The Surrogacy Pregnancy Half-Way Point
Featuring: Surrogate Annie McCabe
Surrogate Annie McCabe is not a newcomer to the surrogacy process or the milestone 20-week appointment. Annie is now more than halfway through her second surrogacy pregnancy, and she has had two prior pregnancies for her own two children. But the anticipation and excitement of the 20-week sonogram appointment is as exciting as it ever was!
Annie shared her thoughts and feelings about her recent 20-week check-up appointment by answering a few questions about the experience.
1. Did the parents join you for the appointment?
Yes! The parents attended the appointment with me! I loved having them there and sharing the moment. I feel like the 20-week appointment is a big one and it’s the first chance to really see the baby. Makes it all very real for everyone!
2, Did you find out the gender of the baby?
We did not. The intended parents have decided to wait!! Which I love!! I found out with both my keepers, and they found out with their first, so we are all excited about finding out at delivery.
3. What was the best part of the appointment for you?
Just seeing the baby!! I loved seeing the little legs and arms move. We had trouble getting a good profile shot but the parents ended up with great pictures of the baby’s face. It’s so amazing how much change has happened between that first ultrasound and the 20-week scan.
4. What was the biggest difference between your pregnancies for your own children and your surrogacy pregnancy?
You know I was just as excited about this appointment as a surrogate as I was with my other pregnancies. There is just something about seeing life growing that is so surreal. And as surrogate, to be a part of that experience with and for another family is indescribable!
5. What did you do immediately after the appointment?
We looked at the sonogram pictures and were amazed at how great and detailed they were! The parents got some great pictures! We then said our goodbyes and headed off to work.
If you are thinking about becoming a surrogate like Annie, or are looking for the perfect surrogate to grow your family, Pathways To Parenthood Surrogacy Agency can help you get started today! We can answer your questions about the surrogacy process, so you know what to expect and how to get started. Contact us to schedule a consultation appointment. We can help you like we have helped many other surrogates and future parents in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky and New York. We look forward to hearing from you!
5 Things I Love About Being A Surrogate: Featuring Betty Vaughn
Becoming a surrogate for the first time is the beginning of an amazing life experience full of surprises, personal growth, and awe! First time surrogate Betty Vaughn is currently 34 weeks pregnant and shared that she feels it is a blessing to have the ability and opportunity to help someone who has faced struggles and challenges to have a baby and grow their family.
Here are 5 things Betty loves about being a surrogate (in no particular order)!
- Helping others by giving a family the blessing of a child. Becoming a surrogate to help someone who has had so many struggles and challenges to have a baby is a blessing for Betty as well as the family she is helping.
- Working with a family that lives in a different state. Betty loves to travel and see different ways of life than her midwestern roots. Surrogacy has given Betty the opportunity to see two new places she has never been before and may not have had the opportunity to see if not for her surrogacy process and pregnancy.
- Being pregnant! Surrogacy gave Betty the opportunity to be pregnant again and is one of the major reasons why she wanted to become a surrogate. Her two pregnancies went well, and she wishes everyone was blessed with the same. Knowing that is not the case motivated her to pursue surrogacy. She especially loves feeling the tossing, turning, kicking and little hiccups again!
- The relationship with the parents. Betty especially appreciates the kindness they have shown to her and the great communication they have had throughout the surrogacy process and pregnancy.
- Relationships with the amazing healthcare staff. The doctors and nurses at Shady Grove Fertility in New York are very caring and compassionate individuals that helped Betty through the medical process and have supported her more than she expected, or knew she needed. They have stayed in contact with Betty throughout the pregnancy which shows her that she is important to them. She is grateful and feels very blessed!
If you are thinking about becoming a surrogate like Betty, or are looking for the perfect surrogate to grow your family, Pathways To Parenthood Surrogacy Agency can help you get started today! We can answer your questions about the surrogacy process, so you know what to expect and how to get started. Contact us to schedule a consultation appointment. We can help you like we have helped many other surrogates and future parents in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, Ohio and Kentucky and New York. We look forward to hearing from you!
Happy Father’s Day!
Pathways To Parenthood Surrogacy Agency wishes all fathers a wonderful time on their special day. But we are especially excited to be able to wish Happy Father’s Day to our clients Dominik and Dennis. This is a special Father’s Day for first time Dads Dominik & Dennis. Dominik and Dennis welcomed their first-born child earlier this year.
Becoming a first-time Dad is an exciting, life-changing, and somewhat scary life experience! For Dominik and Dennis, their journey to becoming parents through egg donation and surrogacy gave them lots of time to get prepared. The egg donation process and surrogacy process gave them an extended “pre-natal” period of time, which was also filled with excitement, anticipation, and a bit of fear of the unknown!
Dominik and Dennis share their experience on their egg donation process with San Diego Fertility Center and their surrogacy process with Pathways To Parenthood Surrogacy Agency. They also share their thoughts and emotions on meeting their son for the first time and adjusting to their new life.
1.How long did it take to go through the egg donation process and surrogacy process before you became pregnant?
We started selecting an egg donor with San Diego Fertility Center early April 2020. The embryo transfer was in June 2021 as we had to wait for our surrogacy process to complete. Our first embryo transfer was successful, and we received a positive pregnancy in July!
2. Were there any surprises or unexpected events (COVID!!!) or unexpected feelings during the egg donation process and/or the surrogacy process?
