Their Bun, My Oven

I want to share with you how I heard of surrogacy and how the idea came to life. I apologize in advance for the length of this entry. It’s really hard to summarize my experience up into this point in a few short paragraphs. In fact, it may be impossible but let’s see how far we get.

I first heard about surrogacy when I was 19 years old. I was working as a preschool teacher when my friend and co-worker brought it up. She told me that she was considering becoming a surrogate. I remember thinking how crazy it sounded and how fascinated I was with it. Years passed and I forgot all about surrogacy. I got married, had a baby, and was settling down into my perfect life. It was December 2011 when it was brought back into my mind. I was searching through Craigslist in the sale section. Out of curiosity I started searching the part-time employment section. As I scrolled down the page my eyes caught an add for surrogacy. Honestly, I always feel a little silly telling people I re-discovered surrogacy through Craigslist of all places, but hey, that’s the truth.

So after a few weeks of thought, prayer and consideration I decided to apply. After I sent the application I felt so free. It felt so right and I knew it was meant to be. I also knew it was meant to be after I had a response within one week. As some of my friends and family may know, I am NOT a patient person. The idea of waiting weeks, or months to hear back from them would have been awful. From there everything happened FAST. I got a phone call right after the email telling me what the next steps were. I was to create a profile about myself for intended parents (IP’s) to view which included photos of me, my family and my house. My profile consisted of  many questions ranging from what do you eat on a daily basis to are you willing to work with a gay couple. After completing my profile and submitting my photos I was told that IP’s would have access to my profile and once someone likes me I would get to see their profile. Literally two days after creating my profile, I had an interested couple. I was sent their profile and as they say, it was love at first sight. They seemed to be the nicest couple and better yet, they lived close by. So here we were, beginning of January, and we already had a match. I was so excited, and everything was happening so fast!

The next step? Meeting them in person. I met my IP’s on January 30th, the day before my son’s first birthday. I was so excited to meet them and I was SO nervous. These could very well be the parents of the baby I would have inside of me. We all met along with a member from the organization we went through. The moment I saw her I had this feeling in my heart that told me, “Yes, this is her.” She was so warm and kind. We hugged right away. Her husband was equally as kind. We sat together for almost an hour talking and answering necessary questions. The four of us left the meeting grinning from ear to ear. They had found their surrogate that they had searched for for over a year, and I had found people that truly deserved this miracle.

Everything was moving so quickly, I barely had time to process all the excitement. Over the next few weeks I was evaluated by a therapist to make sure I was mentally capable of doing this and I was seen by a doctor to make sure I was physically capable of doing this. After that it was time to talk to a lawyer. By this time it was already the middle of April. My lawyer prepared legal documents to protect both me and the IPs and once the contracts were signed we could officially begin. At that point it was May and we were ready to set a transfer date. (Transfer of embryo to my uterus)

So… you may be asking yourself, “Why aren’t you pregnant now? It’s July.” Well, unfortunately not all things go according to plan. A very important part of the puzzle was unable to continue with this process, UNLESS we waited until the end of July to start. So, here we are, playing the waiting game. But the wait is almost over…In fact, this Wednesday I go back to the specialist to learn how to start my injections. Yes, you read that right, injections. I have to stick a needle in my body everyday for 6 weeks!! All in the name of love! I will start my medication at the end of the month and then the embryo transfer is set for the end of August. Very exciting!

So that is how the last seven months of my life have been. Phone interviews, meetings, numerous doctors appointments, mental testing, answering lots of personal questions, a bunch of driving and countless emails. I know I’m leaving out a lot of stuff, but there is simply too much to tell. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask!