The intended parents I was going to carry for had had their share of disappointments over the previous years. They had tried many different ways to have a baby, without success. As a gestational surrogate, I was their last hope.
After weeks of preparation, transfer day came and three beautiful embryos were placed in my womb, as we anxiously began the dreaded two-week wait. As hopeful as they were, IPs had gone through so many failures in the past that were very reluctant for me to use home pregnancy tests before our official blood test. They said they wanted to avoid another deception and preferred to wait for results from the lab.
But I had already bought a couple dozen pregnancy tests through a pharmaceutical supplier and intended to do some testing beforehand. I started testing four days after transfer, even though I knew it was still too early for a positive result. Ever day, I kept IPs informed of how I felt: tired, crampy, hungry… all normal side effects from the hormonal treatments, that couldn’t be trusted as pregnancy symptoms. On the morning of day 6 post-transfer, a miracle happened: as I stood on the bathroom counter and held the small test strip (ripped from it’s plastic casing) against the vanity light, I saw the faintest pink line appear. I yelled for my husband to come confirm my vision and he, too, saw the joyous second pink-line. I wanted to call my IPs so badly and share those oh-so-happy news with them, but I also wished to respect their desire to wait for official blood results. That afternoon, the intended mother called me to see how I was feeling and ask me what my plans were for the evening. I answered that I was going to the grocery store to stock up on soda crackers, so I would be ready in case I eventually got morning sickness. She giggled, but reminded me that she didn’t want to know…yet.
Day 13 came and I got the go from the fertility clinic to go get my blood drawn. As we anxiously waited for the results to come in, I emailed IPs the picture I had taken a few days ago. Minutes later, our beta results were in: 1113! IPs were ecstatic! There are no word to explain the pure joy we all felt at that moment. Beta numbers more than doubled over the next couple days and our 6-week ultrasound confirmed what we were suspecting (and hoping for): two strong heartbeats!
I delivered two healthy baby boys at 36 weeks and 2 days, finally making my IPs’ dream of having a family come true.
Written by Line Picard