A New Adventure

I've decided to start a blog to share the details of an exciting new experience that my family and I are part of. I think it will make it easier to share the details of this journey with our family and friends, and with the family and friends of Marc and Michael, our partners in this new adventure. 

I am going to be a gestational carrier for two dear friends who are eager to become parents. So, to answer your first question - What is a gestational carrier? 

A gestational surrogate (or gestational carrier) is not genetically related to the child she carries. Gestational surrogacy is also called IVF surrogacy, host surrogacy or full surrogacy. In gestational surrogacy, the egg and sperm are taken from the intended parents, or donors, and through IVF procedure the resulting embryo is transferred to the gestational surrogate. 

The next question I'm sure you're wondering is - Why/How did you decide to do this? 
Well, first the Why.....I love being a mother! It's the role in my life that I am most proud of, that I feel most blessed to be able to do, and that I would feel absolutely incomplete without. I've seen friends struggle with infertility issues and have seen friends struggle through complex and difficult adoptions. It breaks my heart to see wonderful people who would be amazing parents, unable to realize that dream. I'm good at having babies. I've done it 5 times with no complications, with 5 beautiful results. I actually enjoy being pregnant. I love being a part of bringing new life into the world. To be able to help friends that I love realize the dream of becoming parents, with my help, is such an amazing idea to me. 

Now for the How.....I've known Marc since elementary school, and I know many members of his family, who live in my small community. I think he's a great guy! A little over a year ago I was so excited for Marc and his husband, Michael, who were expecting a baby through a private adoption. They were over the moon happy and ready to become fathers, and then they received the devastating news that the mother had suffered a miscarriage and lost the baby. I knew how much they wanted a child, and even though at the time, I didn't know Michael well, I knew Marc enough to know that he would be a wonderful father, and that whoever he chose to share his life with would be a great father as well. He has good taste. :) As I got to know Michael a little more, I fell in love with him as well. He is funny, sweet, and devastatingly handsome. :) So, we started to do some research into surrogacy - what was involved, how does it work, was I even in good enough condition healthwise to do it, etc., Craig and I discussed and decided that this could be a great opportunity to help friends that we love realize their dream of becoming parents, and that we were interested in going forward. So, after doctor visits, psychological screening (yep, I passed! ), lots of paperwork, and many open and honest discussions with the guys, we started the process. 

So - now that you know what we're doing, and how and why we are doing it, I'll give you a quick catch up of where we have come since we started and where we are in the process now. We started back in the Spring of 2012 figuring out insurance, talking to lawyers about how to write up a contract, seeing doctors, getting tests done, etc. Then in December 2012 we finally got to the stage of visiting the Ohio Reproductive Clinic. We met with our doctors, I found out that I have a "gorgeous uterus" - yes, the doctor's exact words, I kid you not. (See, I told you, this is my superpower) I started working to coordinate my cycle with the egg donors cycle, and then this summer when that was completed, I started on medication to stop my egg production, as well as hormones to help prepare my uterus. So...that's where we are now! 

I got the call today from my nurse letting me know that the egg retrieval with our donor will be taking place on Thursday, and the embryo transfer will take place next Tuesday. So, we are very excited, very nervous, and very eager to see what the near future holds.

I'll do some flashbacks in future posts to let you know more details about our steps along the way, and to answer the many questions that I'm sure I'll get. But, I wanted this first post to introduce our family and friends to the process, to invite you to join us by following along in our journey, and to celebrate with us when the big day arrives!! I can't wait to see the joy in the faces of my friends when they look at their newborn child for the first time. It's going to be incredible!

Thank you to all of our wonderful family and friends for your support, love, and positive thoughts. Also, a big thank you to my nurse friends who have agreed to give me shots at all hours of the day, even when I'm not always the best patient, and to all of you who will be there for us all along the way. We will need you, and we appreciate you!