When he was 22 years old, Trystan Reese wrote off having kids. He was assigned female at birth, but by that point in his life, he had realized he was transgender. He legally changed his name to Trystan, and started taking testosterone.
Reese had accepted that his life would look different because he was trans. He was more likely to face discrimination, microagressions, and potentially physical violence, the stress of which put him at a higher risk of substance abuse and even early death. He didn't know any trans people in long-term relationships, let alone those who were raising a family together. "I didn't see that for myself," he says. "I was moving forward for today."
Within the next few years, though, things changed. He fell in love with his now-spouse, Biff, and through an unexpected turn of events, the couple wound up adopting Biff's niece and nephew. As they settled into family life together, Reese found himself thinking about expanding their family even more-this time, through carrying a child.
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