Happy New Year! {2014}

Well, it's that time again where we all reflect on the year and make changes for the next...

2013 has been pretty good to us. We had our last baby, Ethan in May. We've met tons of new friends and acquaintances, Brandon's job has been going well..nice and steady. I had the opportunity to work at Oregon's oldest massage school, East West College of the Healing Arts. We went to Utah for our very first doTERRA Convention, had an amazing time and we also got a little break from the little ones while my Mom took good care of them. I also started the process of becoming a gestational surrogate, which has been great so far... But then last month in November we found out my Mom has stage 3 ovarian cancer. Boo. Not the way we wanted to end the year. BUT on the bright side, she's here in Oregon with us and we're taking good care of her as she goes through her treatments. She's had two chemotherapy treatments and her next one is next Wednesday, January 8th. It should (hopefully) be her last one before her big surgery to remove the tumor and do a hysterectomy. It's all a journey and we've been staying strong and positive about it.

In 2014, I am letting go of any fears, obstacles and triumphs of 2013. It's time to move forward for a fresh new start. I am so excited to help two people become parents, to do some traveling to different retreats for our Sacred Pregnancy Portland business. And just be at peace with everything. No time for stress. As I say every year, "this next year is going to be even BETTER!" It's what WE make of it. And I am determined to make it the BEST one yet!

Cheers, blessings and LOVE,

Surro-Mama Angela

Thoughts and perspectives

I saw this blog post and loved it so I have to share here...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cara-paiuk/the-one-thing-you-should-never-ever-say-to-a-gestational-surrogate_b_4094921.html

She is so spot on. And it's completely true. When I tell someone new that I'm going to be a gestational surrogate, the money is the first thing they mention. I truly don't understand why.

To be a surrogate it's far from easy. Not anyone can do it or even handle it. First you have to know that the baby(ies) that you are carrying are absolutely not yours. They were never yours and they won't be yours. You are carrying them so they can grow, thrive and be with their parents. Their very deserving parents.

This process is a journey. When I say journey, I mean that it's not something that happens quickly. There are a lot of steps that you have to go through. I am at the point of getting ready for my medical screening with Oregon Reproductive Medicine. This is where Brandon and I will have our testing done and where the embryo transfer will be. He will have his blood drawn to test for any STD's, diseases etc. I will undergo much more testing. I am actually super excited about it! I'm still in disbelief that I'm at this point in the process. It's finally becoming reality. Before it was a thought that I always knew I wanted to do eventually.

I hope that more people understand that it's not about the money. It's about helping two people have a family of their own. It's about giving them the gift of life, children. It's an absolute privilege to be part of this amazing journey. But like the lady in the blog post said, it's not easy. There are a lot of sacrifices that I am making. And I'm beyond happy to be doing this.

Tonight after work, I stopped by the pharmacy where the coordinator at ORM called in my prescription for birth control. I haven't been on birth control pills in YEARS so I completely forgot how to take them. I've always charted by cycles and we did natural family planning. I'm a little nervous to start them, I hope I don't become a hormonal mess haha! They are starting me on birth control to know when my cycle starts since it regulates your cycle. I will start this next month after my cycle.

Another awesome article I came across: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/11/portland-gay-couples-babies/2139463/

Time to celebrate Christmas tomorrow with my family. I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas! May you be blessed by those around you.

Surro-Mama Angela

Beautiful article by Dr. Hesla & Dr. Bankowski from ORM

I came across this wonderful article by two doctors from ORM. Dr. Hesla will be our doctor and I look forward to meeting him in just a few short weeks!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brandon-j-bankowski-md/at-the-center-of-the-rainbow-family-explosion_b_3896577.html

Love these paragraphs from the article.... 

We are proud of our involvement in this rainbow family explosion, or the Gaybyboom, as it's been called. And we feel fortunate to practice medicine during a time in which medical technology provides an excellent chance of a healthy pregnancy and delivery, and an increasing global culture of acceptance and tolerance that acknowledges the familial rights of all couples, no matter whom they love.


