As the saying goes, when it comes to parenting: it takes a village.
In the modern world, it can feel especially tough for parents to juggle working with also raising a family.
So one mum who has a girlfriend and a a husband has told of the benefits.
Alexis Carideo, 39, first met Tabatha Howard, 32, in 2016 on a dating app whilst married to project manager Brian, 47.
The married couple had an immediate connection - and Britan even went on to conceive a baby with her.
Six years on, they live together as a throuple in Oregon, US, and raise three kids together.
Alexis, who is a stay-at-home mum said: “Brian and I have never had a monogamous relationship.
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“I met Tabatha in 2016 on a dating site and introduced her to my husband. They instantly hit it off too and we unintentionally became a triad.
“Tabatha is so charming and wonderful. I would be surprised if anyone didn't fall in love with her who knew her for any length of time.
"We aren't a couple with a girlfriend, we're a three legged stool. The stool wouldn't work without one of the legs."
In September 2018, they purchased a three bedroom house together.
The throuple moved into the property with Alexis and Brian’s son Andrew, then two.
Alexis became pregnant with their second child, Michelle, that November.
Alexis said: “We have a kingsize bed and Brian sleeps in the middle but there is a queen size bed in the spare room too.
“Living together works really well, they both work and support me to stay at home with the kids.
“It’s amazing having an extra pair of hands around the house.
“We don’t know how two parent households do it.
“We basically have four relationships under one roof as myself and Brian have a relationship.
“And each of us have an individual relationship with Tabatha then we all have one together.
“We all have a shared Google calendar so we can schedule our time together and apart.
“We manage to squeeze in two separate dates per month as one parent can look after the kids.
“A triad date is very rare.”
In June 2020, Tabatha, who works in sales, fell pregnant with her first born Joyce, now 15 months.
Alexis said: “It was a very much planned addition to our family.
“After I gave birth to Michelle we talked about how three children would be perfect.
“Tabatha wanted to experience the rest of motherhood, carrying the child herself and everything.
“So we decided she would give birth to our third baby.
“They call me ‘mummy’ and Tabatha ‘momma’.
“The girls are too young to understand but I have told Andrew that there’s different types of families and that is ok.
“All of our children know that we love them with all of our hearts and that’s all that matters.
“They can seek comfort and care from any of us.”
The throuple have been accepted by their community as they are a strong family unit.
She said: “I don’t know of any other polyamorous families nearby but people have taken it in their stride when they meet us.
“There is probably people out there that think a throuple is all about sex.
“But we are just regular people who do regular things - we just have three people who do it together.
“It’s amazing having two important people in my life and the fact they love each other makes it so much better.”
