DONOR DADDY
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or Melissa Maynard, being a mum had been the dream since she was a little girl. But when she entered into her 30s and Mr Right still hadn’t shown up, it was decision time.
After much soul-searching, Melissa, 33, decided to do it by herself and found a donor on a specialised website. In May, she gave birth to Emerson, with her mum Claire and her best friend Amanda by her side.
“I was the last of my friends to have a baby and I hadn’t met anyone, and while I wasn’t out of time in my early 30s, I suppose I was a little impatient,” she laughs. “I just love kids and always have done, and I didn’t want to miss out on becoming a mum just because I hadn’t met ‘the one’ in time. We’re lucky to have so many options these days.”
The finance officer for Auckland Museum admits that she is always open about how she became a mum when strangers quiz her about her being a solo parent.
“People often ask me about using a donor and if I found it scary, but my first response is always that it’s not as scary as never becoming a mother,” Melissa says. “I have always pictured myself being a mum.”
But there’s one sticking point that does make her feel guilty.
“Because he is a boy, some people have voiced their concern about there not being a dad around,” tells Melissa. “I hope I will be able to teach him some boy stuff, but I have my brother, my dad and my stepdad.”
For now, Melissa is savouring every moment of being on maternity leave with her son and, in fact, some of her pals are even jealous of her single status.
“Really, the best thing about being a solo mum is that you see all these other mums on Facebook complaining about their husbands and mother-in-laws, and I don’t have to worry about any of that,” laughs Melissa, who lives in East Tamaki, Auckland.
“Instead, my focus is just hanging out with my son. And if Mr Right comes along at any point, then that’s all good. But if he doesn’t, that’s also all good as I’m perfectly happy.”
I didn’t want to miss out just because I hadn’t met one’ the