Category: Surrogate Stories

Personal Development Guide for Surrogate Mothers

JSADev1

Working on your personal development can be confusing to begin with as a surrogate mother. This article was put together for surrogate mothers to guide them in enhancing their personal well being. Here, you’ll find great ideas that are easy to apply and will surely help you become a better surrogate mother.

As a surrogate mother, make friends with those who are positive-minded and will bring joy to your life. They’ll help you stay on track with their good behaviors. You’ll find yourself neutralizing any pessimistic energy you get from people who aren’t as supportive of your self-improvement goals in no time at all.

Show humility and kindness. This will give you the opportunity to think of others and strengthen your relationship with people who care about you. An added benefit of this is that you will find yourself with a larger support group whom you can also help when needed.

Keep a journal with you so whenever an idea strikes, you can write it down. This is such a good idea for surrogate mothers as this will allow you to keep track of changes or moods that you might want to jot down. Bring  a notebook with you when you go out. Write down your idea in detail, and then go back to it at a later time when you can broaden on the issue.

Be active and exercise. Exercising is not just for people who want to lose weight; it is also for those who want to feel good about themselves. There are many physiological advantages associated with exercise, especially as a surrogate. Not only does it keep your body in good shape, but it also causes your body to release chemicals that will boost your happiness levels.

Learn to take it easy and make use of breaks. Taking regular breaks is good because it gives you the chance to recharge your mind, so when you resume work, you’ll be able to get more done.

Finally, appreciate what you have and don’t over complicate life. Doing so will cause you to experience unnecessary stress, which is never good for a surrogate mother. Do not focus on what you may have lost, but look at what is to come in life.

Tips for Gestational Carriers

JSADev1

Now that you are eating for two you have to turn your incorrect food choices into wholesome filling foods. Let the following tips guide and inspire you in this course of your life as a gestational carrier.

As a gestational carrier, it is best to watch what you eat to ensure you and the baby’s overall nutrition. Transforming your eating plan might seem like a hard thing to do, but will give you long term benefits. Nourishing meals will certainly provide your body all the nutrients needed to support the growing baby.

Keep fruits and vegetables a part of your diet. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is the best, but may be difficult to stock at times as they spoil quickly. Given this, you can opt to buy frozen veggies and sliced fruits instead. Having these in supply will help you stay away from bad food choices from convenience stores and fast food joints.

Be sure to get food that is packed with nutrients and are easy to digest. This can be found in fruits like Avocados which has lots of healthy fats and is fairly easy on a delicate stomach. Vegetables like spinach and kale are great super foods which can easily give your body vitamins and B supplements, both of which are favorable for you as a gestational carrier as well as the little one that you are carrying.

Another great snack would be nuts. Consuming nuts in small amounts is ideal as majority of nuts supply healthy protein, one of the toughest good nutrients to acquire while consuming healthy and balanced diet.

As a gestational carrier, a well balanced diet is the key in keeping great overall health, along with physical exercise. A little bit of everything may also do well not just for your appetite, but also for the baby that you are carrying.

Eating the right kinds of food will leave you feeling better about yourself and will make each day in your life as a gestational carrier a little more memorable.

Top Concerns on Surrogacy

JSADev1

What does Surrogacy mean?

Not all of us are blessed with the ability to procreate. This is evident with infertile couples and gay partners who need help in starting their own family. Thanks to science, there is now a way to make this dream a reality.

IVF or In vitro fertilization is the process of fertilizing an egg outside the human body. If the female is incapable of carrying the fertilized egg (embryo) to term, surrogacy can make this happen. In this regard, surrogacy can be defined as the process by which a couple (intended parents) goes into contract with another woman (surrogate) to carry their fertilized egg.

Exactly what is the price for surrogacy?

This procedure definitely comes with a hefty price tag. It is in fact very expensive to go through this procedure. The chunk of the expense comes from the numerous medical examinations and medications, as well as the payment for the Surrogate’s services. Comparing fees among Surrogate agencies is ideal to get a good start in financing for this process. There is also fertility Financing offered in many states where this procedure is largely practiced and accepted.

Is Surrogacy Legal?

It is legal in some states such as California, Oregon and Illinois. This makes it possible for couples to have children and achieve their hopes of building a family. On the other hand, other states such as New Jersey and New York, have contrasting views on the process.

Is there a connection between the surrogate and the child?

There are two types of surrogacy. One is called “gestational surrogacy,” wherein the surrogate just serves as a carrier for the baby and is in no way associated with the genetics that create the fertilized egg. Then there is traditional surrogacy, which uses the surrogate’s egg and the sperm of the male donor to create an embryo. In this case, the surrogate has her genes in the embryo.

