017: Started foster care training with our plan A always being to adopt siblings from foster care.
- Sep 2017: Became certified foster parents but after completing foster care training we understood better that adoption should never be the primary goal & we would wait till we are emotionally ready before fostering to help kids get home.
- Feb 2019: Got married & raised money for fertility treatments through wedding presents.
- June 2019: Had initial fertility checks including ultrasound which found a 8cm ovarian tumour.
- July 2019: Had an operation to remove the tumour. Doctor broke the news that they had found significant endo & this explains my pain & flair ups had tried to remove some but that I would have to come back for another surgery.
- July 2019: Our first long term foster placement started, a 14 year old girl
- Oct 2019: More endo surgery
- Feb 2020: First artificial insemination with donor sperm, got pregnant
- April 2020: Miscarriage
- June > Aug 2020: 3 failed attempts
- Aug 2020: Met with our fertility clinic who completed further tests & helped us make a decision to move to IVF [not allowed while long term fostering]
- Sep 2020: Our foster daughter coincidentally has court orders granted & goes back home
- Feb 2021: Start IVF injections
- March 2021: 5 embryos created. 1 implanted using a fresh cycle.
- March 2021: Find out our IVF worked and that we are pregnant!
Do you think your parenting style reflect the way you were raised? Or will you chosen to do things differently?
Millie: My parents are by far the greatest influences in my life, if I could choose to parent exactly like them I would. I do sometimes hear phrases escape my mouth and think I sound exactly like my mum but at other times I think I'm too much of a worrier. My parents are both very laid back but also instilled good work ethics and morals in us. My happiest memories of childhood were spending time at various music festivals. Although I don't think I turned out perfectly, I really believe they are exceptional parents.
Which do you think will be harder – looking after babies/toddlers or looking after teens?
Millie: Looking after teens can be challenging, but it's also magical. Our foster daughter was 14 when she came to live with us and 16 when she moved back home. Looking after her was an absolute pleasure and I have no doubts that a newborn or a toddler is going to be a million times harder!
What do you love most about your Mum and why?
Millie: Everything. She is funny, kind, considerate and wonderful. I love how much she puts everyone else’s needs ahead of her own, she's always caring for someone else. She knows me better than anyone else.
What are you fears?
Jessi: I think everything about being a parent can be scary in one way or another but it's about learning how to balance those fears with the ability to let things go. It's just one big balancing act of being scared to death and too tired to worry.
What are you most excited about?
Jessi: I’m most excited to explore the world with our little person. I’m excited to teach them things and to be taught things. I can’t wait for all the firsts.
Congratulations Jessi and Millie! We look forward to following along with your journey. You can follow along at their Instagram account @jessi_and_millie
Here they are in our recent campaign for Mardi Gras:
" @modibodi period underwear tick all our boxes ✅ In our opinion they are a brand that really champions diversity.
Imagine if in 2021 we made the decision to no longer ‘vote’ for companies that didn’t align with our values? What if we shopped with companies that promoted diversity or saved the planet or did both 🌏
🌈 Every time you spend money, you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want 🌈 "
