Polyamorous man's two wives who are also married to each other give birth within days of each other

USA:   Melinda Phoenix met her wife Dani and fell madly in love but the pair later also fell in love with a man who became their husband.

When both women fell pregnant at the same time they were thrilled.

When Melinda welcomed her first son Oliver into the world on September 6, 2014, husband Jonathan was there with pregnant wife Dani beside her to witness it too.

And just 35 days later on 11th October it was Melinda who held 30-year-old Dani’s hand when she gave birth to Jonathan’s second baby in the space of little over a month, beautiful baby girl Ella Lynn.

For in this unconventional family from Sonoma, California, there are two wives, two newborn babies and one husband who all live under the same roof.

"It might seem strange to a lot of people, but to us it makes perfect sense," says Melinda, 28, who runs her own healing company East-West Collaborative Health.

“We all love each other and it was our dream to fall pregnant at the same time.

“Unlike conventional couples who are sleep deprived when a newborn comes along, there are three of us to take it in turns on the night shift.

“We breastfeed each others babies, split the finances three ways and the housework too.

“Even sex is great as if one person is not feeling up for it, then there are two other people to choose from.”

Dani added: “We compliment each other perfectly as our parenting styles are so different.

“Whereas I’m a bit paranoid and constantly worrying about germs and if the babies are breathing, Melinda is the opposite.

“We just need a bigger bed, as we are all co-sleeping with the babies as well and at the moment the only way Jonathan fits is if he lays horizontally at the bottom of the bed.”

Until Dani met Melinda in 2008, Melinda had only been in monogamous relationships with men, whereas Dani had enjoyed relationships with men and women.

But after meeting at a music festival, the pair knew they were destined to spend the rest of their lives together.

Despite gay marriages back then not being legal in California, the pair exchanged vows on the beach in a commitment ceremony on June 26th 2010, in front of friends and family.

But one year later despite being desperately in love, Melinda confided to Dani she didn’t just want a wife…she wanted a husband too.

Dani said: “When Melinda first told me she was missing a man in her life I thought 'Why aren’t I enough?'

“But the more we spoke about it, the more I realized there could be huge advantages to having three of us in our marriage.

“The hard part was finding a man we could both fall in love with.”

Miraculously the girls didn’t have to wait too long.

For in 2012 Dani and Melinda’s dreams came true when they met Jonathan after enrolling on a building class.

The only thing stopping them was did Jonathan feel the same way too?

Jonathan, who owns his own construction company, said: “When I met the girls I was just coming out of a long term relationship with my childhood sweetheart.

“I knew they were married and didn’t know they were interested in me.

“But one day they wrote me a letter and revealed what they wanted and I’ll be honest I didn’t know what to do.

“I thought they were amazing and fancied them both, but I had to think long and hard whether I was capable of loving them both.

“While men might fantasize about such a situation, in reality it is double the responsibility.”

To explore their feelings for each other the threesome went on a road trip for a week.

And it was then Jonathan began to realise loving both of them could be possible.

“We just all clicked so well,” tells Jonathan. “Polyamory an unusual concept for sure and one I had never heard of, but the more I spent time with them, the more I fell in love with them both.

“We all just complimented each other so well.”

Sadly while Jonathan’s mum Sandy was open to their unusual relationship, other friends and family had a harder time accepting it.

Melinda said: “My mum thought it was a joke when Dani and I got married, so when we told her about Jonathan she just thought we were crazy.

“Some of Jonathan’s friends just thought it was all about kinky sex and thought it was just plain weird.

“So much so he doesn’t talk to some of them anymore.

“Dani’s family had a hard time accepting it too. “But luckily there were other’s, like Jonathan’s mum Sandy, who thought what we had was amazing and gave us their full blessing.”

The threesome also had to learn to overcome their own feelings of jealousy too.

Dani said: “At times it has been hard to adapt to, as for me just being with Melinda was enough.

 “So to see her fall in love with Jonathan was at times tough.

“But I began to realise that I could love him too, in my own way.

“And the more we talked to each other, the easier over time it has got.

“There are moments when I just want Melinda to myself, but now there are also moments when I feel just as strongly about Jonathan too.

“We have just learnt to cope better as time goes on. Now we all make sure we give each of us time together and separately.

'If Melinda wants a night out just with Jonathan, I am fine with that and likewise with her.

“Sexually it works perfectly as while we do make love together and me just with Melinda or Jonathan, I don’t have as high a sex drive as Melinda, so she gets to satisfy that part of her personality with Jonathan too.”

By the end of 2013 Melinda, Dani and Jonathan were living together and began making plans to start a family.

Melinda said: “We all have a fabulous sex life, share the same bed, so we just made sure we timed things correctly and preyed our wishes would come true.

“I found out I was pregnant on January 14 this year and two weeks later we all let out a scream of pure delight when we found out Dani was expecting too.”

On July 1st 2014 they got married in front of friends and some family in a park near their home.

While not legal, the family pray one day it will be. “My mum didn’t come to the wedding as she doesn’t approve of our life," said Melinda.

 “But Jonathan’s mum Sandy gave us away and as we both stood with our blossoming bellies, it was the perfect day, full of love and laughter.”

While Dani suffered from no morning sickness, Melinda did.

And while Melinda only put on 25 lb during her nine months, Dani, who has always been the skinnier one, found her body became much more curvy.

Melinda said: “It was just so special experiencing pregnancy with the woman I love going through it at the same time.

“The birthing centre we chose was incredibly liberal and thought our family was wonderful.

“I would have my check up and then Dani would have hers straight after.

“Sharing a bed while pregnant was a little tricky though as the bigger our bellies got, the more squashed we all were.”

Both Melinda and Dani both had natural water births and Jonathan was there for them both.

The births were captured on camera as the trio are filming a web series, called ‘Looks Like Love To Me’ about their extraordinary lives.

Dani said: “Jonathan’s mum Sandy was also in the room and it was incredible as our labours lasted pretty much the same time. Melinda’s was 13 hours and 12 minutes and mine was 13 hours.”

Today, just days after bringing baby Ella home, they tell how for them, being part of a polyamorous family has already had its benefits.

Dani, who is studying sign language, said: “Melinda and I really wanted to share breastfeeding each others babies and this week I breastfed Oliver for the first time.

“It gave Melinda a break and time alone with Jonathan and me an invaluable chance to bond with a boy I consider to be my son.”

As for raising their children within an unconventional family unit, they are not concerned about what anyone else thinks.

“People sometimes ask us 'Are you not worried about the kids getting bullied at school?’" tells Melinda.

“But in all honesty it is not something that concerns us.

“We had agreed that when thy become old enough we will explain our situation and are committed to instill them with tools to face any hurdle they may encounter.

“Thankfully we live in community that is pretty liberal and over time we hope families like ours will not be in a minority.

“Because in all honesty we think having two mums and one dad is the perfect way to raise a child, in a home full of love.

“We are even open to taking in even more lovers if it feels right in the future, as more hands make for an easier life.”