Thursday, February 23, 2012

A good answer to THE question....

No news yet.  Man, I am so impatient! I check my email every 5 minutes :)

I am happy to say I have gotten such amazing feedback from all of my family & friends.  So much positivity!  You guys have no idea how much it means to have your support.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The main question I have gotten is "WHY?"  Well,  I wish I had a good answer for you.
Surrogacy has always interested me and I think my thoughts started back in high school about wanting to be a surrogate mom.  It was something that was always in the back of my head but I never thought it would be something I would do.  However, most of you that know me, know that if I want to do it... I DO IT.  So, I guess it goes without explanation that if I wanted to do it, it would happen.  I mentioned it to Steven a few times when we were dating but we really didn't discuss it much.

After the boys were born it was a constant thought of mine.  Steven and I would talk about it here and there but nothing serious.  After the boys' first birthday Steven and I had the major discussion that we didn't want any more of our own children.  We had always planned on having two kids & so just because we got them at the same time, didn't mean we had to change our plan & have more.  So last summer I started becoming very serious with surrogacy plans & applying to agencies.  At this point, Steven was on board and understood how much it meant to me.  I guess you could say this is a dream of mine.  I want to help deserving parents make THEIR dream come true. I couldn't imagine not being able to get pregnant & have to deal with infertility.  It isn't fair.  Everyone should be able to have their own child.  Plus, I loved being pregnant.
These past few weeks I have been reading several blogs written by surrogate moms & it has really helped prepare me for whats to come & what to expect thru-out it all.  Last night I came across a blog written by an intended mom.  It was so neat to read the other side of surrogacy.  I still have a lot more reading to do on this blog but I came across one post that just SAYS IT ALL.  Like I said, the one question I have gotten is "Why would you do this for a stranger?"  And, I feel like what people want to say is "So, you are getting paid for this?".  Well, yes and no.  Yes, I will be getting paid but no this is NOT why I am doing it.
This blog I was reading had a surrogate mom ask what the intended moms view of the compensation was and I just LOVE her response.  If you choose to not read anything else that I post... just read this.

The intended mom was asked this question  
"Jaymee, you speak so highly of surrogates. How do you feel about the compensation aspect? Most surrogates request financial compensation for their journeys. I'd love it if you could post your thoughts, as an Intended Mom, on that issue. As a surrogate, that was (and continues to be) my biggest hurdle. From my seat it feels like people suck all of the good out of the journey just because of that one detail; as if it is not a good thing unless it is "free". But the people speaking those words have never been in your shoes; I wonder how it is viewed from your side?"


And here is HER response.  Again, this is coming from an intended mom. (so, the mom who will be having a surrogate carry her biological child for her).