Family is family. Love is love. We see this up close in the offices and hallways of our facilities. It's a constant reminder that the work we do goes beyond good science and medicine.
At the side of our brave and hopeful patients, we get to have a small role in making the world a better place for all our children -- from Berlin to Beijing, Prague to Perth -- a dream of a lifetime for most all of us. 

I have to admit. I am proud to be part of this rainbow family explosion!

Blessings & Love,

Surro-Mama Angela

Heard from ORM... Medical testing date is set!

Another productive morning in the surrogacy world... I heard back from Marissa at ORM and we talked about the process and a potential timeline. Although it's really hard to put a timeline in place at this point. Once I get through the medical screening, we'll have a better idea of what's going to happen. She is thinking March for the embryo transfer. But we'll see! (hopefully sooner!) Marissa sent a prescription over to our pharmacy for birth control pills. I'll need to start the BC after my next cycle which should be after my medical testing. Brandon will be joining me as well to do his blood work.

The date has been set for Monday, January 13th at 8:30am. 24 days from now! So exciting... I let the guys know that the date has been set. I love being able to talk to them everyday. I've been practicing my French, I have a LONG way to go still but it's been fun learning.

I also heard from Molly and they received our Christmas card. It was important for me to send NWSC a card because they have been so wonderful during this whole process. They are very much appreciated and because of them we are at this point of the process. She also gave me the number to the life insurance person to get that process started. That is also in the works now.

I got a referral for a Midwife with Kaiser from a fellow surro-mama friend. Once we get further along I'll give them a call to meet her in person. They just opened up a Kaiser very close to us in Hillsboro. Very excited about that! The Sunnyside location is a bit far from us. So it's nice that we have a location much closer for convenience. 

Time to make lunch for the kiddos! Until next time... oh yes, HAPPY FRIDAY!

Surro-Mama Angela

First draft...Final... Contract SIGNED!

Wow, all of a sudden things are really moving along now. My attorney received the first draft of the contract on Monday afternoon and sent it over to us to review. We set some time to chat over the phone today to review it together and go over any revisions we may want to add. She sent it over to our IF's attorney and I didn't think we would hear back for a couple of days....

But low and behold my attorney e-mailed me with good news, my IF's agreed with the revisions and we are signing the FINAL contract.

Wow. I can't believe we're already to this point. I was telling Brandon how just a few months ago this was a dream and now it's becoming reality. The further we get in this process, the more real it becomes and it truly feels good.

I've been taking my prenatal vitamins, drinking my red raspberry leaf tea. Which has AMAZING benefits for trying to conceive, pregnancy and more. Gearing up my uterus to grow and thrive babies! Some of my surro mama friends informed me that pineapple is an excellent fruit to eat before the embryo transfer and post transfer. There is an enzyme in the core of the pineapple called bromelain. It helps direct blood flow to the uterus and can also act as an anti-inflammatory, which could aid in IVF success. And one surro mama said drinking hot herbal tea before transfer and then super spicy Chinese/Thai food afterwards. The spices/hotness increase blood flow to uterus. I will do whatever I can to help the odds of the babies sticking! 

I stole Brandon's cup my IF's gifted him. Drinking my tea, yum!

I believe now I wait to hear from ORM on our medical screening... 


Surro-Mama Angela

We want to wish you all.... {Happy Holidays!}

Photo Credit: Urban Bella Designs | Photography and Creations by Nicole

From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe & happy New Year!

We are SO excited for 2014, lots of amazing things to come! 

Cheers,

Surro-Mama Angela & Family

Morning after our dinner date with our IF's!

How do I sum up our feelings after our wonderful meeting with our IF's last night? ....

I already knew that we loved them just from our 30 minute initial Skype meeting. But meeting them in person just solidified our feelings for them. They are SO deserving of having children of their own. I can see and feel the passion they have for having their own family.

I was so nervous but I kept reminding myself to just be myself. And that's what I did.

We arrived at their apartment that they've been staying at this week in Portland. They invited us in for a quick tour of their temporary space. The view was gorgeous and it was perfect for them while visiting here. They sweetly gifted us with gifts from Paris and for our children as well.

