First injection was....

Super easy! Check it out!

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Days on Prenatal Vitamins: 46
Active Birth Control Pills: 42

Baby aspirin: 1

Doxycycline: 2 

Lupron injections: 1

Vials of Blood Drawn: 12
Vaginal Exams: 2
SIS: 1
Mock Transfer: 1
Internal Ultrasound: 1

Starting IVF Meds Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I will start 3 new medications; baby aspirin, Doxycycline (antibiotic) 2x/day, Lupron (subcutaneous injection) and I will continue taking birth control and prenatal vitamins. 

This sweet pill organizer is the newest addition to my purse! Here's a breakdown of what I'm taking and why. 

Doxycycline: I'm taking this antibiotic (as well as my husband) to treat any possible low grade pelvic infections that might exist. We'll only be taking this for 10 days now and then again for a week after the transfer. I've been told to take it with food but not with other medications and not with any dairy. Apparently doxycycline doesn't play well with dairy in stomachs so I've been told not to eat dairy two hours before or after taking it. I decided I'll take it at breakfast and dinner. 

Prenatal Vitamins: these are the two large pills in the "noon" boxes and it's pretty obvious why I'm taking them. Prenatals help prevent congenital deformities (such as spina bifida) and help make sure myself and the babies get the proper nutrients.  Prenatals can upset an empty tummy so I'm taking them with lunch. I'll continue taking these through the whole pregnancy and as long as I'm lactating. 

Aspirin 81 mg (baby aspirin): these are the other little guys hanging out in the "noon" compartment. The point of baby aspirin during this process is the help improve blood flow to the uterus (which I need some help with). There have been some studies done that show a significant increase in success rates with IVF (and even regular pregnancy rates). I believe I stop taking these once I have an ultrasound confirming pregnancy. I chose the take them with the prenatals just because. 

Birth Control Pills: Friday will be the last day of these pills. Thankfully I haven't had a ton of side effects from the two months I've been on them. The pills have served two main purposes so far; Number one- making sure I don't get pregnant. Number two- helping to control my body's menstrual cycle so we can know exactly where I'm at. Although, I do have to say that my cycle has seemed more messed up since I started taking them haha. I have been taking them at night before bed so I'll continue taking them then. 

Lupron (leuprolide acetate): this is the medicine I will be injecting into my tummy. It's a subcutaneous (the fatty layer under the skin) injection that will be administered with the small insulin needles shown below. 

I'll start out administering 10 units every night for two weeks and will then drop down to 5 units every night for two weeks. Lupron's job is to essentially shut down my ovaries and put me in a menapausal type state. I've heard the symptoms are similar to that of menopause with hot flashes, headaches and nausea being common. I'm not too concerned about the shots themselves, since the needles are so small, but I am a little nervous about side effects. Hopefully they aren't too bad for me! 

Acupuncture: this week I will begin acupuncture treatment twice a week until the transfer, then directly before and after the transfer. Acupuncture has been quite successful in treating fertility issues by helping to increase blood flow to the pelvic region. ORM has prescribed this for me because they noted a decrease in blood flow to the right side of my uterus during the ultrasound they did. Acupuncture has always fascinated and mystified me. I have no idea how sticking tiny little needles all over your body could help to cure anything but there's no doubt it somehow works. I'm actually pretty excited for it! My first appointment is on Tuesday. 

These daily medications will stay the same for the next two weeks (besides stopping birth control after Friday and stopping the doxycycline after 10 days). These first two weeks are probably the easiest since the big scary needles and vaginal suppositories come later! I'm excited that the time has actually come for us to start the Meds and I'm just hoping and praying that my body responds the way it should! 

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Days on Prenatal Vitamins: 45
Active Birth Control Pills: 41
Vials of Blood Drawn: 12
Vaginal Exams: 2
SIS: 1
Mock Transfer: 1
Internal Ultrasound: 1

Merry Early Christmas to this Surrogate!

Today I picked up the best present a surrogate can get; my medication! 

Look at it all! 

So an update on what's happened since my last post. I left off having gotten my bloodwork and OB clearance done. Well, we ran into some frustrations after that.

Like I mentioned, the OB ordered one of the wrong tests so I had to have him reorder it. Well that ended up taking a week because he went on vacation and I didn't know- I thought he was just ignoring my emails. 

While we were waiting for that to go through, I found out I misunderstood what ORM told me about Mark's blood tests. I thought we could still work on my med calendar while we waited for his results but I guess we had to have those in before moving forward. So I quickly forced Mark to go to the lab and get his blood work done (he hates getting blood drawn). 