"Wow, are you sure, you would not just like to know the meaning of life?
Seriously, this was one of my major concerns when we started this process. First, I need to dispel the myth that all surrogates are poor, financially unstable, and uneducated. In my experience, this could not be further from the truth. The majority of these women are doing this to help others experience the joys of parenthood, they had easy pregnancies or in some cases dealt with infertility themselves or someone close to them has, the money that they receive is a secondary benefit. From what I have read many of these women are using the money to put away extra funds, start college funds, or to help pay for further education for themselves, they are not using the money to throw crazy parties or expensive vacations. Most of the surrogates that I know are appalled when others comment on how nice it must be to get the extra money.
It would be wonderful to live in a world where everything was free, time ran as fast or a slow, as we needed, and every problem would be solved with a hug and a kiss. Unfortunately, we live in a world where everything, including the air at the gas station, costs money. We as a society have agreed that the paper with dead white guys on it is how we are going to trade goods and services, and yet somehow we have made it something dirty when it come to particular goods and services. I guess I could give my surrogate a $25,000 piece of jewelry, like a friend of mine received from her husband after the birth of their first child. That would then really feel like buying a baby and what a more degrading way than with something bright and shiny like you use to distract small children.
For me the compensation came down to taking an honest look at what money was being paid out and what that money was for. Reality is that being pregnant costs money, you eat more, you need new clothes, you need more help with you own children, you have to travel to doctors' offices and worse you have to sit in doctors' offices. Then there is the physical toll that pregnancy takes on the body, weight gain, swelling, being uncomfortable, heartburn, hemorrhoids, morning sickness, not seeing your feet, loss of sleep, limited mobility, and a thousand other things. Of course, there is the big pink elephant on roller skates in the middle of the room, the baby/ies have to get out, and that is something that is not pretty, I saw the film in health class and that is some serious pain and suffering. Of course, this would be assuming that she was getting pregnant the "old fashioned way", which is not how it works. So add to all that the injections (done by her significant other or herself), hormone overloads, and all the other lovely things that come along with regular infertility treatments. Now tell me that you would willing do that free for a stranger.
In making, my decisions through out this process I have tried to put myself in the shoes of our future surrogate. This is hard to do at times, because I have never been pregnant and cannot fully appreciate what pregnancy is like. I consider myself to be a very generous person, I give to charity, donate my time, and think nothing of going out of my way to help others, but short of doing this for my sister (and even then there would have to be some really nice Christmas presents) I would never put myself through all that for nothing. Sure, the knowing that I helped fulfillsomeone's life dream would be an amazing feeling, but realistically I do not think that many people are that altruistic.
This is Joe-bob and mine's child who is lucky enough to have another woman willing to get them through the gestation period. This is going to sound like I am insane but bear with me for a moment. As a teenager, I was clinically depressed and my parents, who loved me more than anything, sent me to a boarding school where people could help me in a way that they were unable to at the time. Those people were paid to care for me when my parents were unable to, and nobody would expect it to have been any other way. I am unable to care for our child through gestation so we are sending it to someone who can. I do not see any difference in me going to boarding school and using a surrogate. Maybe I am stretching here but I really see these things as analogous.
What our surrogate will give to us is something that no amount of money could ever repay. How much is the appropriate amount for a dream? So realistically, the compensation that she is getting is simply for her pain and suffering, and I believe that she deserves every penny of that 25 to 35,000 dollars. At least this way I do not feel the need to follow her around for the rest of her life laying rose petals at her feet or erect a temple in her honor. In reality, she is not just giving us the chance to be parents. Going through this process is giving us the chance to heal from years of disappointment, intense pain, and so many moments of agony. Infertility takes away so much of your dignity, self-respect, confidence, trust and faith in humanity; it makes you bitter and makes the world a horrible place to live. The first time that I knew it was stealing parts of me was the first time that someone who I love told me that they were pregnant and I was angry. People are supposed to share in the happiness of a new life, not be angry and jealous. I do not want you to think that I believe a child alone will heal all this, because it will not and I am well aware of that.
Before we started this process, I did a lot of work on myself. Bringing all the pain and hurt of infertility into a surrogacy takes away from the beauty of the process. If you are going to be jealous of your surrogate and think that you are less of a woman, because another woman is carrying your child then you and your surrogate are in for a very long journey. From what I have seen of others' experiences it is these feelings that lead to misery for everyone involved. This is not a process for the weak; you have to know who you are and where your limits are to get through this, which goes for both parties. People are going to question what you are doing and say some of the most horrible things you have ever heard straight to your face. Without knowing whom you are and how you got here surrogacy is going to be another painful experience and the pressure will bury you. That is why being in this for just the money will never work; there is not enough money in the world to make anyone go through what surrogacy asks of you. It is a beautiful and amazing way to begin a family. It is also difficult and emotionally draining.
I want to get as much information into the world as I can about this process.
 I hope this answered your question. "



I hope this puts into perspective WHY I am doing what I am doing.  Reading this moms response just warms my heart.  She truly gets it.  She knows what the meaning of life is and that is all I want to give... life.  


Thanks for reading.  :)

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Couldn't be more excited!

Wow, what a day we've had.  A great, perfect, extraordinary day.

It started at 6am when we hopped into the car and headed to Wisconsin to the Agency we are working with.  We met LeeAnn right away and I instantly knew we were in the right place.  Everything was no natural & I felt like I could talk to her for hours.
For the next two hours we talked about the entire process and what we could expect.  It was so nice to be able to ask ANY questions we had & also to be able to hear what this journey was going to be like.  We talked about all the "what ifs" and "could yous"....  LeeAnn was very impressed with us & said we were ideal candidates.  We still weren't 'in the clear' YET since we had 3-4 hours of psychological testing & interviews to do.  But, we were pretty confident that would go ok.

Well, it did!  We talked about everything with the psychologist.  Our childhood, parents, siblings, the way we were raised, our values, our beliefs, our life experiences, why we want to do surrogacy, our jobs, my past pregnancy, the boys, and basically anything else you can think of!  It was great for us to get everything out there and also for the doctor to read into anything we said and ask us questions about that circumstance.

She also went into great detail about all of the emotions that will come with surrogacy.  It was good to hear it from a doctor that ALL emotions will be normal.  I know this baby will not be mine in ANY way, shape or form, but she reminded me that we are all human.  So, after the baby is born, REAL emotions will happen.  So, she reminded Steven that he needs to be there for me, 100%.  Which, I have no reservations about.  We talked about all the 'what ifs' and 'could yous' with the doctor too.  And, she was very candid in explaining the situations that could arise.  It was great to be reminded that this might not be an easy process... but it was also helpful since Steven and I have already had all these converstation & we were on the exact same page.
We finished our personality assesments (350 question fill-in-the-bubble test), our individual interview & interview together... we were anxious to hear what the doctor had decided about us.
She said "well, you guys are ideal candidates.  I would be thrilled for you to be a carrier"
We heard later that she actually told the director of the agency "Man, I wish I could clone this couple!  I wish all couples were like this!"
That warmed my heart.  I knew that Steven & I are emotionally strong enough to do this, but it is great to hear it from a professional that just listened to us babble on and on for 4 hours about ourselves  :)

The agency & doctor both told Steven and I that we have an advantage over other surrogates because of our past pregnancy with the twins.  Surprised by that?  Yeah, me too.  But, I guess we are pretty well rounded & have dealt with many decisions that most people hope to never have to make.  We were approached with selective reduction, laser ablation surgery, preterm delivery, and NICU time... lots and lots of NICU time.  So, I guess this really proves that we can deal with stress & not turn into wackos  :)

So, what next?  Well, we wait.  They said that we probably won't be waiting very long because a match will be VERY easy to do for us.  Some surrogates have very strict 'rules' and 'guidelines' about what they will carry, who they will carry for, etc, etc and we are pretty open to any loving parent who comes our way.  We want the parent(s) to know that this is their child.  They get to make the major decisions about life long choices.