We took them to Pittock Mansion because the view is incredible there. Of course it was freezing, but well worth it! Then we made our way to The Melting Pot. We initially had dinner plans elsewhere but at the last minute Brandon and I thought The Melting Pot would be a fun interactive experience for us to chat and get to know one another.

We loved learning about the guys and how they live in Paris. We are so intrigued with their culture. We are a bit jealous too! We would love to go visit them in 2015 after the babies are born. It would be an incredible experience. It would finally be the 'honeymoon' that we never got, PLUS to have wonderful company as well.

Dinner was entertaining! They talked about how our menus are always pages and books long while in Paris, you don't have as many options. (which makes things a bit easier) It took us awhile to decide on what we wanted and we were just laughing about all the options the waiter was giving us. And how he made it sound so complicated. But overall, we made it through our appetizer, salad, dinner and dessert with success! The guys (including Brandon) shared a bottle of local wine from Willamette Valley.

We all forgot to take pictures at the restaurant so as we were walking to the car in the parking garage we decided to take some. We were laughing so hard about the background. Out of all places to take photos we did it in the parking garage-haha! Better there than never.

They are deciding on an egg donor now and will decide soon. They were given 40 egg donors to choose from with ORM. We are going to be doing a frozen cycle. And will be transferring one embryo from each father. This 'dream' is finally coming to reality slowly but surely. It's hard to believe we're even at this point. I'm excited, nervous, anxious and just so happy to be going through this amazing journey with them.

Brandon and I with our IF's

Me and my IF's

Elora LOVED her gift from them!

We have a whole new reason to love Paris!

The girls loved the gifts they received from them.

Even little Ethan LOVED his Sophie!

She was so happy to wake up and open a gift!

Contract movement & first contact with ORM!

This morning has been a productive morning in my surrogacy world! I got an initial contact e-mail from Oregon Reproductive Medicine (ORM) from the Coordinator's assistant, Nikki that I will be working with. The Coordinator is Marissa. I had to complete a Gynecological Questionnaire for them. I filled it out and scanned & e-mailed it back right away.

Then I received a call from Tabitha from NWSC regarding the first draft of our contract. She will be sending it over to the guys today to review. She connected me with an attorney, Marlene Findling who has been working with IP's and surrogates with NWSC for awhile now. I called her and was able to speak with her right away. She's awesome! Very friendly, understanding and compassionate. Exactly what I had hoped for!

Now we just wait to receive the contract back from the guys attorney and move forward from there.

Tomorrow is the big day! We get to meet the guys in person. Super exciting!

They are on their way to Portland!

I am beyond thrilled that our IF's (intended fathers) are Portland bound! They will be in Portland for almost a week. We are so excited to meet them in person. I added them on Facebook the other day, hoping they didn't mind! I've been chatting with them here and there which is how I know they are on their way here. We have a dinner date with them next Wednesday evening. Location to be determined!

Tonight after work, Brandon and I took the kiddos to the mall to walk around. I did a little bit of shopping and bought our IF's some Oregon goodies! I'm so excited to put it all together. I hope they love it.

We had our first snow fall today! So beautiful. Everyone was freaking out and traffic was a nightmare.

This is the view from our garage this morning

Will keep you updated! I hope we can have a better timeline of everything soon. Still waiting on starting the contract process with NWSC. Hopefully I'll hear something soon!

Until next time....

Surro-Mama Angela

Home Visit & 5 years married!

Well today was a pretty awesome and productive day! We had our 'Home Visit' with the social worker who is with NWSC, her name is Kacey. Our appointment was at 9:30am so we all ate breakfast and Brandon came home from work for the visit.

Kacey arrived around 9:15 and her and I sat down in the living room and talked about the surrogacy and she asked a series of questions. When Brandon arrived, she asked him a few questions. She showed us a great book to get the girls that helps them understand the surrogacy process called "The Kangaroo Pouch: A Story About Gestational Surrogacy for Young Children". Great book for kids! I ordered it right after she left on amazon.com. Gotta love amazon!