All of the test results pop up online for us to view through our insurance company. Whenever the results would post, I'd send em on over to ORM. Well, one of the test results don't get posted online so ORM has to request them with a signed consent form. A few days after Mark got his blood drawn, I began emailing ORM to get the paperwork so they can request the results. My emails went unanswered, which became quick frustrating. Something that was supposed to take about a week (blood tests and results) was now creeping up on a month. Frustrating. Very frustrating. 

Come to find out, our coordinator had gone on vacation without notifying me of her absence so I was emailing no one. How nice of them, right?! I expressed my frustration to M&S and, being the amazing people they are, they not only comforted me, but reached out to other people at ORM to figure out what was going on. We were told not to try and rush things this cycle, especially with our coordinator being gone (she won't be back until the 29th). I became discouraged. We were so close to REALLY starting this process yet it kept being delayed for reasons not in our control. I guess that's life, though, right? 

Anyways, obviously we were able to get them to work on the calendar and let us move forward this cycle! I received my med calendar yesterday and picked up my medication today. I start the medication on Monday and we have a transfer date of February 2nd! Groundhog's day! Seems like a good day to get pregnant, doesn't it! 

I plan to update quite frequently with what each med does and how it makes me feel. I'll also continue my tally of surrogacy related Meds/procedures. 

This is all really happening! Yay! 

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Prenatal Vitamins: 39
Active Birth Control Pills: 36
Vials of Blood Drawn: 12
Vaginal Exams: 2
SIS: 1
Mock Transfer: 1
Internal Ultrasound: 1

Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood

I totally forgot to update about my appointment last week! I had my OB physical clearance appointment and blood draws last Tuesday.  It was pretty uneventful but they did take 9 vials of blood!  I just found out today that I'll have to redo one of them, too.  BUMMER.  It's alright, though.  It really doesn't bug me.

There they are... in all their glory.  

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Birth Control Pills: 18
Vials of Blood Drawn: 9
Vaginal Exams: 2
SIS: 1
Mock Transfer: 1
Internal Ultrasound: 1

Are we there yet?

I'm feeling a bit stressed today.  There is so much that goes into the surrogacy process and it's just a little overwhelming right now.  All the paperwork, appointments, emails, phone calls, legal documents, etc.  Today it's just getting to me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the intricate system that they have set up because I know it keeps everyone safe and protected, but I'm just ready to be done with all the legal mumba-jumba and get on with becoming pregnant!

The list of "things-to-do" seems endless.

• I'm waiting for the results to get back from my blood work last week but the last couple tests seem to be taking their sweet time.  Plus I found out that the OB ordered one of the wrong tests so I'll have to go back and get more blood work done then wait again for those results.
• I have to make sure that the results are being sent over to ORM so they can chart/analyze the results so we can move forward. 
• I've sent ORM the same document two times and they just asked for it again so hopefully third time's a charm.
• I have the  life insurance people coming to my house on Thursday to do their physical work on me and then I'm sure it will be more paperwork to finalize that.
• I have recently found out some pretty unfortunate news about my medical insurance that could throw a loop in things.  I can't really say much right now but I'll explain after we figure out what we will do about it.  It will definitely have an effect on the surrogacy but I'm hopeful that everything will work out just fine. 
• My husband has to go in and get his blood work done, which he is absolutely dreading, and then we'll have to wait for those results.

I guess the list isn't THAT bad... there is so much waiting involved!  This is all stuff that has to be done (besides the life and medical insurance) before we can even talk about making my med calendar.  Ugh.. I just really want to move forward so I can give M and S a beautiful family! 

Speaking of M and S, we were able to Skype with them on Sunday and had the pleasure of meeting M's family!  (Hi guys!) They were all together celebrating a birthday so I was able to talk to his mother, father, sister, and wave at his grandmother and grandfather.  They are so sweet!  I can't wait to meet them in person and continue developing a relationship through this process. 