So, we are excited to hear back about a potential match!  Could be a week... could be 10 weeks.  Who knows.  But, as soon as we hear anything, we will let you know!  Oh, and BTW... they have a lot of out of the country parents.  How cool would that be?!
Ok, I have officially rambled on for way too long!  This was a hodge podge entry... sorry!  I am just too excited to make sense of all this!!

Thank you for your support!  The news is officially OUT!  (haha.. which in todays world means its been posted on Facebook :)


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Heading to Wisconsin!

We have heard back from the agency and we are heading there this Thursday for our interviews and evaluations with the Psychologist!  We are pretty excited to take the next steps & it sounds like (from other surro-moms) that after this step, everything moves pretty quickly!
The agency sent us an email today and explained the process that we will go thru on Thursday.  She said that we will discuss the program & go over all of the details for the first few hours of the appointment.  At this point they can answer any of our questions about how this will all work.  And then we will meet with the psychologist & she will interview us both separately (but in the same room), just to be sure we aren't wackos who are going to be crazies during the next year.  :)  I promise, we are very normal!!  We will also do a PAI (Personality Assessment Inventory), fill in the circle test.

So, with all of this information, they will hopefully be able to tell what kind of people we are and that the only reason we want to do surrogacy is to help another family making their dreams, a reality.

We are so excited to get this journey going and to be able to share all of the news as it happens.  Thanks for reading and we will post some fun details later this week after we are back!




Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Well...Here's what I have to say...

Well, let's start this post by saying, I am glad you are reading this!
I feel pretty darn lucky to be living this life o' mine.  In fact, I don't know why I am so fortunate.  Maybe that is what got me to this point...Feeling blessed.
All my life I have had a passion to 'give back' to others and constantly live my life 'paying it forward'.   I really don't know what fuels all of this inside me but I just loving giving to others and putting a smile on someone's face, in any way that I can.
Surrogacy has always interested me and last year I decided to start to take the next steps in making this dream, a reality.
I filled out a few applications and was immediately turned down because of my twins' premature birth.  My twins were identical & contrary to popular belief, identical twins are completely spontaneous and only happens when one embryo splits into two embryos.  My twin pregnancy also suffered from an extremely rare condition called Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, which can only occur in identical twin pregnancies and of that #, only 10-15%.  So, very very rare.  So, I was devastated to start receiving letters of denial.  Because in reality, this really can't happen again.  Well, it could... but no more likely of it happening to me than any other surrogate.

So, I started talking to friends and family about my desire to be a surrogate and that is when I learned of an agency in Wisconsin.  I had heard that this particular agency was very open to all kinds of past pregnancy 'complications' because this agency understood that this is a gestational surrogacy(meaning it will not be my egg.. I will just be the carrier).  So, the genetics have nothing to do with me (or Steven), therefor, nothing to do with my past pregnancy history.
As long as I am healthy, emotionally & physically, and I meet all the other requirements, I could be accepted.
So, I was pretty excited to hear about this agency and I immediately went to work on filling out the lengthy application, submitted photos of me & my family, sent my insurance documents, etc, etc, etc.  I waited patiently for a reply, trying not to get my hopes up, in case it was another let down.
I was so thrilled to hear back with "Your application is lovely, we would love to meet you and your husband to go thru the next steps."  It was music to my ears!  Could this be happening?  I am GOOD enough?  My body is GOOd enough?  Oh, I hope so.
So, as of right now, we wait.  The attorney's are looking over all of the insurance documents to be sure it will be covered.  If that is the in the clear, then we are off to Wisconsin to meet with the agency.  I am pretty giddy at this point, to get started.  I just can't wait to help bring a child into this world for a loving couple.  Stay tuned for my rollercoaster ride!---  I just realized I keep saying "Me, My and I"... I need to start saying "Us and We" because this is just as much Steven's journey as it is mine.  Ok, maybe not THAT much credit for Steven... but, he still has to put up with me thru all of this.  But, after 6 years together, he knows how to 'put up' with me pretty well, by now.  :)

Also, I should add a disclaimer to this :)  I know surrogacy is NOT for everyone.  Just because you wouldn't do it, your mom doesn't believe in it or you think it's 'weird', doesn't mean it is wrong.  I have prepared myself for the negative-nellies but this will be a learning experience for me too, so I would love for support from my family & friends.
I closed this post and then seconds later this quote popped up.  I felt the need to add it after what I just wrote...  "It is not for you to judge the journey of another's Soul. It is for you to decide who You are, not who another has been, or has failed to be"