She asked us about our day to day routine and how our parenting style is. This part was the longest part of the whole home visit. After we were done chatting, she walked around the house to check things out. As she was making her way back into the living room she asked if we had a housekeeper! She said because the house was so clean and put together well. We took that as a compliment! WE are the housekeepers-haha! Love it. She said she had no concerns and that she would send the report over the NWSC.

Brandon and I have been married for FIVE years today! It seems like only yesterday when we got married. It's crazy how time seriously flys after you have children. We had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant where we live while my Mom watched our trio for us. They LOVE spending time with their Grandma! And we love it too. These are the best times when they are young and spending quality time with Grandma.

Looking forward to see what's next on the agenda for the surrogacy process.. Until next time!

Surro-Mama Angela

.....And we're MATCHED!!!!!!

I arrived to San Diego safe & sound. Spending time with my Mom and family for the next few days. I'm so glad I was able to book a last minute flight here. I woke up to this beautiful e-mail that started out with this...

 "Good Morning Angela I heard back from F and N and they thought you were a “rockstar” (that is a direct quote)!" So you are all a match!

I am SO thrilled beyond words! It's really starting to feel so real now. The next screening process is to schedule a home visit with a social worker to come out to our home and make sure all is right. I scheduled it for next Friday, November 22nd at 9:30am. That's actually mine and Brandon's 5th wedding anniversary! It's has to be good luck! And now we begin the contract phase. Soon I will be hearing from Tabitha from NWSC to go over the contract. They said it can take anywhere from a couple weeks to a month or more. Hopefully it won't be too much longer. The guys are supposed to be visiting Portland next month in December and we hope to spend some time with them while they are here. They have never been to Portland before. The flight from where they are in France is 15 hours.

So that pretty much sums up my surrogacy week! All very exciting for sure.

Until next time.... Surro-Mama Angela

Our first Match Meeting!

We finally had our first match meeting! We were a bit nervous, but I think it was me more than Brandon. We decided to take our kiddos with us in hopes that they would make it through the Skype call without a meltdown.

On Monday night we found out that my Mom was being admitted into the hospital. Long story short, it all started with bronchitis, she wasn't getting better so she went back in and they diagnosed her with pneumonia by an x-ray they did. So yesterday morning she was swelling more than usual and she had shortness of breath. She went into the emergency room around 2:30 pm. The finally admitted her around 9pm. After running various tests, they found a tumor on her abdomen wall. It was surrounded by lots of fluid. (results still pending) So I booked a flight to go to San Diego after our match meeting because I didn't want to have to reschedule it again. And I'm SO glad we went!

Molly talked to us before we hopped on Skype to meet the guys. She gave us a run down on what we would talk about and how it would go. It's funny because it actually made me even more nervous- haha! Then Molly went into another office to chat with the guys to give them the same run down. After about 10 minutes she came back in and we called them....

We gave a little introduction and went from there! It went so smooth. We talked about expectations and what we were all looking for in this surrogacy journey. It seemed like we were all on the same page with everything. They were super adorable! And I don't just mean by looks. Their personalities were so down to earth and genuine. They so deserve to have their sweet babies! We left feeling on top of the world about it all and it just seemed so much more REAL. Like this journey is totally happening! We're so excited about it!

We gave Molly our "Yes, we love them!" and so now we wait to see how they felt about us. One thing that really meant a lot to me was that they said the day they found out they got their house was the same day they received my profile and they KNEW it was a sign! How sweet is that?! Brandon thought it was super cool.

Until next time...

Surro-Mama Angela

Match Meeting Rescheduled!

A bit of a delay in the process, our match meeting has been rescheduled. But we're completely understanding as things do come up. It has been rescheduled for next Wednesday, November 13th at 11:30am. WOO HOO!

NWSC has been wonderful with this whole process so far! I love them. I'm glad no one is in any rush. Definitely can't rush a journey like this.

Very excited for next week! =)

In the mean time, I have to post a photo of my two youngest babies, Ethan (5 months) and Eliana (2 years).

Match Meeting has been set!

