The Beginning.......

It is May 2008 and I have decided to start this blog to track the journey that we are about to begin. To start at the very beginning, I must tell you that when Morgan was born, I was told that we are "officially" done adding to our family. Al (my husband) was very adamant that we are complete now with two boys and a girl. After many discussions, I reluctantly agreed. I realized though how sad I was to know I would never be pregnant again and never go through labor again. I know, I am crazy to actually want to keep reliving the labor process but the emotional aspect of it by far out-weighs the physical.

So last fall, I decided to talk to Al about my dream to become a surrogate. I waited for the perfect time one evening when the kids were in bed so we could have a heart-to-heart talk over a glass of wine. I was terrified to bring it up since I had no idea what his reaction would be. Amazingly, he was not shocked at all about my request and was supportive right off the bat. I was thrilled! This is something I had thought of in the back of my mind for years but never thought it could actually happen. We have seen many close friends suffer through different levels of infertility and it really makes us count our blessings and for me- makes me want to give back in a way.

After many discussions with Al I decided to start my research online to educate myself and began reading endless personal stories and journals online from surrogates and IP's. (Intended Parents). My heart melted with each story and I knew this was something I not only wanted to do, but could do!

I found two agencies in IL that I was interested in. The first was Parenting Partners and the other was Family Source Consultants. I called both agencies and had a long conversation about surrogacy. Immediately, I felt the strongest bond with Zara with Family Source. Al and I ended up meeting Zara in person for lunch on Tuesday, 5/6/08 and we knew right then we wanted to work with her agency. We looked at a number of current IP profiles she had and there were a couple that we liked- but didn't love, mainly due to location. We were not in any rush so we basically decided to just hold off.

Two days later, Zara called to say she just received a call from new IP's and felt they were the ideal match for us. I couldn't believe it! We just met Zara two days ago and at this point we didn't even have our profile completed or any other steps taken to be accepted as a surrogate candidate. She said she told the couple about us and they were interested and wanted to see my profile. We completed the paperwork and sent it out on Friday. That day, we also received the profile for "R" (IM) and "S" (IF). The minute I opened it up, I knew I would love them! Their pictures were so darn cute and I felt terrible at all the losses they have been through within the past 2 years. So, next step was to meet in person.





Here are the 3 reasons this is so important to me! No one should ever be denied this bliss. :)