S's father emailed me a few days ago and one thing I wanted to express to him was how overwhelmingly happy I am to see the support that both families are giving M and S.  I can feel the love pouring through the emails and through the screen as we Skype.  M and S are so loved and I know these babies will be, too.  One of the things that myself and Mark wanted in an intended couple was for them to have a great support system for when the babies came.  I wanted to know that these kids will be loved and supported, not just by their fathers, but by their grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles and great-grandmas and great-grandpas.  Even though we have barely begun this journey, I have no doubt in my mind that these babies (I just noticed I keep saying "babies"- probably because that's what we're all hoping for! I'll just go with it) will be overflowing with love.  They will have so much love they won't know what to do with it.  I can't wait :)

It's interesting for me to think that I'm not only helping two men become fathers but I'm also helping to create grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, and many more.  It's quite exciting and I can't help but feel all fuzzy inside just thinking about it. :) 

First Appointment with ORM

We had the mock transfer, SIS, and uterine blood flow tests this morning; followed by our teaching appointment. Everything went pretty well! My uterus looks great and the catheter used for transfer was easily inserted, even though it was quite uncomfortable. They did mention that the left side of my uterus seems to have restricted blood flow so they are going to have me do acupuncture. I'm actually pretty excited about that! Acupuncture is fascinating to me so I'm excited to get to experience it. 

The teaching appointment was exciting for me. We went over some paperwork and then we were taught how to give the injections! There are two types of injections I will have to do- subcutaneous and intramuscular. The subcutaneous injections are really small insulin needles that I will inject into my tummy myself. The intramuscular injections are much larger and will be injected in my bum. I could probably do them myself but I'm going to have Mark do them for me. I was worried he would be too intimidated (he hates needles!) but he did great at the practice and I'm sure he'll be a wonderful nurse. Beforehand, I thought the injection teaching would leave me more anxious but it actually made me feel more comfortable about the process. 

Mark and I waiting to be seen this morning

I have an appointment with an OB on Monday to get medically cleared and have my blood drawn. After I get the results from my blood tests, we will start working on my med calendar! 

I got an idea I really like from another surro mom's blog that I'm going to start doing. At the end of each blog entry she had a tally of all the medications/needle pokes she had done at that point. So here's my tiny tally so far! 

Birth Control Pills- 7 

The First Dose of Meds

Yesterday I started my first instructed medication from ORM: birth control pills. My period started 4 days ago (I was so stoked!) and next Friday (11/21/14) I'll head into ORM for some tests. They'll look at my uterus to make sure there aren't any physical limitations, check uterine blood flow, and do a "mock transfer"- where they'll insert a small catheter into my uterus via my cervix; like they will do for the real transfer. 

I've heard these procedures don't take long but after I'll have a "teaching meeting" to go over the IVF treatment and show us how to administer the shots. 😳 I'm a little nervous but I know it'll be just fine 😊 

Before I can start any of the injections, I have a long list of blood tests that I need to get processed, along with a physical clearance from my midwife. I plan to go get my blood work done on Monday or Tuesday and should have my clearance back by Friday. 

We skyped with M and S yesterday. It was great to see them and we plan to skype every Saturday, at least. We even got to meet M's sister and they were able to see the boys! We're hoping to purchase a tablet soon which will make skyping easier. Right now we're using my iPhone which has limited sound and a relatively small screen compared to a tablet. 

I want to send a huge shoutout to M & S's families! Hi everyone!!! I'm so happy you're reading this blog and I can't wait to meet all of you some day! I know we'll get to meet some of you when M & S come for the delivery but hopefully we can meet the rest of you when we visit France after the babies are born. If any of you would like my email address, please ask M or S for it! I'd love to chat with you!

I'm so excited things are moving along! Next thing I know I'll be delivering babies into the loving hands of their fathers ❤️

Meeting the Guys!

The guys (I will call them M and S) came into town two weeks ago and we all had a blast together!  On Sunday, October 18, we spent the day with them at the zoo.  The drive there was so nerve-racking.  I worried about all sorts of silly things like 'what if they don't like what I'm wearing?' 'what if I say something embarrassing?' 'what if they hate the zoo?'.  Mark was great at snapping me back into reality and helping me down from the anxiety cloud I was floating on.  Hugging them for the first time was magical.  It just felt right and that made me even more excited to help them build a family. I can't say enough great things about M and S.  They are so funny and well versed it's ridiculous.  I know with everything in me that they will make the best dads to these babies/this baby.

Mother Nature was very great to us and gave us a perfect sunny, 72 degree day to explore the zoo before unleashing her downpours for the fall season.  We explained that this is not usual weather for the end of October but it seems that Paris has a similar climate to Portland so I think they were enjoying the sun just as much as we were.  We explored the zoo and got to know each other more and more.  Mark and I were both interested in their culture and it was so fun to learn about the differences!  We're hoping to make a trip over there some day after the kid/s are born.