Moving right along! Received an e-mail from Heidi with NWSC and we have set the match meeting via Skype in their office for next Tuesday, November 5th at 12:30pm.

We are very excited yet nervous! I want to write down some questions to ask them. I sure hope all goes well. We're still up in the air if we should bring the kiddos. It would be nice for N & F to see them but they can be very distracting. If they don't come with us, they will meet them in person anyways. I will see if our friend can watch the trio for a couple of hours that day.

I'm off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays now, which is AWESOME! It's great to have two consecutive days off. I try to get as much stuff done as I can. I received my Kaiser information in the mail as well. They also sent our first bill. I scanned and e-mailed it over to Amy at NWSC since they take care of it.

I am still getting my weight down as well for the surrogacy. A lot of clinics are pretty strict on BMI requirements. Without giving any numbers away, I have about 15lbs to lose but I definitely would like to lose more if possible. I'm always more patient with those around me, except for myself! I know it will come off, I just need to be patient. I would also like to have the weight gone in time to be able to keep things moving with the surrogacy process. I really don't want my weight to have to prevent me from moving forward and stalling everything... boo.

Until next time my friends!

Surro-Mama Angela

Productive day in Surrogacy World!

Me & my little man when I got home from work

Elora, Auntie Crystal and Jocelyn @ Disney On Ice

Things are just moving right along! I love it!

I got an e-mail today saying that the IF's (we'll call them N & F for privacy reasons) liked my profile and said that I seem like a really nice person and they are very confident that they can trust me in carrying their babies. So next we will set up a Skype meeting to get to know each other better.

I also got word from Kaiser that I've been approved for their insurance policy that I applied for! I followed up with them since tomorrow would be 10 business days. Shortly after I called, I received an e-mail with the subject line: "Your Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the NW application has been approved" YAY!!!! 

I am THRILLED that things are moving forward. We still have a long ways to go! But I definitely am very excited to be moving right along. I look forward to meeting N & F via Skype SOON! Will keep you updated. 

On a side note, my wonderful friend and Doula took Elora to Disney on Ice for the FIRST time! We didn't tell her where she was going and kept it a surprise. Her Daughter's name is Jocelyn. Elora and Jocelyn became besties super fast! The girls dressed up in their princess dresses and had a BLAST! This is the first time Elora has been out alone without Brandon and I. But we knew she was in good hands! So glad she had so much fun! And so thankful for great friends. =) Life is good.

Blessings, Surro-Mama Angela

My youngest, my little guy... Ethan Jedi!

 

I just had to share this sweet photo that I got of my little guy today. He has been teething like crazy the past month and has two little teeth on the bottom. We've been using doTERRA essential oils for him and it's been working wonderfully! 

I'm so excited to be taking this journey. When I see my children everyday, I think about how amazing it feels to be able to give someone a child of their own. Cheers to becoming a surrogate!

Surro-Mama Angela

Psych Evaluation APPROVED! My profile is being sent to IP's!

Happy Monday all!

I received news today from Amy at NWSC that Brandon and I passed our psych evaluation that we did last Tuesday. Another step done and onto the next! Off to Match Land we go....

Molly from NWSC will be sending my profile to potential IP's tomorrow morning. After they review it, they will decide if they are interested in meeting us. Since they are in another country, we will meet at NWSC's office and Skype together. They said most families respond within a week. The anticipation begins!

What I love most about this process is that it always stays exciting! Each step accomplished is exciting for me. I am still waiting to hear back if I've been approved with Kaiser for insurance. I should hear back this week.

Until next time.....

Surro-Mama Angela

Fall is here and we LOVE it!

Our Angels in Heaven shining down on our girls.

Elora LOVES the Fall leaves!

Psychological Evaluation DONE!

This morning Brandon and I woke up bright (well it was still dark) and early to head to our pysch eval in Portland. Thankfully our friend M is flexible and was able to come over early to watch our trio.

