Dear Prospective Surrogate,

I’m L, my husband is J, our son is E, and we cannot wait to meet you! We’re about to embark on a grand adventure that will knit our lives together immediately, at least for a time. We’re super excited!

I love to bake! I’m in the process of starting my own baking business and starting my Instagram page with special appearances by my son. He’s shown interest in helping me bake, so we have made many baking treats together. Besides baking, I love to laugh, tell jokes, and dance. But what makes me the happiest is caring for the special people in my life. If I don’t do anything else, I care for my family.

J is funny, generous, charismatic, and a talker. However, if you let him tell it, he’s as shy as me, and I am timid. J has a way of making people feel comfortable opening up to him when they talk with him. He’s a super sweet guy! He has many hobbies depending on what he likes at the time. Right now, it is grilling. We love to spend nights on the patio grilling with wine and conversation. J is constantly researching or reading about something new. He’s teaching me about investing now.

We met at our college job, Home Depot; I was a cashier, and he was a lot attendant. It was my first day back from summer break, and I asked my friend, “Who is that?!” Instead of telling me his name, my friend called J to the front. Once he got there, he walked over to introduce himself. I tried to hide, but they’re not much room behind the register. I was so scared, but I managed to say hello and tell him my name. We became best friends in college and shared some exciting, fun times. We have been together for 17 years, married for seven years.

My husband and I love watching movies, going on road trips, trying new restaurants, and laughing about the littlest things until our stomachs hurt. We have our little life together, and I enjoy every second of it, especially with our son, E. He is three years old and going on 29 and a half. He has so much personality and happiness inside of him. He has a mind of his own and is so determined. I am teaching him how to count, but he’s adamant about it being ” 1, 2, 8, 9…” and not “1, 2, 3, 4”. It’s a battle, but I will eventually convince him that it’s “1, 2, 3, 4”. Our favorite thing to do with our son is taking him to the park; he loves outside. He and his papa can sit outside all day without a thought of ever coming back inside. Lately, he’s been asking whether there is a baby in my stomach. He gets sad at the park when siblings leave or prefer to play with each other and not him. I would love to give him the unique love and bond of a sibling. I know he would be a fantastic big brother.

I have been a teacher for eight years, and recently I decided to come out of the classroom to have more of a work-life balance. My husband has been an IT Specialist for ten years and works from home.

Our hopes and dreams changed and evolved much to lead us to this point. Soon after we married, we discussed our wishes to have a family. We tried for about three years and experienced two miscarriages and two failed IUIs. J had researched another fertility clinic, and we decided to start our IVF journey with Shady Grove. Our entire journey was incredible, starting from our experience at Shady Grove to the ninth month. It wasn’t until the delivery that the unexpected happened. An hour after the birth of our son, I lost consciousness. I suffered from fibroids, so one of the arteries was incorrectly cut and caused excessive blood loss.

My husband ran down the hall yelling for help and banging on the doors looking for anyone that could help. When I finally regained consciousness, I woke up to my sister (an RN) performing CPR, my mother screaming, and a room full of doctors and nurses. The doctor told me that he would have to remove my uterus, and I began to cry. I didn’t want to lose my uterus; we had just started our family and planned to have more kids. At that moment, I felt defeated and helpless. I knew I had to because I was lying in a massive puddle of blood that continued to spill onto the bed. I stopped breathing again during the additional two surgeries, but they managed to bring me back and stop the bleeding. I was induced into a coma for about a week to give my body time to heal. However, my husband did his thing while I was trying to recover. He did a fantastic job for a first-time dad. One of the many reasons I’m so in love with him; he’s always there when we need him.

The pain I felt when I realized that I had missed the first few days of my son’s life and couldn’t hold or breastfeed was extremely difficult. I felt helpless, especially since this was my only chance to experience pregnancy and delivery. I admit I would give anything if I could regain my uterus and experience pregnancy and delivery. However, we are firm believers that GOD has a plan, and my husband and I will and have always enjoyed every moment of all the adventurous journeys that come our way. This surrogacy journey will be one of our most incredible adventures yet.

There aren’t enough words, gestures, or expressions of gratitude to show how genuinely thankful J and I are to start this surrogacy journey with you. We’re ready to get to know you and have a wonderful experience with you. We would love to go to the doctor’s appointments and be involved in any thoughtful way. We’re open to calls, texts, and even outings if you want to get out and enjoy the day. Our goal is to be there for you and show our appreciation for you making our dreams a reality.

With Love,

L+J