What really made the whole process difficult for us, was the Covid pandemic and the travel ban that made it impossible for us to come to the United States from Germany. We always had imagined meeting all parties in person prior to starting the process, but that was not possible. It felt odd to put that much trust into people you haven’t met in person. Yet we were surprised how well everything worked out meeting virtually and how much trust we gained virtually in the people involved. Once pregnancy was confirmed, it felt unreal, that a person across the Atlantic was pregnant with our baby. We were able to meet our surrogate early in pregnancy when she traveled to Europe and then were able to travel to the United states on a National Interest Exception for the 20 week ultrasound. We were also able to meet our contacts at our surrogacy agency, Pathways To Parenthood, and our attorney Joni Franklin.
3. What was the relationship with your surrogate like?
From the moment we were introduced to begin the matching process we were in daily contact getting to know each other. When we first met our surrogate in person, it felt like meeting a good friend. We really enjoyed the time with her when we came to the United States for the birth of our son. We met often for dinner and other fun activities both before and after birth. Our wishes were to have a good relationship during pregnancy (we did!) and also in the years to come. So far it is going well!
4. What was it like/what were your initial feelings seeing your son for the first time?
It was a very emotional moment for all of us, including our surrogate and her support person. We were so overwhelmed during skin-to-skin bonding with our son. We had tears of joy because for the longest time of our lives we thought that as gay men we would never be able to experience this moment. It still amazes us how powerful the bonds and relationships are that were created during this long journey of planning, trust, love and much more.
5. What has been the biggest adjustment in your lives being first time parents?
The biggest adjustment is probably an obvious one: getting up every two to three hours at night to feed the baby :-). Not much sleep! We also learned quickly that even the smallest trip takes a lot of planning. Having to consider whether plans fit into the baby’s feeding, sleeping and diaper schedule is a big adjustment, but a welcome one! Another big adjustment is for our relationship to not be able to find much quiet time to just enjoy a glass of wine or watch a movie. Life is especially busy now, so we need to divide chores to be able to get everything done whereas before the birth of our son, we used to do most of them together.
6. What are your plans for your first Father’s Day?
In Germany Father’s Day is celebrated on Ascension Day in May. On this day it is tradition to go on a hike with many friends and take a handcart that is stocked with beer. However, for our first Father’s Day, we spent the day sleeping in, taking naps, and enjoying time with our son.
7. What advice do you have for men just starting their journey to parenthood through egg donation and surrogacy?
Trust your instincts! Take your time and choose a surrogacy agency that fits your style. It is important to form a strong connection to your surrogate. In our opinion, it is important to be able to tell your kid in the future openly and age-appropriately how they came into the world. Also, we think it is important that they have the chance to meet their surrogate and egg donor if they wish to do so in the future.
Why Do People Use A Surrogate To Have A Baby?
Most people do not know much about surrogacy, or why people use surrogates to have a baby. Unfortunately, much information about surrogacy that is “out there” in the news and media is not accurate or it is sensationalized to attract reader/viewers/ratings. If you or someone you know and care about is considering surrogacy to build their family, the following information will highlight the various reasons why people use surrogacy to have a baby.
There are numerous reasons why people use a surrogate to expand their family. Some couples opt for surrogacy when facing difficulties to conceive a child on their own. However, it’s not just couples struggling with infertility who decide to use a surrogate mother. Below are some of the many reasons people choose surrogacy:
Infertility: Infertility is the most common reason heterosexual couples consider surrogacy to complete their families. Oftentimes multiple miscarriages lead people to utilize a surrogate mother to have a baby. Sometimes unexplained infertility with multiple failed treatment attempts will lead people to surrogacy to build their family.
Medical Conditions: A woman may be advised to forgo pregnancy because of medical conditions such as heart disease, infectious diseases transmitted to babies via pregnancy, kidney failure, autoimmune disorders and other diagnoses that could make pregnancy or childbirth dangerous for either the mother, baby or both. Some women may experience serious health issues in a prior pregnancy that make future pregnancies extremely risky.
Hysterectomy or Lack of Uterus: Women who have undergone a hysterectomy for medical reasons, or who were born without a uterus cannot carry a pregnancy may still be able to produce eggs for in vitro fertilization. If they are not able to utilize their own eggs, these women will use donated eggs to create embryos.
Advanced Maternal Age: Women in their forties and older are often at a higher risk of pregnancy complications. For these patients, using a surrogate reduces risk of miscarriage or unsuccessful treatment to conceive.
Same-Sex Couples: Surrogacy can be the answer for same-sex couples who want to add a baby to their family. Gay surrogacy gives men the option to have a genetic connection to their child(ren), and also to be a part of the pregnancy throughout the entire journey. Also, since the baby the surrogate is carrying is legally their child, there is no risk of a birth mother changing her mind as with famiy-building through adoption.
Single Individuals: Men who are single but want to pursue parenthood can choose a surrogate and an egg donor to become a father. Likewise, A single woman with an inability to conceive or carry a baby to full-term will require the help of a surrogate mother.
We have discussed the different reasons people use a surrogate, let’s discuss the types of surrogacy. The term surrogacy is general used to describe one of two types of surrogacy:
A gestational surrogate is not genetically connected to the child they carry in their uterus. Gestational surrogates get pregnant when an embryo that was previously created through in vitro fertilization is transferred into her uterus. The embryo is created with either intended mother’s egg or donor egg, and intended father’s sperm or donor sperm. Gestational surrogates are referred to as gestational carriers in the medical and legal fields of reproductive medicine.
A traditional surrogate both donates her own egg and carries a pregnancy for an individual or couple. The pregnancy is usually achieved through intrauterine insemination (IUI) with sperm from the intended father. Donor sperm may also be used.
At Pathways To Parenthood Surrogacy Agency we know every family has different needs, and we will take the time to understand your unique situation and individual desires to help you start your family. If you’re considering building your family through surrogacy, the team at Pathways To Parenthood can guide you through the process.