My Surrogacy Story

Where to even start?

I love being pregnant.  I am one of those women that enjoys it all!  I feel blessed to have easy pregnancies and deliveries.  I always wanted a large family but after my divorce and being on my own for several years I started to realize that having one might not be in the cards for me.

I had heard about surrogacy and knew what it was but didn't think anything of it.  Then a friend at work was having troubles getting pregnant and we joked about me being her surrogate.  I started to really think about it.  Could I do it?  Did I want to go through everything it entailed? 

The answer was a resounding yes across the board!

I knew I wanted to go through an agency because it made me feel safe.  I found an amazing agency, Agency for Surrogacy Solutions, and signed up with them.  When initially becoming a surrogate there's so much paperwork it's crazy!  If you didn't have a true desire to do it I really think the paperwork would be what ends it for you.

So I filled out the paperwork, went through some back and forth emails, sent in pictures, and had a phone interview with the owner.  We totally hit it off right away.  Amazingly enough she had a couple that matched what I was looking for and sent my profile to them and then their profile to me.  They were so awesome-  the dad was the oldest of 5 as was I, they shared many similar beliefs,  it was on.

We had a phone conference with them and I really could feel their warmth and kindness through the phone.  Afterwards we both agreed we wanted to work together so we moved forward, things were moving along pretty quickly but that wouldn't last.  In the surrogacy world you hear the phrase, "Hurry up and wait," all the time and it's so true.  Next up contracts and testing and psych evals OH MY!

To become a surrogate you have to be approved by the Intended Parents {IPs} doctor.  There's a barrage of medical and psychological testing including blood draws, ultrasounds, MMPI tests, etc.  It's crazy but I think it's good and hopefully weeds out some of the crazies ;) I did all my testing and was healthy and sane so we could proceed to making it official! 

Contracts are super crucial in surrogacy.  They're there to protect both parties and really have a say about almost everything that could happen.  This is where compensation, termination, travel, restrictions, etc are laid out.  They can be tedious but there's peace of mind too.

Once everything was a go, we started cycling!  Our cycle was so easy because we were using their frozen embryos and with that you just start medication- you don't have to worry about anyone else cycling for an egg retrieval or waiting for embryos to mature...  Shots, pills, shots, patches, suppositories, and more shots are involved for about 28 days.  Then when my body was ready I headed to California where the IPs were. 

I got to sunny LA and was so happy to see my IPs and their family.  They were so warm and loving. I stayed in an amazing boutique hotel and pretty much relished in the time alone and in such luxury! The next day we did the transfer of two embryos and I spent the rest of that day on bedrest.  Fun for me a girl I'd become friends with online came up from San Diego to visit me!

I was there a few more days and then came home.  A common surrogate craziness is we have an obsession with pregnancy tests!  I can't tell you how many I've taken over the years.  But I got my first positive one the evening of the fourth day after our transfer.  I was totally ecstatic! Two weeks after the transfer we had our official beta and it was of course a positive pregnancy! 

The pregnancy was pretty uneventful.  As the parents lived in California they didn't come to the regular appointments but they did come to the big u/s at 20 weeks and we found out it was a boy.  Thankfully the rest of the pregnancy went smoothly and before any of us knew it it was time to plan an induction {so they could be there.} At 39 weeks and 3 days along I delivered a sweet little boy who was 7 pounds 9 ounces of love. 

It was, not to be stereotypical, the most amazing thing.  His mom got to cut his cord and then hand him to his dad.  The love in their eyes made everything right.  I knew that this whole journey was worth it to see them at that moment.

And of course, once you experience a high like that you can't go back.

I knew I was going to do it again.  And I did.  And at over 40 weeks I gave birth to a stubborn little boy who didn't want to come out but was healthy at 7 pounds 5 ounces.  And it was still the most amazing thing.