A New Adventure Begins - The Gift of Surrogacy

I'm excited to say that my family and I will be embarking on an exciting new adventure very soon. After years of toying with the idea, I've finally decided to give one of the greatest gifts I can give. I've decided to become a surrogate mother for those that do not have the option to birth a child on their own. I've been wanting to do this for awhile now, but only recently has it become an option and agreed upon by my my husband, kids, and I. It will be a group effort so we don't take this decision lightly, but now that we've decided, I know it will be an amazing journey and a life learning experience.

Gestational Surrogate:   A gestational surrogate is a woman who is implanted with an embryo(s) that contains the egg and sperm of the intended parents. In cases where the intended mother is unable to produce healthy eggs and/or the father is unable to produce healthy sperm, the gestational surrogate will be implanted with an embryo(s) that contains donor eggs and/or sperm. Once pregnancy is achieved, the surrogate mother will carry the baby to term on behalf of the intended parents.

I first thought seriously about becoming a surrogate in 2009 when one of my best friends found out that she had went through menopause extremely early in life and could no longer have children on her own. Had she have decided to, I would have gladly carried a child for her or given her my eggs. Since then the idea has remained in the back of my mind. It wasn't till recently that the idea came back to the front of my mind again. Over the years I've met hundreds if not thousands of women trying to conceive children of their own. Some got pregnant quickly in their journey. Others were blessed after years of trying. Then there are others that are still trying after many years of repeated attempts. That's when my friend Belle contacted me. I met her on Fertility Friend (a trying to conceive website) while I was trying to conceive Lincoln. I left the site after Lincoln was born but Belle had kept up with me through my blog. She e-mailed me to let me know that she was now on her fifth and last IVF attempt. Hopeful, but wanting to be prepared, Belle was already planning the next step. They had decided if this attempt didn't work they would use donor eggs, donor sperm, and a surrogate. With this plan in place she was excited and hopeful that they would soon have the baby they so much desired. IVF attempt #5 did fail and she's already begun the process to search out those that will make this dream come true. I would love to help her out, and maybe if the timing is right our paths will cross, but even if they don't I wish them all the best and can't wait to help create a miracle for a deserving couple looking to add a baby to their family.

And so our journey begins. Through my blog I will keep you all updated on the process and how things are going. It might be a long road but we're very excited to walk down this new path in life and hopefully bring life, love, and happiness to another couple.

I'm going to try and keep this journey organized through the tab at the top of this page titled, "Surrogacy".  Feel free to follow me as I continue on this new road in life.

*Some of the names in this post have been changed to protect the identities of those involved in this journey*