After Holly and her doctors tried everything to stop their arrival, Jackson, Ivy and Anna Belle decided to bless us with their presence on November 17, 2003. This experience gave us all a lesson on how powerful prayers, love and determination can be. Their continued progress is a true testament to that!
During the Couple’s visit to California, the Intended Mom had a medical complication and without immediate medical assistance she could have become gravely ill. Even before I considered that Vanesa might be their surrogate mom because she had just cleared into the program just days before, I enlisted Vanesa to help me with their medical situation. I needed someone in San Diego who spoke Spanish to help them through the hospital process and Vanesa immediately came to my mind. She dropped everything and took them to UCSD Medical Center where she demanded immediate attention for this woman she didn’t even know. She took such great care of this Couple and after considering their experience thus far, it was so obvious that they would be a perfect match. A bond was formed between them that day as Vanesa gave of herself to help this Intended Mom and it grew even stronger through to the day that Vanesa gave this Couple another wonderful gift, Delia, who was born on November 16, 2003 weighing 6lb 7oz. And their bond is still going strong!
I wonder if Marta initially understood why she traveled from Spain to California. Although everyone kept speaking about the baby that was coming, she was busy having such a good time visiting the many places that Southern California offers. All she seemed to know is this was the best vacation she had ever had. Then suddenly on August 28, 2003 things changed in a big way.
At first she was only slightly interested in her new baby sister, but as the days passed she became very possessive of little Ester who weighed in at 5lb 8oz. I’m sure the day will come when she will realize how important this trip was to her and her family. It brought her a sister to share her life with and another daughter for her parents to treasure forever.
This year brought many challenges to several Surrogate Moms and Rosanna was no exception. She too was put through many trials before she could finally achieve a pregnancy for a special Couple. Then during her twin pregnancy, her husband “S” was sent to Iraq to assist our country in its mission there. I was amazed at how well Rosanna handled every situation that was handed to her. Even with the complications that a twin pregnancy brings, she managed beautifully.
Rosanna brought endless joy to her Couple’s hearts and lives on August 3, 2003 when “H” & “C” were born.
When I matched these two together, I didn’t realize how much they would have in common. They shared some friends and co-workers too. It was a pleasant surprise to us all!
The involvement of the extended families made this journey a truly enjoyable one. So it was no surprise that the grandma-to-be attended the birth of her grandchildren along with the proud parents. On June 2, 2003 the hopes and dreams of Lisa’s Couple were fulfilled when she delivered Nicholas Dean weighing 6lb 1oz and his bigger sister, Natalie Rose who weighed in at 7lb 2oz.
Connie had so many hurdles to overcome once she decided to be a surrogate mom, I was sure she would quit. I would not have blamed her if she did. But she refused to let anything stop her. She was determined to help a Couple achieve what she and Vince knew was the greatest thing on earth…parenthood!
Her last embryo transfer was given the same odds as the previous…..Little hope. But Connie followed the instructions regardless of the odds and was as surprised as the rest of us when I screamed, ?You?re pregnant!? Then we called the parents to let them know. At this point with each prior attempt, they were disappointed but handled the news well. This time when we called with the positive result, the Mom started crying so hard and hysterically that the Dad thought it was negative again and that she had snapped! As he was embracing her telling her how sorry he was, she between sobs was able to mutter, ?No, no…that’s not it. She’s pregnant, she’s pregnant!?
Although Reagan came a little earlier than we had planned, she arrived as healthy as can be on April 28, 2003 weighing in at a petite 4lb 2oz.
Piya was so happy to learn that the Mom of the babies would be staying in California for the duration of the pregnancy so they could share in the pregnancy together. “Mom” was from a foreign country, living in Los Angeles and traveling to San Diego for doctor’s appointments and other visits. It was quite overwhelming at first for her. But soon she adapted to our culture and language. In a short time, where there was once a language barrier was forever broken. Piya was so supportive and helpful to this “Mom” throughout that year. Then on March 17, 2003 she gave her and her husband the best gift in the world when she delivered Ji & Seung. Congratulations for making such a difference Piya!
Desiree brought not only hope to two couples, but proof that with enough faith and perseverance dreams do come true. In August 2001, Desiree delivered twin girls with record breaking birth weights of 8lb 1oz and 7lb 10oz to a Couple who were on their last try to have a baby.
If that wasn’t enough pressure, I then matched her with a Couple whom came to us from another program. Not only had they experienced more unsuccessful attempts than they care to count or remember their hearts were broken and their faith was weak. So, Desiree gave her heart and offered her faith to get them through the next attempt. Their baby boy arrived 9 months later on February, 25, 2003 weighing 7lb 10oz.
Chase arrived December 26, 2000 after a fun-filled and exciting 9 months…plus a week! His parents, like many of our other new parents, knew he would not be an only child. Their eagerness to start again overshadowed any doubt that sooner rather than later was what they wanted.
So as Chase was rapidly approaching his ?Terrible Twos?, so was the due date of their twins! November 12, 2002 marked the end of Chase’s only child syndrome, and soon thereafter changed his life forever. He was curious and intrigued at first, but after a while, he was ready for them to go away! Fortunately, he now has taken nicely to his baby brother, Kyle and baby sister, Ella. They weighed in at 6lb 1oz and 6lb 6oz, respectively.
This second pregnancy was quite the media event. I had to call Sam’s ?people? in order to get an appointment to speak with her! No, it wasn’t like that, but we sure enjoyed pretending it was. CNN participated in an embryo transfer and a cameraman followed Samantha for months. That was totally tolerable because he also brought along a hair and makeup person! The day after the delivery, CNN and the local television news in San Diego came by the hospital for more interviews. Then we wrapped up with a story for Ladies Home Journal that will be the feature story in their May 2003 issue. Wow, do these kids have agents yet??
What do you get when you combine the birth weights of this Mom, Dad and their dog?
Still less weight than their baby girl who weighed in at 8lb 4oz!!
Chris, John and their girls Brooke and Nicole came through once again, bringing yet another baby girl into this world. You?ll recall from her last birth story that Brooke & Nicole believe that their Mom only knows how to make girls. They were proven right again on November 5, 2002 when Emma arrived.
