Family Skype Date

Skyped a day late this week with S & B, but for a good reason -- Tim and both kids were able to join us :) Normally, Tim is at work and Ezra is napping. I haven't really discussed my family and their views on the situation. My husband Tim is beyond supportive and super excited to be part of this experience. He has always encouraged me to pursue surrogacy, but wanted us to complete our family first. There's always the worst case scenario that I could lose my uterus due to a pregnancy complication or other things. But now that we have our daughter, Paisleigh (4.5) and son, Ezra (15 months), we are excited to help others complete their own families. We all initially met via Skype back in January, but today was the first time we were able to speak without the agency reps and translator. We were able to speak as friends/family rather than two sides of the "business."

S (the wife) is becoming more familiar with English, which is so exciting. As of right now, I have to speak to B (the husband) and he has to translate to S & vice versa when she wants to speak to me. Her and I are both very chatty people, and poor B has to try and keep up. I hope to one day be able to speak directly with her since we have so much in common, and obviously are sharing a huge experience. I am still practicing my French, but will be in no condition to speak fluently anytime soon. And apparently Tim is easier to understand, since he lacks the slight southern accent like myself. I need to work on my annunciation. Sorry B!

We were able to get more information on the process of what is to come for them after the baby is born. Once the baby is born, S & B will have to stay in the states for at least 4 weeks in order to get the baby's passport prepared. Because surrogacy is illegal in France, S & B will never legally be recognized as the parents of the baby in France. They cannot even use the platform of adoption since they would have to go through the French administration for this to occur. B has not even told his work that he is coming to America next week for fear of being questioned. I did not realize the severity of protest of surrogacy in France, but it is real and it is devastating. To prevent a person from having their own child, regardless of the methods used, is so awful. Here in America, we take for granted the choices we have to have/not have children, having another human carry our child, or the option of giving the child up for adoption. Luckily, S is not one bit worried since it is her dream to live in America, and their little Peanut will technically be an American :) Whatever their choice, I hope that they can live in peace as a family, legally recognized or not.

They will be here in 8 days and 3 weeks until our final screenings! I will be flooding this blog with posts so keep an eye out :)))