The Meet Up

If you've been following on Facebook, you know that I have found my perfect match.  I'm so pleased to announce that I will be a gestational surrogate for a wonderful gay couple that lives in the same state that I do.  I have agreed to keep their identities a secret.  From here out they will be referred to as D&E.  

D&E placed an online ad on one of the surrogate forums.  I responded to their ad and got an email back with a questionnaire.  I filled it out and really I didn't have a lot of expectations.  I had been talking to a lot of potential parents and was beginning to lose hope.  A few days passed and I got an email from D saying that he really wanted to talk to me.  We exchanged some emails and then chatted on the phone.  We had a phone interview together and the conversation was really easy.  After a few more emails, we all decided that we wanted to move forward.  Since I haven't had any medical evaluations done yet, D&E decided that this would be a good place to start. 

An appointment with their reproduction specialist was made and I packed up the family and drove up to meet them.  We met up with D&E at a park the day before.  It went better than I had expected.  I didn't feel any awkwardness around them and everyone got along so well.  I didn't have a moments hesitation that they were the right fit for us.  It turned into a three hour conversation with a crash course in geocaching.  They were absolutely fantastic.

Our consultation was the following day.  We met up with the fertility physician and he went over the process and addressed issues that we hadn't even considered yet.  This doctor is very blunt, funny and doesn't sugar coat things.  I absolutely adored him.  I was so impressed with the whole office because every single person that we talked to was friendly and helpful. One of the nurses explained the medications that I would have to take before the embryo transfer and all of the shots that I will have to give myself. My husband and I have some bloodwork done.  We didn't realize how involved he would be in this process but it does make sense.  They want to test him for STDs and drugs too since we are sexually active.  Anything that he does has the potential of affecting the baby, so he took it like a champ, peed in a cup and didn't complain TOO much about the needles.  I had my bloodwork drawn and an ultrasound done to make sure that everything is in working order and that I'm not pregnant.  As I'm laying on my back, legs up and in an oh so vulnerable position, the doctor reports that I have a cast iron uterus and beautiful ovaries.  Um, thanks?  We all had a good laugh over that.  After I put my pants back on.    

The weekend went very well and I left feeling that this was a fantastic decision.  So what happens next?  We will all have to go through an intensive psychological evaluation.  All four of us will be interviewed separately, then as couples and then together.  This is a 6 hour process.  We have scheduled that eval two weeks from now.  After we are stamped not crazy, we can finalize our contract.  After the contract is in place, we can begin drugs and do the transfer.  We are hoping to have all of this done by April.  I am so excited that this journey has begun!