starting a family - options

[littlegreen2017]

my partner & I (both female) are at that point in our relationship where we would like to begin family. We are aware that its not going to be an overnight process so are factoring that in.
the options are:

• sperm donor then AI
  
• adoption UK
  
• adoption international
  
• surrogate
  

i think we have no option but to rule out surrogate (not sure how popular this is in the UK anyway) but financially it's not feesable

the 2 options that are preferred are sperm donor & international adoption but If anyone out there can offer information or share their experience on any of the above journey's we would love to hear from you.

having so many options can be confusing & i feel there is a stigma at choosing one, in that you kind of almost have to defend your choice/justify why you didnt go down another route.

(we have a created a more details thread re adoption over at the adoption page
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/adoptions/2917020-adoption-options)

hope someone can help :)

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Am I understanding rightly you both have fertility issues? There's a great thread in the Donor Conception section (under 'Becoming a Parent') for people TTC in that situation, and there are lots of women with fertility issues who could talk about that. They could also obviously talk about AI, but since you mention adoption and surrogacy I assume that there are complications to that possibility.

Never heard any stigma to choosing between AI/Adoption, but I do think that they are different kinds of pathways.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Sorry, reading back I realise I put that badly. I don't mean to imply adoption is a fall-back option if you can't conceive, only that they fact you mention that and surrogacy together, makes me assume you've reasons to think beyond AI.