Lindsay Foster Photography
The two dads whose wonderful photos of the moment their son was born captured the hearts of the world have spoken about their 'pride' and 'pure love' for baby Milo.
Frankie Nelson, 44, and BJ Barone, 34, were photographed holding their newborn baby – and each other - as they sobbed with joy in a birthing suite.
Speaking for the first time about Milo and the photograph, which went viral, Frankie told Today.com: "He's definitely our Pride baby. We're so proud of him.
"That picture, to us, represents what pride is all about and how far the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community has come. Love is love, and that's what pride is all about."
The images were shot by Canadian photographer Lindsay Foster as a gift to the couple's surrogate, Kathy Frenette, who is not related to either of the dads and didn't use her own eggs.
Frankie said: "She absolutely captured the most beautiful moment. I was completely overwhelmed. I was so scared of dropping the baby. Mostly, the feeling was of joy and love and amazement."
BJ added: "I was so excited, so overjoyed, so overcome with emotion, it was an incredible moment I will never forget. The fact we have this photo, it's a reminder of how much love we have for him."
Lindsay Foster Photography
The couple took a few photos with a smartphone and Frankie joked that they were happy with the 200 Likes that one received on Facebook.
But that was nothing compared to the response that two of Lindsay's photos got when she posted them on her Facebook page and quickly went viral – and attracted 50,000 Likes.
Frankie said: "The fact that she got that picture was amazing. We are so grateful to her."
The dads said they're still in disbelief when they stare at the photos and see exactly how they looked.
BJ said: "As soon as I saw it, I started crying because you can see such emotion on everyone's face, especially Frank's. It instantly brought me to tears. I couldn't believe it."
The Toronto couple – both teachers who have been married for nearly four years - said Milo has great timing.
Their first attempt at having a child failed, and Milo was born at the end of the school year.
He arrived on June 27, during the World Pride gay rights festival in Toronto.
On her Facebook page, Lindsay said she spent hours with the two dads and they were well-prepared for the birth, but that did nothing to lessen their excitement and anxiety.
She said: "They asked all appropriate questions of the birthing mom and the midwife and educated themselves as best as they could for their son's arrival."
Lindsay said: "Every pain that she had, they were crying along with her. I wanted to take a picture and hug them at the same time."
The dads – who were shirtless because skin-to-skin contact is believed to be beneficial to newborns - added: "We are so lucky that we have a beautiful, healthy baby boy!
"This is a moment of pure love and acceptance. Milo is surrounded by unconditional love and he will grow up knowing many different types of families and accept everyone, (intolerant people included)."
They added: "Love has no color nor gender nor sexual preference. Love is unconditional."