We laughed and walked and got pooped on by some Lorikeets; you know, all the usual Portland Zoo stuff!  A lot of the zoo was under construction (great things happening at the Portland Zoo!) but that didn't really bother me because I was just so happy to be walking and talking to these guys.  After the zoo, we drove down to Hawthorne St. and ate at The Waffle Window.  I had stressed considerably about where we were going to take them out to eat.  I thought about all the fancy restaurants downtown, with all their glitz and glamor, but Mark and I both decided that we wanted them to get to know us for us and we are not "glitzy, glamory" type of people.  The Waffle Window seemed like a great option because it's something that will probably be new to them and, with the nice weather, we were able to sit outside and enjoy the sun.  Luckily they loved it! We were able to talk about our backgrounds, where we came from, what we believed in, and how we became the people we are today.  I have so much admiration for these guys.  Surrogacy is not legal where they live so they have had to really persevere through some hardships to get the family they deserve.  It wasn't long ago that they thought they would never have a family so knowing that I will be a piece in their puzzle to becoming parents makes me feel so honored and fortunate.

We wanted to meet again before they left so we decided to go to dinner at my place of work, Riverview Restaurant.  It was probably the best double-date I've ever been on. :)  It was a downpour that day so we sat next to the fireplace to eat good food, drink good wine, and enjoy each other.  M and S were so sweet to us the whole time they were here.  They brought presents for both us and our kids and wrote us a heart-touching note on the back of an adorable card.  They kept saying that they really appreciate us and are happy we would do this for them.  I can't express enough how thankful I am for THEM!  And how much I appreciate THEM for trusting me to do this!  Anyone who knows me, knows that all things pregnancy and birth is my passion.  I live, eat, and breathe birth.  Being able to have the opportunity to carry and birth kids for someone else is a blessing to me!  I feel honored and grateful and humbled that these men would let me help them form a family.  It's just such an amazing thing that we are embarking on and I really can't get enough of it.

One of the coolest things about them being here was being able to sign the final contract together at dinner.  A lot of international surrogates/IPs aren't able to sign the contract together because of the distance.  It was perfect timing that we were able to have the contracts ready to sign while they were in town.  It was quite special for me.

It was sad to say goodbye to them but we have been staying in contact with each other via email and will be skyping once we get our computer set up and a skype account made.  I am currently waiting to hear from ORM about the next steps and will be doing some other legal stuff to get us all set up to continue.  So far things have gone so smoothly and I just pray that it continues to go that way because these guys deserve this :)

Slowly but surely...

Progress in our journey is slowly but surely moving along.  I have a feeling things are going to pick up really fast, though.

We had our home inspection on October 6th and everything went smoothly.  The lady just came in and asked me a bunch of questions that I've been asked before (What do you eat?  How do you anticipate surrogacy will impact your daily life? What if you have to go on bed rest? Etc., etc.) then she walked through the house to make sure I'm not living in a crack house or operating a slave labor business in my basement before she went on her way.  Quick and simple.  I was stressing out thinking that I needed to clean my house top to bottom before she came but who am I kidding?  My house is never spotless and there is nothing wrong with that- so I decided against hooking myself up to a Redbull IV and scrubbing baseboards for 24 hours before her arrival.  I didn't even pick up all the toys off the ground and breakfast was still sitting on the table. :)

We received the first draft of our contract last Friday, the 10th.  We were so excited to look at all the details.  It makes this process seem much more real.  We only have one minor thing we want to adjust with the lawyer this week so hopefully we will have it all finalized so we can all sign the contract in person next week when the guys come into town.

OMG they are going to be here next week! Actually they will be in town in 5 days! AHH!  We are supposed to spend the day with them on Sunday and then again next Thursday.  I'm so nervous/anxious I might pee myself.  All of us agreed that we wanted to wait until we meet in person to sign the final contract.  Hopefully we can all do that next week!  It will be so surreal to hug these guys and get to know them on a more personal level.  I already feel a connection with them so I can only imagine what it will be like when we meet in the flesh.

After we finalize and sign contracts, we will get hooked up with Oregon Reproductive Medicine (ORM) for a physical evaluation and learn the next steps in the process.  Hopefully everything goes smoothly with ORM because I know we are all anxious to get things moving!

Slowly but surely we are making progress to giving these two men a beautiful family. :)

OH YEA! I almost forgot, I started my first postpartum period yesterday (almost 14 months pp). Yay! I didn't think I'd ever be so excited to get a period.  This means that my body is ready to move forward with a pregnancy and we can sync my body with medication. 