I completed my intake form prior to the appointment and Brandon filled his out there. We met with the Dr. and she went through our forms and asked us questions about the surrogacy. How we felt, the possibilities, the negative scenarios etc. I don't know why I was nervous about it. It was a breeze! I think because we've done a lot of research on all of this and we have friends who have been a surrogate before. We definitely KNOW what we're getting into. We know it's not going to be easy. We know the negative outcomes. But we honestly feel that the gift of giving a family a child is priceless. I think about it and I get a warm feeling inside. This is something that I've always wanted to do.

After our interview with the Dr. She informed us that we passed and as long as I pass the exam all will be good. I asked to get a copy of her report. I'm so curious! We said our good-byes and she had me sit in the lobby to take the 338 question MMPI exam. It took me about 20 minutes to complete. I didn't second guess my answers (except two because I read them differently). I was glad to be DONE!

I'm still waiting to see if I get approved for the Kaiser insurance NWSC referred me to get. I should hear back this week or early next week. After that, they should be able to send off my profile to potential IP's (IP = Intended Parents). Then off to Match Land we go! We're moving right along....

Blessings,
Surro-Mama Angela

Medical records approved, and next steps!

Just ME. 10.10.13

Hip hip hooray! The e-mail that I've been waiting for, my medical records have been APPROVED by the fertility clinic! YAY!

Next on the agenda is to complete my psychological evaluation with Dr. Britta Dinsmore and apply for insurance. Brandon will be doing the psych eval with me as well since we are married. I scheduled it for next Tuesday, October 15th at 8:30am. Thankfully, our friend Morgan who watches our trio for us while we're at work is able to come over early that morning. It should take about 2 hours. Then the results take about a week. I'm excited, yet nervous! Hopefully all goes well. I know that they are making sure I'm not crazy among other things. I'm willing to carry someone's child in my womb, it doesn't get any crazier than that! ;)

I love that we're slowly moving forward and making progress. I realize this is something that can NOT be rushed by any means. I'm learning along the way about everything. I'm looking forward to posting next week after our psych evaluations! Stay tuned folks, this is getting good!

Blessings, Love & Health,

Surro-Mama Angela

Bio of Potential IP's received!

dōTERRA Elevate Convention 10.2.13 Salt Lake City, UT

We are in Salt Lake City, Utah for the week to attend the dōTERRA annual convention. Over 12,000 dōTERRAists are here and it's AMAZING!

I checked my e-mail and saw that Amy from NWSC sent me a profile of potential intended parents. It's not anything set since I still need to get through my psych evaluation and my medical records needs to be approved by the clinic before moving forward. But it was nice to get the profile and read through it. I am very impressed and am hoping it does work out with the IP's. But everything happens for a reason so I don't want to get my hopes up. To protect the privacy of the IP's I will just put their initials when writing about them.

The clinic has been very busy so it's taking longer than usual to get the approval. Hopefully we will hear back soon! As you can tell, I'm very anxious.

Until then, I am SO excited to be at this convention to learn and expand my knowledge about nature's medicine, dōTERRA's essential oils. Until next time!.....

Surro-Mama Angela

So much to think about!

This surrogacy business really has my mind thinking a lot. And I don't mean "business" as a business transaction or anything. I really see this experience to be life changing. I mean to give the GIFT of a CHILD is just priceless. What a humble and amazing feeling! That's what makes this journey so exciting for me. Aside from having my own children, this will definitely be one for the books. I hope to find IP's (intended parents) who would like to keep in touch after the baby(ies) are born so that I can watch them grow up. But I completely respect those who choose not to keep in touch. I honestly respect a lot of decisions that these IP's have to make with surrogacy. It's a pretty big deal, huge decisions to make.

I've already met so many amazing women on Facebook surrogacy groups. Even local ones who will definitely become good friends. I love the community! So many women helping families grow. If all goes well, I'd love to be a surrogate again. Would be even more awesome to do sibling surrogacy! To give my surro baby a sibling.

I am constantly reading stories, researching different terms, processes etc. So much to learn, but I really do enjoy it. It's all about learning and the experience!

I better call it a night! I hope that my Midwife here in Portland will be able to send over my records soon so that I can get an approval from the fertility clinic. I do know that she is dealing with a huge tragedy in her life right now so I know that's her priority and I completely respect that.