Are there instances that a surrogate claims the infant as hers?

To ensure that a Surrogate goes through with the process according to plan, she will have to undergo a series of stringent physical and psychological tests. These exams assess a Surrogate’s overall capacity to carry and then turn over the child to its rightful parents. Furthermore, a legal document is signed and agreed upon in the presence of a legal representative to safeguard the interests of all parties involved,

Surrogate Compensation

JSADev1

Surrogate Compensation

A surrogate’s payment is rarely the top concern, however the correct compensation is due to them seeing that they have already sacrificed a great deal, physically and emotionally, in order to bring someone else’s child into the world.

Surrogate Compensation: Fees for Services

Surrogacy charges deviate from company to company. The typical application fee will run upwards of around $500, while legal expenses get to around $15,000 for the intended parents. The said costs do not go straight to surrogate mom; these funds go into making certain that she as well as intended moms and dads are shielded financially.

Surrogate Compensation: Surrogate Charge

Becoming a surrogate is a full time commitment. It is similar to an employee hired for a full time job. With this in mind, intended parents commonly compensate the surrogate with a cash fee. This is predetermined in the contract before the pregnancy and ensures that payment for medical and other expenses are covered.

On the average, a first time surrogate earns from $25,000 to $35,000. A surrogate veteran obviously earns much higher compared to a surrogate newbie.

Surrogate Compensation: Various Other Costs Involved

As talked about previously, a surrogate mother’s clinical expenditures are actually paid by the intended parents. This not only covers payment for medical checkups like ob gyn appointments, but as well as, other expenses that may arise from unusual circumstances that affects the surrogate mother’s well being. An example of this would be if the surrogate gets evicted from her property. A back-up plan will be accessible to keep her lifestyle protected.

The Surrogate Mother Journey with Chelsea

JSADev1 Leave a comment

A lot of women considering surrogate motherhood aren’t sure what to expect – learning about other women’s experiences might help them make a better decision.

Several of our surrogate mothers volunteered to share their stories. This is Chelsea’s.

The Surrogate Mother Journey with Chelsea

Chelsea is a single mother who wanted to earn some extra money, in order to go back to college. She became interested in the idea when she saw – while looking for part-time work – an online ad for surrogate mothers.

Since she loved being pregnant, and had very easy deliveries of her own children, she decided that surrogacy would be a natural fit.

“My parents and friends were fine with the idea,” she said. “The only difficulty I had was explaining it to my kids – they were confused that the baby didn’t belong to me. I told them I was just helping another mommy by growing that mommy’s baby in my tummy.”

Her first intended parents were the Jacobs. Finding them was simple, because she had no restrictions or special preferences. It took about three months to make the match.

That experience was totally professional; her intended parents wanted it that way, and Chelsea was fine with it. They didn’t socialize much, and agreed on restrictions such as no phone calls and no non-emergency home visits – all the Jacobs’ information came through the surrogate agency and the doctor’s office.

When the time came to deliver the baby, though, the Jacobs were there to support her. They even gave her a thank-you card and some flowers.

When we asked Chelsea if there was anything about her experience that surprised her, she answered “No, all the surrogacy processes were made clear to me – my only surprise was the maternity clothing allowance. I could buy new maternity clothes for free!”

The money Chelsea made is safe in the bank, ready to be used when she resumes college.

Because she had a clear agreement with the Jacobs, Chelsea’s experience was wonderful – no misunderstandings, conflicts or other experiences.

“There’s nothing at all about it that I would have changed,” she said.

Your Next Steps

To apply to be a surrogate mother with the Illinois Surrogate Agency, simply fill out our easy online form, and one of our friendly, knowledgeable caseworkers will be in touch with you to discuss your application, talk about the next steps in the process, and answer any questions you may have. In the meantime, you can also check out our free reports for more information on surrogacy and the surrogate experience.

The Surrogate Mother Journey with Beth

JSADev1 Leave a comment

A lot of women considering surrogate motherhood aren’t sure what to expect – learning about other women’s experiences might help them make a better decision.

Several of our surrogate mothers volunteered to share their stories. This is Beth’s.

The Surrogate Mother Journey with Beth

Beth was a 30-year-old single mother whose friend had a wonderful experience as a paid surrogate. After seeing how much her friend enjoyed this – and that she made great money – Beth decided to try it herself. Having spoken with her friend, she went in well-prepared.

“Some acquaintances didn’t understand how I could just ‘give up the baby,’” Beth said, when we asked how the people in her life reacted to her being a surrogate. “I just explained that I could because it wasn’t ‘my baby’ – I was just carrying the intended parents’ baby for them as a favor.”

