Michal – A Czech Father, a Wisconsin Surrogate, a Beautiful Family
On a brand new episode of Hope Works, we are thrilled to introduce you to Michal, a dad from the Czech Republic who flew overseas with his husband, David, to meet their surrogate over five years ago. Today, thanks to that incredible surrogate, Michal and his husband are the proud Czech dads of two beautiful twin girls. Michal always knew he wanted to be a dad, but before he met David, he had no idea how he’d become a father. And he certainly didn’t know that a mom in Wisconsin would totally change their lives forever. What was it like to build a family with help from across the ocean? Listen to Michal share his story! Just press play below!
After you listen to Michal’s episode, listen to his surrogate tell HER story!
Listeners of the podcast might remember listening to the Wisconsin side of this incredible adventure last season on Hope Works. Chelsie carried Michal and David’s twins. And she loved the experience so much that she decided to become a surrogate help a second family carry their children. You can hear Chelsie tell her side of the story on her episode here.
Watching their family grow
Michal and David’s girls are four years old, and so much has happened since they were born. Michal and David both have a journalism background, and when they became dads they started an Instagram page to share their journey. They became instantly popular, and now they see their social media as way to create positive change for their family and for the gay community in the Czech Republic.
You can follow Michal and David at @dvatatove on Instagram to watch their family grow up. (Fair warning: It’s all in Czech. But you don’t need to know Czech to see the love they share and to enjoy their stories! Plus, recently the dads wrote and published a book about gay dads in the Czech Republic.
Our podcast host, Brent Love, caught up with Michal to talk about the book, their growing family, and the upcoming holidays.
The story behind Michal and David’s book
Brent: You and your family have such an incredible story – surrogacy, a social media project sharing your family’s journey, and now A BOOK! Why did you decide to write a book? What is it about? And how can people find it if they’re interested?
Michal: There was no Czech book about gay parents raising children, and as we are quite popular on our social media channels we have decided to write one and release it. It is called Two Dads and a Curious Girl. It’s about a girl living in a village who has new neighbors – two men raising their two kids. And as she is naturally curious she comes to meet them and asks all the questions that David and I are often asked in our real lives – Who is the mother? Who does all the housework? Who bakes the birthday cakes? And more.
It is a children’s book to be read aloud by parents, showing that love really doesn’t see differences in our everyday lives. We wrote it in Czech. And right now, you can order it online at Chytraopicka.cz. Or you can ask Mary to let you see it if you visit the Madison office. She has a Czech copy with English text translated.
Michal and David go on tour!
Brent: How has the book tour gone? What was it like to meet readers?
Michal: We have visited about 7 Czech cities and we talked to nearly 600 of our fans. It was amazing, and we really enjoyed every minute spent with them. Sometimes young women came, sometimes whole families – grandmother, mother, father, children and a dog… all telling us how they enjoy following. Sometimes they share how they talk about things we share online and which videos they love that we have posted. Through this tour we could see how sharing our private life can make a big difference in people lives and even change their view on same-sex families. It was all worth it.
Getting ready for the Czech holidays
Brent: Are you celebrating the holidays? Do you have holiday traditions at home with the girls?
Michal: We have been busy so far! But yes! A little Jesus Baby comes to Czech homes in the evening of December 24th, and kids get gifts and unwrap them. And as our daughters are half American, Santa comes the next morning too! We try to spend as much time together as possible. We bake cookies, visit other family members and talk about our previous year.
Brent: Do you have any plans to connect with your surrogate, Chelsie, over the holidays?
Michal: Nothing set up yet. Chelsie visited us this summer which was amazing. We don’t have exact plans for Christmas. For sure, we will share some stories and pictures. But we are already planning to come to Wisconsin in August next year which will be great again.
Advice for parents starting the journey
Brent: Do you have any advice for parents like you hoping to start the surrogacy journey?
Michal: Try to stay calm as much as possible. Never lose hope. Sometimes I talk to people who have gone through one unsuccessful attempt, and I try to encourage them that they should keep going and try again.
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Thank you, Michal! It’s an honor to be part of your story and to stay connected. We love watching your family grow!
If you’d like to help someone like Michal to grow their family, then becoming a surrogate might be the right adventure for you! Send us a message on our contact page. We’d love to share more. And if you have any questions about the surrogacy journey, please send us a message!
Thank you to Seedtrust who partnered with us to bring you this episode of Hope Works! Thank you Seedtrust! Whether you are an intended parent, gestational carrier, egg donor, or surrogacy agency, SeedTrust focuses on establishing trust, building personal relationships, and maintaining total transparency throughout the entire collaborative reproductive process. On time. Online. Worry-free. Find more about our friends at Seedtrust here www.seedtrustescrow.com
