Are you anxiously waiting for this month’s new Feature Story?!?! I know I am! This story comes from an amazing surrogate who delivered a short while ago. It is so fun to hear all of these great experiences. Enjoy!
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Hi, my name is Caitlin and this is my crazy, yet amazingly wonderful surrogacy story!
I have known Amber for many years. After I had my son, she had always hinted at the idea of surrogacy, but I never even thought that was something I could ever do. I get attached very easily, and the idea of “giving up a baby” was out of the question. The more I thought about it, however, the more intrigued I became. I loved being pregnant, and had a very easy pregnancy and birth of my son. Near the end of 2017, I sat down with my fiancé to talk about surrogacy and see if this was anything that could be possible. We both agreed that we wanted to wait as at some point we were planning on having another baby of our own.
In March of 2018, my fiancé brought up the subject again, but with more curiosity himself. My reaction was hesitant, as I knew what this would mean as far as continuing our own family. It would be put on hold. We talked for what seemed like forever, and came to the conclusion that we weren’t ready to continue growing our own family quite yet, and the topic of surrogacy had become a passion of mine over the previous several months. I messaged Amber that same evening, and it felt like everything that was meant to happen began immediately. We met the next day, and before I knew it, the process had started and we were officially starting this journey!
Fast forward only about a month, and we had a potential match! Yay! How easy is this?! The Skype introduction was set, and we were so excited! Then came all of the medical and psychological screenings and it just flew by! I couldn’t believe how great this was going! But by the end of July, due to unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to continue with this family. I was absolutely devastated! I thought it must’ve been a sign that I wasn’t ready to be a surrogate. I had lost all hope.
Fear not, as Amber, as many know, is just absolutely amazing! I received a message from her the middle of August saying we had another potential match! What?! I couldn’t contain my excitement! Next came the Skype interview, and I was so scared and nervous. I wasn’t sure they would accept me due to the previous events. That fear instantly went away during that chat. I knew immediately that this was going to work out even better than I imagined, and that this match was just meant to happen. In just a short month and a half, contract was signed and legal clearance was under our belts.
Next came the fun part! Medication schedules were set and the embryo transfer date was scheduled for December 20, 2018. Every day that passed between legal clearance and embryo transfer felt like forever! Finally, December 20 was here! The procedure went smoothly and my IF was able to video chat so he could be a part of this amazing day. Pregnancy was confirmed just a few short weeks later. This little boy was already so special to me and I just could not believe I was actually doing this, and all of my fears about surrogacy were quickly diminished.
The pregnancy went smoothly, with very few and minor complications, as I was hoping. Each milestone was so rewarding and my IF was just so thrilled. From the first heartbeat to each week of growth, our relationship grew stronger and we couldn’t wait until this little bundle of joy was here. I told my IF he needed to be here at 37 weeks gestation as I had my son at around 37 weeks, and I wasn’t sure how fast little surro-dude would want to make his appearance. I wanted him to be here to witness the birth of his first baby, and knew that if he waited and I went into labor, there was a good chance he wouldn’t make it in time. When he arrived, that was the first time we had met in person, and little did we know it would only be a few short days until baby was here.
37 weeks comes and goes, and with each passing day I thought I would actually carry to full term! I went to work as usual on August 21, and felt “odd”. I wasn’t having contractions but had one overall consistent tightness. I still finalized everything at work that day, and even set my automatic replies for emails because I just had this feeling… I went to the hospital, by myself, that evening after the one consistent, never changing contraction/tightness wouldn’t go away. I thought they would just send me home, so I let everyone that needed to be there know not to worry quite yet. 30 minutes later I was messaging them all again to let them know they needed to get to the hospital because I was being admitted for labor! My IF was there within the hour, along with all of my support team. I was already so emotional, we could not believe it was finally time to meet this sweet baby boy that I had been carrying the past 9 months. After another smooth labor and delivery, baby A was here in just 9 hours, and my IF was just absolutely smitten and over the moon! There was so much emotion in that room that day, and my heart was full.
No words can describe this incredible journey that I got to go through, and I couldn’t have done it without the love and support from Abundant Life Surrogacy, all of my surro-sisters, and my family. I have a wonderful relationship with my IF and surrogate baby, and that is more than I could ever ask for. Baby A just turned 4 months old and it seems like just yesterday we were welcoming him into this world. He is back home in Israel with his daddy, and they are doing absolutely amazing! I have a newfound passion for surrogacy, and just seeing the love this daddy has for his son is one of the best feelings in the world!
-Caitlin
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