She explained the pregnancy to her daughter by saying that although she was pregnant, the baby was not hers and wouldn’t be a part of their family.

When it came to her ideal intended parents, Beth’s preferences were quite simple: she wanted them to be loving and responsible people so she could be sure that the baby she was carrying would be loved and cared for. It only took her four months to get matched with the Pattersons, her new intended parents.

Beth and the Pattersons agreed that it would be best to maintain a professional relationship. Beth, highly valuing her privacy, asked that the Pattersons not visit her at home. They were free to call her periodically to check up, though.

They took time from their busy schedule to join her at doctor’s appointments, and were in the delivery room with Beth when she finally gave birth. While she was in the hospital post-delivery, they gave her a care package.

Everyone agreed that Beth would receive periodic updates and pictures of the baby and the family, and the Pattersons asked if they could use Beth as a surrogate again if they should ever want another baby. Beth happily agreed to this.

Following her first experience as a surrogate, Beth does wish she’d done a few things a little differently. “In hindsight, I wish I could have made more of an effort to get to know the Pattersons,” she said. “And I’d like to have kept a video journal to give the Pattersons as a keepsake.”

Some of the money she received as a surrogate was spent as a down payment on a badly-needed new car; the rest went to credit-card bills.

“I’m very glad I made the decision to be a surrogate mother,” Beth said. “I’d definitely recommend it to others, and I’d love to be one again if the chance arises.”

Your Next Steps

To apply to be a surrogate mother with the Illinois Surrogate Agency, simply fill out our easy online form, and one of our friendly, knowledgeable caseworkers will be in touch with you to discuss your application, talk about the next steps in the process, and answer any questions you may have. In the meantime, you can also check out our free reports for more information on surrogacy and the surrogate experience.

The Surrogate Mother Journey With Amber

JSADev1 Leave a comment

A lot of women considering surrogate motherhood aren’t sure what to expect – learning about other women’s experiences might help them make a better decision.

Several of our surrogate mothers volunteered to share their stories. This is Amber’s.

The Surrogate Mother Journey With Amber

Amber already has her own child, but when her sister – who had had a hysterectomy – wanted a biological child, Amber agreed to be the surrogate. At first hesitant, she found it to be an amazing experience – that she wanted to repeat for someone else, to help them realize their dreams of becoming mothers.

“Initially I was doing it for my sister, but I found I enjoyed being a surrogate much more than I suspected,” she said. “I thought to myself that this would be a great way to help out others and make money at the same time.”

When Amber brought up the idea of being a hired surrogate, her family and friends supported her. They’d seen her as a surrogate for her sister, so they understood what was happening and why she was doing it.

“My husband was used to me being a surrogate for my sister, so he was fine with my doing it again,” Amber said. “While my own child had also seen me as one, so he already understood the baby was not mine and would go with someone else once it was born.”

On her next surrogacy journey, Amber was asked what kind of people she’d like her intended parents to be. She indicated that she’d prefer a Christian couple as her intended parents, a financially-stable couple who liked children.

It took her about six months to meet a Christian couple named the Wolberts. Amber had a good feeling about them, and they decided to work together.

Amber wanted open communications with them, allowing the intended parents to call anytime until 9 pm, and inviting them to come with her to doctor’s visits. When the Wolberts asked if they could buy her groceries, Amber accepted the offer – for herself, at least, but not for the rest of her family.

“It was a wonderful relationship,” she said. “The Wolberts were very supportive of me; we even exchanged gifts on a number of occasions.”

One of her most unforgettable experiences was how the Wolberts reacted to a gift she’d prepared for them. Once a week during the pregnancy, Amber took a picture of herself, making a photo album of herself getting bigger. As a sign of gratitude, the Wolberts responded by giving her a spa treatment, which she went to with Mrs. Wolbert.

Amber hadn’t expected that her personal connection with the intended parents would become so strong. “We really formed a lasting friendship through the surrogacy experience,” she said.

The Wolberts, for their part, plan on telling their child how Amber helped them, and they hope to maintaining a close relationship with her and her family going forwards.

Amber hadn’t expected to form such a strong relationship with the Wolberts, and the money she earned has enabled her to start a college fund for her son. As a result, she’s really pleased with her experience as a surrogate, and wishes she’d started it earlier in life.

“It’s a life-altering experience,” she said, “and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”

Your Next Steps

To apply to be a surrogate mother with the Illinois Surrogate Agency, simply fill out our easy online form, and one of our friendly, knowledgeable caseworkers will be in touch with you to discuss your application, talk about the next steps in the process, and answer any questions you may have. In the meantime, you can also check out our free reports for more information on surrogacy and the surrogate experience.