By Mashaun D. Simon
Insight Staff Writer

In a room designed to fit 50 attendees, four women created a small, intimate circle and shared their experiences, concerns and expectations of motherhood in a time of war, discrimination and transition during "Milk & Cookies: A Talk With LGBT Parents and Would-Be Parents, Friday.

"Baby maybe," "baby on the way," and "baby here" fittingly described the representations of the women who spent an hour and a half sharing some of the most sensitive and intimate moments.

For Kim Severson of the New York Times, and Katia Hetter of New Youth Connections, a Youth Communications firm, the anxiety of welcoming their first child into the world is exciting. Hetter is four months pregnant.

The two have some major concerns that reach outside of the typical issues that would cause anxiety to the average parent.

What is it like to be a gay parent in the world; how to deal with the "Who is the real mom, who is the dad?" and "How did you get her or him?" were some of the questions that arose in the session.

Catherine Renna, owner of Renna Communications, was able to answer many of them. She and her partner have a 2-year-old daughter and live in Brooklyn, NY.

In response to the "how did you get her" question, Renna jokingly answered, "eBay!"

She said that stepping into parenthood is a serious thing.

"Having a support system is important," she said. "We were lucky - we have a support system in our family that allows us to handle the obstacles we are faced with. But even more than that, we love our daughter. That love we have for her trumps everything else."

Children brought into the world as a result of a same-gender-loving relationship are lucky, Hetter said. In their situation, being the chosen one(s) is being taken to a different level.

"There is no doubt that these young people are wanted," she said. "Their being here is intentional and the love they receive is incomparable."

While some of this year's convention programming is focused on family and family issues, the women at the session said they would like to see more support of LGBT families in the form of daycare services.

"More people would have shown this year if there was some sort of childcare as a part of the convention," Hetter said.

"And they are not going to trust hotel staff with the care of their kids," Renna added.

They suggested that NLGJA survey the membership to ask: "Would you attend if there was childcare during the convention?"

"As a former member of the executive committee, I have learned that if there is something we want, we have to ask for it," Hetter said. "And we have to be willing to do the work to make it happen."