2 years ago today...

...I lay nervously on an exam table hoping to become pregnant.  A few days later we learned that we were successful and our pregnancy journey began.  To celebrate our transfer-versary, I thought that today would be a good day to take a walk down memory lane.

THE JOURNEY

Nana's Plugged In To Surrogacy News

My Nana, my ninety year old Nana recently sent me an article from a magazine she was reading - Ladies Home Journal.  The article was about surrogacy.  Now we all know how much I enjoy seeing surrogacy in the news, so I was thrilled to see the article, however, what struck me more than that was the fact that Nana read the article, thought of me, and sent me the article along with this lovely note.

Jeni - Didn't know if you got Ladies Home Journal - thought you'd enjoy this article.
This lady is older than you but she's giving of herself just like you--
Love you - Nana
Hugs & Kisses to the girls!

The article was about this beautiful family.

"Bringing In Finn"

God bless my Nana.  The 90 year old woman who had no issues whatsoever when it came to me becoming a surrogate.  The woman who completely embraced the fact that I was carrying for 2 men and lovingly referred to them as "The Boys."  The Nana who was thrilled to crochet baby blankets for Gustavo and Milena that I could give to them at their birth.  And when she heard how much Farid and George liked the blankets and wanted one "their size", she gladly (and proudly) crocheted an adult size Nana blanket for them.  Nana blankets are a real specialty in our family.  We all have and treasure them and it makes me very happy to know that the guys and the babies also have a Nana blanket.

Pretty impressive that a ninety year old woman is such a cool chick, wouldn't you say?  Apparently it's in the genes.  :)

Perspective

I truly enjoy reading all of the blogs I follow.  It's one of the highlights of my day. It's very cool for me to be able to read about a surrogacy journey from the perspective of other surrogates.  It also intrigues me to read about the journey through the eyes of the Intended Parent.  This post was a neat one to read as the Intended Mother (Now Mom) has posted about her birth story, her relationship with her surrogate during their journey and what she anticipates the relationship will be now that a beautiful baby girl has been born.

Another Perspective: Thoughts from an Intended Mom

Let's Help Bernadette

Surrogate Community:

We are needed.  

Most of us know and love Bernadette, her 2 precious babies and her entertaining, awe inspiring, and at times, heart breaking blog.  Bernadette has now been in India (by herself) for 128 days.  128 days.  The good news is, Hayden is finally well enough to come home.  It's not going to be a simple process getting him home but the important thing is that it's now possible for Bernadette to come home with her babies.  It's TIME for her to come home with her babies.  

She needs help getting home.  Our help.  

Link for more information:  Let's get Bernadette HOME!

Help any way you can.  Make a donation, share on your blog...whatever you can do will help.  Imagine  what a great day it is going to be when we read that blog post we've all been waiting so long for - "We're home."  

A Surrogate's Point Of View

This post is a long time in coming.  I've thought and thought and thought about how to present this information so that it best represents how surrogates feel, and also allows Intended Parents to get a better idea of where their surrogate is coming from.  Allow me to begin this post by saying that although I believe many surrogates will agree with my point of view, I am only speaking for myself...how I feel and view things.

I have not been an Intended Parent.  I will never be able to fully communicate all of the emotions and feelings that an Intended Parent has.  This post is not designed to imply that I know where an Intended Parent is coming from. However, I am able to put myself in your shoes and imagine what kinds of things you must be feeling, thinking and wondering.  There must be many questions. Sensitive questions that you may have and may or may not feel comfortable asking.  I strongly believe in honesty and openness.  I believe that honesty and openness prevents misconceptions and assumptions.  Open communication is key, but sometimes, it's also awkward.  My hope is to address a few of the awkward topics found in surrogacy.  By being open...by being honest, I hope to shed some light on what a surrogate is truly thinking and feeling about carrying a baby for someone else.

First and foremost, once an Intended Parent chooses surrogacy as the way in which their child will be brought into this world, I imagine one of the scariest thoughts is:


WHAT IF MY SURROGATE WANTS TO KEEP MY BABY?

Talk to a surrogate...any gestational surrogate, and she'll tell you the same thing.  We do not, in any way, shape or form consider this our baby. We are very aware, from the get-go that this is your baby.  And we're happy about that.  Think about it this way, a surrogate is very capable of having her own children.  If she wanted to have a baby, it's a fairly simple process.  We would certainly choose to have our own baby if having one was what we desired. We've spent many months, sometimes years, researching and thinking about being a surrogate. We have a pretty good handle on what it might feel like to carry a baby for someone else.  We want to have a baby for you!  We want YOU to experience what we already have...a family. That truly is the main reason we do what we do.


