Pregnancy: Month 6
6 months with Belly Bud. It's early August and we just left our Fetal Echo appointment. Both IPs joined today and it's always so lovely seeing them both. The Fetal Echocardiogram is a painless ultrasound test that shows the structure of the baby's heart and how well it's working. It's nice to get these scheduled so we can prepare ahead if they detect any abnormalities for pre-delivery planning and medical management once the baby is born. Let me tell you.. It truly is a beautiful feeling to SEE and HEAR a baby's heart fluttering. I had never been in my IM's
Pregnancy: Month 5
5 months and Belly Buddy is as big as a sweet potato and about 8 to 10 inches long. We had a full anatomy ultrasound at 18 weeks. They are quite thorough as they check the development of fetal organs and body parts. They can also detect certain congenital defects. I feel great to report that this little guy is looking and growing great! I thought once I was given the clear at my first OB appointment (after graduating from CNY) to get back to my usual workout routine, I would feel much better. It appears the bigger I am
The Process for Transfer
Everything about our first transfer was perfect. My spouse and I flew to Colorado Springs where we met up with our Intended Parent for the first time. We planned to get dinner together the first night. My spouse picked the place and made reservations. Dinner was most definitely an ice breaker. We could hardly read what was on the menu and when we received our food, it was barely a couple of bites. We all had a good laugh and decided my spouse was no longer picking our dinner spots. He called an Uber and we hit Hardees on the
The Process of Going Through Medical and Psychological Clearances
The match was official and we were all ready for medical & psychological screening. Honestly, I wasn’t too worried about what to expect. I am a huge advocate for counseling and therapy just to maintain a healthy mental state. However, I was nervous about actually completing a psych evaluation for the first time with my spouse. Let’s be honest, we are a lot more open and honest when it’s just yourself and the therapist. It took no time to get scheduled for the psych evaluation. This eased the process with eliminating the worrying while waiting. Our session was via “Zoom.”
Transfer Day
I had the perfect trip to New York for my transfer. Monday I flew out and was greeted in the Big Apple by my IM to take me to the hotel. The next morning I had my blood work and the last ultrasound to make sure everything was great for the transfer on Wednesday. My IF walked me to the appointment and then back to the hotel. The rest of the day I explored New York with my mom. We did Times Square- lots of shopping, ate at Juniors for some amazing breakfast, went to Rockefeller center, some high end
Becoming a Surrogate
So why did I decide to become a surrogate? Well I decided back in 2020 that surrogacy was a journey I wanted to explore, to provide the chance for a loving couple/family to have a bundle of joy, but my attempts were halted because of COVID and because it was not surrogate friendly just yet in New York. So after the birth of my second son February 2022, I decided I wanted to give it another try and that's exactly what I did! I looked up Surrogacy in New York and it brought me straight to the New York Surrogacy
Our Long(ish) Road to Medical Clearance
During our pre-match meeting with Matt & Kyle, Joe mentioned I'd need a current physical from my PCP's office stating that I was, in their opinion, in tip-top shape and a candidate for surrogacy. I also had asked Matt & Kyle if they had a preference for me to wait to get my Covid booster during the pregnancy (I had been holding off in case they did). The next day, I got my booster at my workplace and called and scheduled my physical. My physician was booked out for over a year but I was able to get in with
Medical and Psychological Screening
Our match has been made and now it is time to put in some work. Up next is the medical and psychological screening. Starting the medical screening was a bit overwhelming, but thankfully Joe and Melissa with NYSC were awesome and assisted me through the process. The agency helped find and connect me with a monitoring fertility clinic in my state. Once I was connected with an agency, we set up an appointment based on my cycle. My husband came with me to my appointment and it was way less intimidating than I thought it would be. I had a
A Look Inside Psychological Clearance
About a week after our official match, our assigned LCSW reached out to both myself and the IFs to introduce themselves and offer to either discuss the process or send over the initial screening packet with the understanding that we could reach out with any questions. We all opted for the latter. The packet contained Demographics Form, Criminal Affidavits for each adult in my household, Financial Resource Summary, Beck's Depression Inventory, Hamilton Anxiety Scale, PDQ-4+ Personality Questionnaire, Personal History Questionnaire, and a couple of signed releases for the LCSW to discuss findings with NYSC, my IFs, and a third party
It all Started with a Quiz!
Hello everyone! My name is Miranda, I am single mom of an adventurous 4-year-old boy. My son was a complete surprise and a total blessing. I was the person who enjoyed being pregnant. My labor was fairly easy and uneventful. I had thought about surrogacy after having my son. I discussed it with his dad (my now ex) and we decided it was not right for us. In my heart, I still wanted to do it. As a part of the LGBTQ community, I know how difficult it can be to start a family. And I had a strong desire