We're matched!

I'm so, so excited to say that we found the couple we are going to do surrogacy for! They are absolutely wonderful; even more wonderful than I had hoped for. Everything is getting very real now and it's starting to sink in that I'm going to give someone else a baby!

Yesterday we went to NWSC to meet with one of the coordinators and have a skype meeting with the couple. I kept it together pretty well beforehand but became extremely nervous while we were in the conference room waiting to call them. My stomach started to cramp, my heart was beating out of my chest, my palms felt like they were dripping sweat and I thought I might pee my pants. Then the call went through, I saw their smiling faces, and instantly felt better.

They are an amazing gay couple who live in Paris- how cool, right? Everything about them just seems so genuine and loving. We talked for about an hour and could tell they just adore each other. We shared information about ourselves, why we wanted to do surrogacy, and discussed what each of our expectations are for many different topics involving the surrogacy process. We were all on the same page about everything! We went over everything from how many embryos we want to transfer to selective reduction and abortion to our fears about the journey.

My biggest fear going into the meeting was that we would be on seperate pages on things or that we just wouldn't click. I was afraid they wouldn't love us and we wouldn't love them. Both couple had read each other's profiles but there's only so much some words and pictures can describe. They seemed so awesome on paper, but would they follow through in person? They absolutely did. 1000%. They honestly exceeded my expectations and I remember at one point during the meeting I felt like I was dreaming because they are just so perfect. I felt love for them. LOVE. I don't know how to describe it any other way. They are so deserving and loving and I really can't wait to watch them become parents.

Our biggest criteria for choosing a couple is that we really want to make sure these babies are going into a loving, safe environment. I'm not worried about anyt of the physical aspects of the process, I just want to make sure the babies will be loved. There is no doubt in my mind that these men will provide an exceptional life for these kids. They told us how their families are just so excited and how one of their grandmas wanted to send us a bottle of wine haha These guys have every quality I was looking for. They are so fun and cute and passionate about creating a family. One of the things that really melted my heart was their genuine concern for me throughout the process. One of them said their biggest fear is that being a surrogate would have a negative effect on my life and my family. Of all the things he could be afraid of, he's afraid for me. How sweet is that?!

I am just through the moon excited to continue this journey with these two. I have had a smile on my face all day and I can't wipe it off! The next step in the process is getting the contracts made up and having a home inspection from a social worker. The home inspection is scheduled for October 6th and I should be hearing from one of the lawyers at the agency some time next week. Our dudes will be visiting Portland on October 18-25th so we are going to meet up with them while they are here. I can't wait!

Pre-meeting jitters

There's only a day and a half until we will be sitting in the conference room at NWSC, calling our potential IPs on Skype. Ahhhhh I'm so nervous! I'm sure everything will go smoothly, I just hope we love them as much as we think we will. I'll post more about them after the meet but I wanted to jot down some of the questions/topics I want to make sure get covered during our meeting.

•At what point did you decide you wanted to have a Surrogate rather than other options for forming a family?
• What does your family think about you having a surrogate?
• What are your views on selective reduction?
• What type of deformities would you deem appropriate for abortion, if any?
• Will you be doing genetic testing on the embryos prior to transfer?
• What do you think about my desires for as natural a birth as possible?
• Will you support me in wanting to have a natural birth?
• How do you envision the birth of your baby/ies?
• Would you like me to pump breastmilk?
• What type of relationship are you wanting to have after the birth?
• How many kids do you hope to have in your life?
• What type of parent do you think you will be?

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list as the next day passes. I'm really hoping and praying that this meeting goes as well as I'm picturing it. I told a coworker that I was nervous about the meeting and he asked me "why?". Wellllll, maybe because I have to convince this family that I'm suitable to grow their children! That's pretty intimidating to me! He then very kindly reassured me that I am the happiest, most trustworthy person ever so that made me feel better haha. Wish me luck, guys! This should be exciting!

Steps of the Process

There are approximately 5,001 steps in the surrogacy process. I think most people involved in surrogacy would agree that "Hurry up and wait" is the motto of the process. Although it can be a huge test of patience, I'm glad there are so many hoops to jump through because that shows they are selective and want everything to work out well. Here's a run down of the steps through Northwest Surrogacy Center. The steps I've completed are in bold and the date after is when I completed them.

