A poignant pregnancy photo of two married lesbian moms,, each of whom had one of their children, has gone viral. No wonder. It’s beautiful. And it’s hard not to feel happy when you look at it.
In the beach shot on the left, Charlotte, N.C., mom Vanessa Roy, 28, is very pregnant with the couple’s first baby, a boy named Jax. Her wife, Melanie Roy, is facing away from the camera with a bouquet of flowers behind her back. In the second picture, shot about a year later, Melanie, 26, is the one who’s pregnant, Vanessa now has her back to the camera and little Jax is playing on the sand at their feet.
The couple didn’t intend to have their kids only 11 months apart — but artificial insemination worked for both women on the first try — though they did plan to take turns being pregnant. They now are moms to Jax, 1, and a baby girl, Ero, born in February. The couple uploaded the photo to Instagram two months ago and it has taken off like wildfire — an internationally recognized depiction of joy.
See more pictures of their beautiful family on Instagram at @therealmelroy.