The LONG matching process

In July 2015 I started putting in applications with agencies. Each application took 1-2 hours to fill out. I found some agencies that agreed to work with me and some who didn't want to work with me. I came across Fertility Miracles and the fit seemed right. Fast forward several months and tons of paperwork later (background check, medical records, Dr med clearance, ect) I was finally cleared for my surrogate profile to be opened to potential intended parents (IP's). After this I got profile after profile of parents who had interest in me, but none gave me a "these are the parents" I wanted to work with.  I started to get worried I wouldn't find anyone who met my standards,  and started to think maybe my "gut instinct" wasn't as good in my personal life vs my nursing life.  I thought my dream of helping someone have a baby to complete their family wouldn't come true. But on May 23rd I got an email of another profile of IP's  who wanted to meet me, after a quick glance of their story and pictures I got the feeling I had been waiting for, I wanted to talk to them more. So I sent several emails back to the agency and asked several questions and agreed to skype
.
On May 26th, I had my first interaction with Q&A. Of course Skype was not working right so we were able to talk to each other but they couldn't see me. We talked about the surrogacy process, and what the expected and I expected. And then started talking about other stuff besides surrogacy. The conversation seemed natural. That night I talked to Rich about it and he basically said if it felt right to me he would support my decision.

On June 3rd we Skype again and this time we could see each other. Again we talked about our questions and concerns. Conversation seemed natural and we agreed on all the "big" topics. We all agreed that we want contact before, during, and after pregnancy. Agreed that we want an open relationship, only wanted one embryo transfered, and want to be comfortable with each other. After our 2nd Skype I told Rich these were the people. That evening I emailed the agency and told them I definitely wanted to be Q&A's surrogate. I anxiously waited for a response from Karen and when I got the reply I couldn't be more excited. Q&A agreed they wanted to work with us too! They had to do paperwork and on June 16th I got the email saying  that we were officially matched!

The Background Story

So many people ask me why I want to do this, some assume it is for money, others because I'm crazy.

Becoming a surrogate is something I've always wanted to do. When Rich and I started dating we were driving home one day and talking about having a family and started to talk about our family and friends who have struggled with getting pregnant. On that car ride 8ish years ago I told him I was going to be a surrogate some day.  If my memory serves me right I think he laughed and just agreed to make me happy.
 Fast forward a few years...... we decided it was time for us to have a baby of our own, but it wasn't as easy as we thought. We tried for a year with no luck, so we went to our Dr and had a bunch of tests done and we're told to just keep trying, so we did. Another year passed and still I wasn't pregnant, so back to the Dr we went. A few more tests were done and again told nothing was wrong and to start tracking ovulation with the sticks that you pee on. So I did... I soon discovered I wasn't ovulating every month. Month after month of heart break and sadness. Dr Growney started me on medication to help regulate my ovulation and told me if I wasn't pregnant in 3 months he was sending me to a Fertility specialist.
 Month one... not pregnant
Month two... not pregnant
Month three.... I was finally pregnant after almost 3 years of trying. 3 years of heartbreak and sadness. 7 weeks into the pregnancy we discovered we were having Twins and couldn't be more excited... after 3 years of trying for a baby we were blessed with two.

Shortly after having the girls the surrogacy though popped into my head again. In July of 2015 I decided to move forward and research more. It was definitely something I wanted/ needed to do. So I started the process.
We both also know several people in different aspects of or lives that haven't been ale to have children on their own and have turned to adoption, foster care, or decided to not have children at all. What ever the case is, families come in all different ways. (natural, foster care, adoption, surrogacy, ect). Our girls will be privileged to know that this is the case, and will be able to see that no matter how children are brought into our lives, all that matters is that they are loved and accepted as family.