Friends Forever



 

My journey into surrogacy began when I answered an add in San Diego Parenting Magazine. I had thought about being a surrogate for many years, but never took that first step. Once I made that initial phone call to Surrogate Parenting Solution, it was just two weeks and I was meeting with a couple. That night I truly realized why I wanted and needed to be a surrogate. As Mark and Laurie shared their infertility experiences with my husband and I, my heart felt pain for them. They had been through so much in the past four years to try and start their family. We met two more times after that first meeting. We were all ready to sign, but we had to wait two days before Tabitha would let us sign the contract. our contract was drawn up by Tom Pickerton, here in San Diego. I was very comfortable with the contract and choose not to seek a lawyer for myself.

The next step, was to go through the psychological evaluation. The psychologist told Mark and Laurie, "You don't have just a surrogate, you have a couple". My husband was a very important part in the process. Next was the infertility doctors evaluation and some blood tests. All went well, with all of the tests and we were ready to start with the Lupron shots. Our cycles were only four days apart, so we were ready to go on our first cycle. Laurie had her retrieval and two days later Mark and Laurie's embryos were transferred tome. Only five weeks after meeting them, I was pregnant. I continued with the progesterone shots for nearly four months. Boy, was I glad to hear that I could quit taking those shots. We soon learned that they would have twins in the fall.

It wasn't long until Mark and Laurie were able to feel the boys movement. It was at that moment it all became very real for them. It was very rewarding for me, to watch them as they got closer and closer to parenthood. To see the new hope and love in their eyes was priceless. They were finally beginning to realize that they really were going to be parents. It took them nearly 28 weeks for it to sink in, but once it did, they were busy getting the boy's bed room ready for their arrival.

Beings, this was my first surrogacy, I didn't know what to expect after the birth of their twin boy's. I felt very strange when I left the hospital with nothing. Four days after the birth of the boy's, I had my only breakdown. My husband came home from work and found me crying. I still, to this day, don't know why I was crying. But, the next day my husband took me to see Mark, Laurie and the boys. That's when I knew, we would be friends with them forever. That's when I knew they wanted me for more than just carrying their babies.

C.L.B.