Perseverance Prevails

Perseverance. I can’t think of a better way to describe Sylvia and Luis in their trials through surrogacy. They only wanted to help bring a child into the hearts and lives of their Couple, but success would elude them. After two years, we all knew we had to stop.

It would have been understandable if Sylvia decided to stop her participation in the program as surrogacy had consumed their lives for so long. But the desire to help someone in this way didn’t diminish. So Sylvia made up for lost time and delivered twins!! The baby girls were born on October 31, 2002 with Carson weighing in at 5lb 4oz and Harper weighing in at 4lb 9oz, making Madison a very, very happy big sister.

December 21, 2002 is also a special date as Jackson Evan was born weighing in at 7lb 3oz. Sylvia’s first couple had stopped all medical treatment and one day discovered that they were pregnant!! Congratulations to all of these families!!

Jackie’s Journey Part 2

In our October 2001 newsletter issue, you can read in Jackie’s own words about her beautiful experience that brought Baby Angel into the world on June 17, 2001. Although it was no big surprise that Jackie wanted to help again in this special way, it just surprised me that she mentioned it within hours after delivering!!

As soon as she recovered, Jackie was back in the program and was looking forward to helping Max become a big brother. So, on October 14, 2002, Max’s baby brother was born and the proud family named him Luke. Luke was quite a big boy, weighing 8lb 14oz. Congratulations to Jackie and her family for their truly wonderful contributions to these two families and our program.

Girls x 3

Girls, girls, girls. Three to be exact. Ericka’s first surrogacy experience blessed her Couple with a beautiful, baby girl named Irene. Ericka & Keith were so moved by this experience, they knew they wanted to help another special Couple before adding to their own family.

So, on September 17, 2002, two new parents were thrilled to be holding their new baby girls, Marissa and Elena, who arrived weighing 4lb 13oz and 5lb 3oz!! So the question remains…..Will the girl trend continue for Ericka? Will their son have a baby sister or two?? We’ll know in 2004. Stay tuned!

No Longer Little

Baby Justin was born on December 1, 2000, answering his parent’s prayers of 18 years. These new parents didn’t want too much time to pass before adding to their family, so they eagerly waited the time they could start again.

Well, they were surprised when the news came that they were to be blessed with not one more child, but two! Melissa delivered Justin’s brother, Jason, and his little sister, Catherine, on March 24, 2002. Now this family is not so little any longer, but truly happy and definitely complete!

What to do??

Melissa delivered Marta on June 12, 2000. These very happy new parents knew they wanted another child, but would have to wait about 3 years. Melissa wondered what to do in the meanwhile. Hmmmm? Well, be a surrogate mom for another special couple, of course!! So, that’s what she did.

On January 31, 2002 she delivered a gorgeous little guy named Joshua Busby and he weighed in at 7lb 8oz. And guess what?? Marta’s sibling is due to arrive in August 2003!

Happy Thanksgiving

Michael & Jayson were too impatient to wait for their due dates the following year, so they made their appearance in time for Thanksgiving.  Rachel and their parents were surprised by their arrival on November 17, 2001 but thankful they were so healthy.

Crush on Dr. Blake

Desiree must still be pinching herself, wondering if this past year really happened. There was a time when she wondered if she would ever be able help someone achieve what she already knew was the greatest thing, parenthood, because success would not come. Fortunately for all of us, she didn’t give up and now her Couple have two beautiful daughters. All thanks to Desiree.

Desiree’s pregnancy went so smoothly. We don’t usually have such a smooth ride when twins are involved. Dr. Blake took all of the necessary precautions to ensure that Desiree and the twin girls were doing fine. Near the end, Desiree would go in twice a week for non-stress testing which would record the babies’ heartbeats. After a few visits, we noticed that each time Dr. Blake would enter the room and speak, the babies’ heartbeats would quicken. Tracy said she thought the girls had a crush on Dr. Blake as they seemed to respond every time he walked into the room! How cute!

As Desiree entered her 39th week of pregnancy, we made plans to induce her labor only to discover that the girls had flipped which made a C-Section necessary.

After the delivery, Desiree was wheeled by the nurse’s station and heard them whispering rather loudly. She assumed they were discussing her role as a Surrogate Mom, but actually they were in awe as Desiree had just delivered the biggest set of twins they had ever seen! On August 20, 2001 she delivered Beatriz first who weighed in at 8lb 1oz and shortly after Elena was born weighing 7lb 10oz. Way to go, Desiree!!

Twin Trek

Even before the pregnancy test was positive, Rochelle knew she was not only pregnant, but was sure it was twins. Her pregnancy test results indicated that there might be twins, but she was sure of it. And she was right!! (Hey Rochelle, any ideas on the lotto numbers for next week??) There was a brief time when the doctors weren’t certain that Baby “B” would continue to thrive. Rochelle knew otherwise and she went on to prove herself right again.

The pregnancy seemed to fly by. Before we knew it, we were in the last trimester and were amazed at how incredibly well Rochelle had been carrying this pregnancy. It was surely due to the wonderful support she received from her husband, kids and her mother. The entire experience felt like a family event.

As we approached the final month, Rochelle was ready for the twin trek to be over. She didn’t think it would be possible to go beyond her 36th week. There couldn’t possibly be anymore room for these girls to grow, right? For the first time in this pregnancy, she was wrong. The girls were happy to stay in for 3 more weeks! But finally, on June 29, 2001, it was time to deliver and no one was more relieved than Rochelle and no one was happier than Sally & Grace’s parents and their big brother, Alex. Sally weighed exactly 7lb and her little sister, Grace, came in weighing 5lb 12oz.

Hospital Food, Yum!

Long ago (1997) and in a land far away (San Diego), Lady Carrie brought limitless joy to a very special Couple when she delivered their baby girl, Brielle. Sound like a fairy tale? Well it wasn’t. It was a beautiful and true story. Carrie had such a wonderful experience that she said she would call me again one day to help another Couple in this special way. After a few years, she did indeed call and she went on to have another fairy tale surrogacy experience with a lot of comedy. Those who know Carrie, know that she has quite a comedic side to her.

It was a funny discovery when we realized that Carrie’s Couple were serious when they told us that they loved hospital food. We were frequent diners at Pomerado Hospital after Carrie’s OB visits. Near the end of the pregnancy, Carrie had a dream that her Couple were in the hospital cafeteria when she delivered their baby. We were sure this wouldn’t happen as the Couple arrived to the hospital before labor had even begun. As dinnertime approached, Carrie was dilated to only 4cm and she was about to get her epidural, so it seemed like a safe time to go to the cafeteria. Well, shortly after her epidural, Carrie began to feel pressure. The nurse was sure it was too soon, but quickly discovered that the birth was imminent. Carrie grabbed her mother by her collar, pulled her close and said, “Go get my Couple from the cafeteria. Their baby is coming NOW!” Her mom rushed out of the room and found them right away. They all made it back in time for Kalani Sylvia’s grand entrance. As did Kalani’s grandparents, aunts, cousins and extended surrogate family. Whew!

I was so moved by a story about these new parents and their baby that I wanted to share it with you here. At Kalani’s first visit at the pediatrician’s office, the nurse asked the new Mom, “What is your daughter’s name?” She paused for a moment and looked at her husband with tears in her eyes and said, “Honey, did you hear that? She wants to know our daughter’s name!” It was at that moment that they realized this little girl was theirs forever.