Until next time my lovely readers!

Surro-Mama Angela

Initial Interview with NWSC!

As if I wasn't already excited enough about this whole journey, we had our initial meeting with NWSC today! For some reason, I was a bit nervous yesterday but I wasn't sure why. I think it was merely because I didn't know what to expect but it went better than I expected!

We arrived at 9am. I thought we were going to be late because we didn't leave until 8:15am and of course there was a lot of traffic heading to Portland from Beaverton. But thankfully we made it on time. I really dislike being late. It's one of my pet peeves! But I've learned that with having children...it happens. More often then I'd like to admit.

We were greeted by the Front Desk Receptionist, Georgia and she was super sweet! She gave my girls stickers, which they always love. We didn't wait very long before Amy and Molly came down stairs to greet us. Wonderful first impression! We went into the conference room and Molly went upstairs to grab a box of T-O-Y-S. So funny how she spelled it out so the girls didn't know what she was doing. When she came back down the girls were excited to have new toys to play with. We all sat down and began chatting about the process.

We discussed everything from what to expect, my needs/wants, they asked Brandon how he felt about everything, compensation, worse case scenarios, detailed information on the process, and just really getting to know each other. The kiddos did pretty good while we were there. Ethan slept half of the time and the girls played with the toys but had some tantrums here and there. But that's to be expected haha. 

Molly was very realistic and easy to talk to. And Amy is just a pleasure to chat with. We left even MORE confident in this decision to embark on this surrogacy journey. We laughed so much throughout the meeting, it was awesome! Once they receive my records from Ethan's pregnancy & birth they will send off my records for all three of my pregnancies/birth to the fertility clinic to get approved. Then I will go through my psych evaluation and apply for insurance if necessary. They will share my profiles with IP's (intended parents) and find me the perfect match. 

This is just the beginning of something beautiful! Stay tuned! ;) 

Surro-Mama Angela

I'm going to be a SURROGATE!

I am SO excited for my first blog post! Thank you for following me on this amazing journey of becoming a surrogate. Being a surrogate has always been something I pondered over. I always thought the gift of a child, a beautiful miracle is truly the ultimate gift of all. I really feel that once I have the experience of being a surrogate, my life will be complete. 

Let's start with a little introduction....

My name is Angela and I live in Beaverton, OR. I am originally from San Diego, CA. I lived in Arizona for 4 grueling years (loved the people, not the state) and we (husband, Brandon and I) decided that we needed to plant our roots and decide where we want to raise our growing family. We took a mini vacation to Portland, OR in July of 2011 and stayed for three days. That's all it took, three days for us to know that this is where we belong. We absolutely LOVE the NW! 

Brandon and I have been married for 5 years this coming up November 22nd. And we have been together for 7 years. We have three BEAUTIFUL little beings that look a lot like us. Elora (4yo), Eliana (2yo), and Ethan (3 months). We initially wanted 4 children before we even had any. But once we had them, we decided three is an EXCELLENT number for us! I had three AMAZING home births and my pregnancies went really well. I had the typical aches and pains as I got further along, but nothing that I couldn't handle. I actually really, really, REALLY LOVE being pregnant! Call me crazy, but I really do. But our family is complete now which is why I have started my journey to become a surrogate. 

I am working with Northwest Surrogacy Center here in Portland. I've been working with Amy (who is amazing by the way!) We have been chatting since last year. She has been so helpful and has been a pleasure to work with. I finally get to meet her in person this coming up week which I am SO excited about. In fact, they get to meet my whole troop! Brandon and I will be bringing our trio with us so they can meet them as well. I'm pretty adamant that my children know what's going on. (as much as they can possibly understand at their young ages) So far we have completed their Questionaire and the background check. Everything is good to go to move forward! There are a lot of steps, but so worth it.

I will keep you all posted on this amazing journey! I'm staying optimistic until I know otherwise ;)

Blessings, Love & Health, 

Surro-Mama Angela

Photo taken on 8/31/2013 by Nicole White

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