WHAT IF SHE BECOMES ATTACHED TO MY BABY?

I've got news for you.  We will definitely become attached to your baby.  We love your baby very much. Turn the tables and imagine the opposite.  Let's say we didn't care about your baby.  We wouldn't bother with all of the injections and medications.  We would blow off Dr.'s appointments and instructions from our medical providers.  We wouldn't care about being healthy while we're carrying your child.  We would angrily endure the aches and pains of pregnancy, along with the difficult act of giving birth which does not exactly provide the most serene environment for your unborn baby. I would like to think that if given the choice, you would choose a surrogate who was going to love on your baby for the 9 months that she is carrying it, knowing that your child is in good hands.  And yes, even though we love your child, even though we are attached to your child, we want nothing more than to see you with your child.  It is not sad for us to see the baby we have lovingly cared for in your arms. In fact, it's the moment we live for.


WILL MY SURROGATE TAKE CARE OF HERSELF WHILE SHE'S PREGNANT?

You'll never find a healthier group of gals.  Well....maybe you could, but surrogates are definitely a healthy bunch.  If you're working with an agency, you probably know that we surrogates have to pass many medical and psychological screenings.  We are required to be healthy to begin with, and during the pregnancy we have the health of your baby in mind at all times.  We eat right, take care of our bodies and avoid anything that might harm your baby in the slightest.  A personal example: While carrying the twins, I was concerned at one point while in a movie theater, that it might be too loud for the babies.  That's right.  Too loud. I muffled the noise with my coat and arms.  :)  We want to make sure your babies are happy and healthy at all times. Now, this doesn't mean that we won't go back to our diet soda habit AFTER your baby is born, but during the pregnancy...you're good to go.  ;-)


WHAT DOES MY SURROGATE WANT FROM ME THROUGHOUT OUR JOURNEY?

Simple.  We want you to care. Being pregnant is so consuming.  There are very few moments in any given day where we are not 100% aware that we are pregnant. Pregnancy effects virtually everything we do. Eating, drinking, walking, sleeping, heck...even breathing! We gladly deal with it all because it's part of the gift we are giving.  We simply want to share the pregnancy with you.  We are experiencing every moment of every day of the pregnancy and we really want you to be a part of that.

We hope that you like us.
We hope that you trust us.
We hope that you appreciate us.
We melt when we learn that you are thinking of us.

We simply want to know that you care.


WILL MY SURROGATE BE SAD AFTER THE BABY IS BORN?

Possibly.  But not for the reason you might think.  We are not sad that the baby is not ours.  We are not sad that we are not becoming a mother.  The sadness that we feel is due to the fact that the journey that we have been on with YOU has come to an end.  We feel proud that we have succeeded in what we set out to do, and at the same time, we feel sad that the journey is over.  We may feel nervous and unsure about what our future looks like with you and your new family.  We sometimes worry that you'll forget about us. Some of these feelings are legitimate, some are fueled by hormones, but it's important that you know that it is in no way sad for us to be pregnant with, deliver, or see you with your baby.  Those moments are, in fact, some of the happiest moments of our lives.


WHAT DOES MY SURROGATE WANT FROM ME AFTER OUR JOURNEY?

Please know that you should never feel threatened that your surrogate is going to want to be the "mother" of your child. We have our own children.  We are happy moms already.  We are thrilled to see you in your role as "parent".  After the journey, what we really want is to know that you haven't forgotten us.  We miss you.  We think about you every day, and we would love to know that you think of us too from time to time. Skype, phone calls, emails, texts...we'll take whatever we can get.  After delivery we are very sensitive about giving you your space.  We recognize that you are busy and that the transition into parenting is consuming, so we hesitate to "bother" you with contact.  That being said, we live for updates about you and your new family.  Pictures of you and/or your family absolutely make our day. We are very proud of the gift we have given and getting to see and hear how happy you are with your family is icing on the cake.

Every Intended Parent/Surrogate relationship is a little different. Some are very personal and some are more business like.  The journey is unique for each of us.  My hope is that by addressing some of the fears and worries that may exist, there are fewer misconceptions, fewer assumptions about what a surrogate might be thinking and feeling.

In the end, no matter what YOUR journey looks like, the goal remains the same.

Surrogacy = One family helping another to create theirs.