OUR SURROGATE STORIES
What month and year was your surrogate baby born?
September,2019
What originally inspired you to look into surrogacy?
My sister found out that she may have trouble trying to conceive a 2nd child. I wanted her to have as many children as she wanted and told her that I would surrogate for her. After some time she decided more children was not for her since she had her step son and biological son and she was happy.After a few years, I ran into a representative of Babytree Surrogacy at the county fair. We got to talking and I felt like if I could do this for my sister then I could do it for another person wanting to have a family!
What was your favorite or most memorable moment during this whole process?
Meeting the parents, in person, after delivering the twins. They were so excited and happy and thankful to me. Seeing the joy on their faces made it so memorable and worth it to me!
What was the most unexpected part of this process?
The simplicity of the transfer! It was surprisingly unremarkable
How was the matching process?
I feel like, because I am such an easy person to match with, I didn’t have to go through as much as we girls do. I am open to all sexes, religions, diet restrictions etc, so matched with my first potentials.
How is the screening process? Does anything hurt?
The worst part about screening was the blood drawing and that didn’t even phase me since I’ve been donating blood since I was 15! The process itself can be a little tedious, but in the long run it’s nothing really!
How was meeting your intended parents?
Meeting the parents was a little awkward but with Patrick translating and an open mind, it was a good time to ask any questions about concerns or specifics about the parents requests and for them to ask about you.
How do you handle all medication, especially shots?
Organization wise I put everything on my calendar on the wall, as well as in my phone calendar. I kept my needles, syringes, vials, gauze, and alcohol swabs in containers.My husband helped give me shots when he was home, but I did them on the rare occasion he wasn’t. The stomach ones were easy, but reaching around to my upper buttock was a little more difficult to reach 😂
How was embryo transfer? Were the intended parents able to attend? Tell us about that experience.
The embryo transfer was almost a let down in a sense. I thought it would be more… dramatic? It was so simple and minimalBeing able to stay in a hotel the night before and after was so nice and peaceful. And the accupuncture was reading!
What are you most looking forward to?
Looking forward to doing my 2nd journey and see the looks on the parents face when they meet their baby!
How was the pregnancy and how involved were the intended parents during the pregnancy?
My pregnancy was a little hard because I was carrying twins. I got heavier a lot faster and that made doing anything a lot harder than with my own singleton pregnancies. It was still totally worth it but my 2nd journey I plan on only a singleton
How did you talk to other people about the process, like your friends and family? Even Strangers?
I let my family know ahead of time at a family function. I said “I want you all to know that I will be getting pregnant next month but it is not my husband’s” after a few initial questions about process and if the baby was in any way genetically mine, they were all very excited and proud. When strangers asked, I was very candid and open with my responses. Usually I was approached with, “awww how far along are you?” And I would respond with “X weeks,twins, but they aren’t mine” if they asked more questions I explained and answered.
How did you talk to your kids about surrogacy before, during and after the birth?
My kids were much older, 9 and 12. I explained that I would be carrying babies for a mom that could not. That they would not be their brothers or sisters because the drs took the dad’s sperm and the moms egg and made them an embryo. All I would be is an incubator, like when their grandpa incubated the chicken eggs. They were super understanding, and very helpful during the pregnancy and my recuperation after birth. My intended parents stayed nearby and we regularly visited and ate dinner with them.
How was your delivery and post-pregnancy?
Delivery was a little bit of a surprise as the girls entered the world earlier than my planned C-section. That resulted in the nurses attempting to stop my labor and get me into the OR for an emergency c-section. Otherwise everything happened as expected. Recovery without infant(s) is MUCH easier to do!
What were your feelings when you saw the intended parent(s) hold their baby for the first time?
I felt very accomplished seeing how happy they were with their girls. They were so ready and wanted so badly to be parents and it was so fulfilling to see their wish become a reality.
What was one thing you wished you would have had in your hospital bag that you forgot?
I didn’t even bring a hospital bag 😂 I wish I had my carmex and my own hair wash.
What is your relationship and contact with the intended parents now?
They used to send me pictures fairly regularly, like almost every week, now we talk about every month still
What did your kid(s) and/or partner say when meeting the baby?
Mostly greetings and talking to them like they had the whole time in my womb 😂 my mother in law made the burp rags, carseats covers and booboo bags.
Why did you choose to work with an agency, particularly Babytree Surrogacy?
The representative was super friendly and informative. The office girls are very supportive of us and check in with us regularly throughout our entire journey. Even now over a year after delivery, I get asked how I am, and got a birthday and Christmas gift.During my journey, pre covid-19, we had weekly events for surrogates only as well as family events monthly. Making all of our surrogates super close. I’ve made many friends through this agency that I may never have met had the agency not done supportive group events with us. It helped to know I had a group of women I could go to if I was struggling and they could come to me if they were.
What kind of intended parents you’d want to work with?
I would love to work with parents who are super involved. I’m a sharer and I want to allow them to be as involved as they want, ultrasounds, drs appts, support meetings or even just hanging out!
How would you use your surrogacy compensation?
I used my previous compensation to pay off my debts and buy myself a much need new to me vehicle
What words of wisdom would you share with other/newer gestational carriers?
Ask any question! It’s valid!
If you decided to be a gestational carrier again, what would be the reason?
Because I can and I want to help more people become parents and fulfill that dream
Anything else you want to add about your experience?
Very happy experience