Phone Consultation

Yesterday, I had my phone consultation with GG. They asked me some questions about my health and pregnancy and gave me some info about GG and the process moving forward. I filled out the rest of the application and they unlocked all of the paperwork. There are a lot of things I need to fill out and gather. I can't turn any of it in until Haley is weaned, but I can read through it and ask any questions that we have. I also need to request my medical records which could be a feat in and of itself. I also looked at the profile I will have to put together and I am already feeling overwhelmed about what to put in my letter to IPs. I am hoping I can get some examples or further guidance from GG. I am hoping that we will be able to go to LA for our screenings in April. Until then I have a lot of homework:o)

A Response

So, someone called me from GG Wednesday, but it was a restricted number and they left no message, so I didn't know what to do (or if it was them). Thursday afternoon, since I still hadn't heard anything, I emailed them and got a response within the hour! She said that she had tried to call me and had a question about me still breast feeding. She said that they like their surrogates to not be breastfeeding. I told them that made sense, but I was hoping that we could start the process of filling out paperwork and getting medical records, so when I do stop breast feeding, in a couple of months, we can hit the ground running. I also clarified about my insurance, since there was a question about whether my insurance excluded surrogacy and I put yes because I didn't know and I had to put yes or no. She replied back early Friday morning that we could proceed to the phone interview! and that my insurance is favorable for surrogacy- double yay:o) So, as of now, I have my phone interview scheduled for Tuesday at 11 am. Hopefully, Haley will cooperate and be napping at that time:o) I am a little nervous, but mostly excited to see how this all goes.

The Beginning

It all started several months ago on a weekly walk with my friend, Anne, I mentioned that I was thinking about becoming a GS. We talked about it at length and she and I were very excited about it. I then discussed it with my husband, David, and he was on-board.
Then I started the research. It was VERY, VERY, VERY overwhelming. I figured out that I needed to find an agency, but how do I know which one to choose, there are sooooo many?! Anne found a vlog by an IM and a blog by a GS which were very helpful. I looked at several agencies online, but wasn't thrilled by any of them. The blogger finally mentioned the agency that she is using (Growing Generations- GG) and I looked into it and really liked it. From their website, I found another blog and from that blog lots of other blogs, many of which used GG. Tuesday, I filled out the initial application, and I am waiting for the response which is supposed to be in 1 business day. If I don't hear something today, I will email the lady, this afternoon. All of the blogs have made me very excited, though I am in no hurry since I am still breast feeding, David is taking a super-important test in October and we have a celebration vacation scheduled for October. I am hoping to get rolling in March or April and pregnant no sooner than this summer. We will see!

The Why

I thought I would start with an explanation of why/how I decided to become a Gestational Surrogate (GS).
Since before I was physiologically capable of having a baby, I knew I wanted to be a mom. I married my high school sweetheart at 21 with the agreement that when we were financially stable we would start a family and I would be a stay-at-home mom. Finally, 6 years later, our ducks were finally starting to cooperate and tend toward a line. In February of 2011, I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl!
After we got married, I looked into being a GS and discovered that I had to have had a baby of my own first, so it went on the back burner. Fast forward several years, we have decided to have 4ish years between our kids, so it seems like the perfect time to re-visit surrogacy. I absolutely love being a mom and would love to help another couple achieve that dream, and, if I can help my own family get a leg up, even better:o) I don't mind being pregnant, I got pregnant easily and I had a very easy pregnancy.
So, here we go. . .