• Fill out initial questionnaire on NWSC website (7/1)
• Receive a call from NWSC representative (7/3)
• Fill out a more in depth Surrogate Questionnaire (7/7)
• Have a phone interview to discuss some of the harder parts of surrogacy- like abortion and selective reduction (7/11)
• In person interview with NWSC reps. Mark had to attend as well. At the interview, we went over the process pretty in depth, talked about our wishes for IPs and signed some more paperwork. (7/14)
• Send NWSC photos of our family for the profile, release my pregnancy medical records to NWSC so they can send them to Oregon Reproductive Medicine (the clinic that will conduct the  IVF cycle), and have my health insurance policy faxed to NWSC.  (All of this was completed by 8/7)
• Psychological evaluation- Mark and myself had to meet with a psychologist to make sure we are mentally stable enough to take this journey. It was very relaxed and layed back. I also had to take a 320+ true/false questionnaire. The psychologist then had to write a report and approve us. (Eval on 8/21, approved 9/5)
• Have ORM review and approve my medical records (9/3)
• Recieve IP profile and decide if you want to move forward with them- we did! (9/8)
• "Meet" the IPs. Our couple lives in France so we will be meeting them through Skype. (9/18)
• Start developing contracts (first draft received 10/10, Final draft signed 10/23)
• Home inspection with a social worker to make sure we don't live in a crack house (10/6)
• Physical evaluation with ORM ( 11/21)
• OB clearance and bloodwork (initial appointment on 11/25 with final results coming in on 12/22)

• Start medication- received med calendar 12/23, started injections 12/29 (birth control started 11/16) 
• Embryo transfer- hopefully the baby/ies stick! (2/2)
• Bam! Pregnant!- (First BETA confirmed pregnancy on 2/11; first ultrasound confirms TWINS! 3/2)
• Carry out the pregnancy
• Deliver

I'm sure there are other steps in there that I'm missing but that's the gist of it. We are very anxious to move onto the next steps!

Let's make some babies!

Hello cyber world!

My name is Kayla, I'm a 24 year mother of two handsome boys and wife to Mark. We are very excited to take part in the exciting journey of gestational surrogacy! For those of you who aren't familiar with surrogacy, basically I'm going to lend my uterus to a couple so they can bake their baby/ies in it! The baby/ies will have no genetic relation to me and they will be implanted via invetro fertilization (IVF).

So why would I want to do this? Why would I want to be pregnant for someone else and go through some of the worst pain a human will endure naturally, all for strangers? Well, the thought of surrogacy crept into my mind while I was pregnant with my first son, Gunner. Even though he wasn't planned (surprise!), I absolutely loved being pregnant. I was very, very blessed with incredibly easy pregnancies. No nausea, limited aches and pains, and an over-all happy feeling when carrying a little one. I thought, "I could do this for a living!". Being a surrogate didn't really, seriously tug at my heart until after I delivered Gunner. The love you feel for your child is unreal. That moment right after birth when you touch your baby for the first time is out of this world. I couldn't imagine not being able to have my own children. Knowing that people struggle and are unable to make a family of their own was heartbreaking; so I knew then that I wanted to give a family a baby- or two!

When I first mentioned surrogacy to Mark he was not on board but I expected that. Surrogacy is something different and new and not a ton of people do it (even though it is becoming much more popular). Also, the surrogacy stories you hear about are always the horror stories where the birth mom runs off with the baby or the Intended Parents (IPs) abandon the baby and leave the birth mom to take responsibility for a child she wasn't planning on keeping. So I understood his hesitation. In fact, I understand everyone's reaction when I tell them I want to be a surrogate- good or bad. It's something new and unfamiliar and it's only natural to question it.

Anyways, when Gunner was one, I started reading tons of blogs and doing lots of research. I had some good heart to hearts with Mark about why I wanted to be a surrogate and how it could positively impact our life and family. I explained the process (how the baby isn't related to me and, no, I don't have to have sex with another man) and that there's a good chunk of monetary compensation*.  He eventually realized how positive it would be and agreed to allow me to become a surrogate! BUT we both agreed that we wanted to have another kid, first.

So we got busy making our own baby so we could make one for someone else!

*If you're interested in how much a surrogate is compensated, please feel free to check out http://www.nwsurrogacycenter.com/surrogate_mother_compensation.html
This is the surrogacy center I am going through and the above website shows how surrogate compensation is broken down. I'm very honest about the money involved because it is a factor in our decision to carry a baby for someone else. Not that I wouldn't do it for free for the right people, but receiving money is a way for me to provide for my family while helping to create another.