Surro Files - Meet The Parents!

Last week I informed you all that I was officially matched with an awesome couple.  This week I want to introduce you to them.  I'm so lucky to have this opportunity to share this very special time with two very special people and can't wait to start this journey with them. So without further ado, let me introduce you to Belle and Adam.

Belle is in her late 20's and was born and raised in Canada by her two loving parents.  She has one older sister and one younger brother.  They are a close knit family and love doing things together that involve being hands on such as building their house together and camping.  The rest of Belle's extended family lives across Canada and the United States.  She graduated from college with honors with a BA in English Literature. I'm guessing that's why she writes so well.  I noticed this early on whenever I read her e-mails.  Since then she's taken various other classes with a love of learning.  Currently she stays at home though, with the intention of being a Stay at Home Mom very soon.  I'm sure all the legal work of surrogacy is keeping her busier than I could ever imagine.

Adam is in his late 20's and was born in Kenya and later moved to Cyprus where he lived most of his childhood till later in college.  He has two loving parents, one older brother, and one younger sister.  In addition he has a huge extended family that extends across Asia and beyond.  Adam graduated with a degree in Animation and is currently working on starting his own studio for production of animated interactive applications for the mobile market with his primary focus being on childhood education.  I really need to remember to ask him about this.  It sounds pretty fascinating.   Before I had decided to become an interior designer I was thinking of getting a major in art with the hopes of becoming a sculptor for Disney.

I love the story of how Belle and Adam met because it's so similar to my own story of how Brian and I met.  They met online through a mutual friend in college.  They talked and then dated via e-mail and phone for quite awhile till they finally met in person in 2005.  In 2006 they moved in together, in 2009 they got married, and in 2010 they started trying to have a child.  After several months had gone by without success, Belle and Adam started working with a fertility specialist and looking into IVF.  Three IVF cycles using their own eggs and sperm went by before they realized that they were dealing with severe male factor issues (sperm DNA fragmentation) as well as immune issues (high natural killer cell) with Belle   At this point they then decided to use donor sperm and undergo immune treatments for the next two IVF cycles.  Both attempts were unsuccessful.  It was at this point that Belle and Adam ecided to look into surrogacy.  They actually looked into it before the 5th IVF cycle, but moved forward once the cycle was over.  

So how did I come into the story?  Well, let me start from the beginning.  You might remember from some of my other surrogacy update posts, that Belle and I are not complete strangers.  In fact we've known each other for about 2-1/2 years now.  We met on the Fertility Friend chat forums while I was trying to conceive Lincoln in 2010.  We started out as a small group of women that just happened to be going through the two week wait together, but stuck together and formed the group "DH+ME=BFP".  Together we supported each other through the ups and downs of trying to conceive.  Even after I got pregnant with Lincoln I still dropped in on the group from time to time, till I gave birth and eventually my Fertility Friend membership ran out.  It wasn't till last fall (about a year later), that I heard from Belle again.  She'd followed me through my blog (a fellow lover of cloth diapers), and e-mailed me to catch up on what we've been doing the past year.  She informed me that they were now living in London, were on their 5th and final IVF cycle, and would most likely be moving on to finding an egg donor, sperm donor, and surrogate to carry their child very soon.  And that's when it all started.  We didn't know at that point that I would be her surrogate, but the idea was in my head and I worked in that direction from that point on.  You can check out my other posts in the Surro Files to read how everything progressed from the point I officially decided to become a surrogate to the point where Belle  Adam  and I were officially matched last week.  It's been amazing so far and the journey has only just begun.

So that was the long story.  If you asked me for the short story though, I would probably say that Belle and Adam are just a loving couple that want what any other couple wants... To start a family.  They want to give the same love and devotion that they were given as children by their parents, to a child of their own.  They want to watch them grow and accomplish from birth to adulthood.  They want to nurture and provide; love and be loved.  They want that dream to come true.  And I feel that their dream is just around the corner.


*Don't forget to check out my "Surrogacy" tab at the top of this page to catch up on any posts you might have missed*

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