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.