One of the lesbian partners self-inseminates and gives birth while the other lesbian partner, along with the father, adopts the child. Sometimes the father's partner also adopts the child, resulting in two mothers and two fathers. Lesbian couple approaches a single gay male for a similar arrangement, or vice versa. The child, in this case may have one mother and one father, or two mothers and one father. Lesbian couple approaches a single gay male and asks simply for a donation, whereupon the donor gives up any legal connection to the child.
Lesbian couple makes a trip to a sperm bank and selects an anonymous donor.
If the couple desires a child that has genetic traits of both partners, sperm could be donated by a male sibling or cousin of one partner and inseminated into the other. In many lesbian relationships, there is one partner who is an obvious choice. For example, having children prior to 35 and breastfeeding can reduce one's risk of developing breast cancer. On the other hand, if one partner has a condition such as diabetes, which isn't very compatible with pregnancy, then the nondiabetic partner might be a better choice. A fringe benefit of same-sex parenting for women is that if both partners desire pregnancy, they can simply take turns getting pregnant.