The “all-day” appointment started at 8am, when my husband and I met with the same social worker we had the prescreen call with. We were with her for about 2 hours or so, as she got to know us, our backgrounds and what made us want to pursue surrogacy. After we finished with her, we went over to give a urine sample-they needed to test for drug use, then I had to get a saline sonogram where they looked more closely at my uterus’ shape, size, and other characteristics and my ovaries. From there both my husband and I got more bloodwork drawn, then went to speak with a nurse who went over the medications I would be taking before, during, and after the embryo transfer, she also showed us how to administer the medications as two of them are shots, one in the fat of the abdomen, and one in the gluteus muscle. After finishing with the nurse, I had to complete an ati test where it assessed my personality further, then finally we met with our IP’s for our group session-the four of us and the social worker!! I was SO nervous but even more excited! During the group session we discussed our wants and potential needs, how much communication we wanted, when the IP’s were planning/hoping to come to appointments or ultrasounds, potential visits, etc. the social worker gave my husband and I plenty of resources and ideas of how to introduce the surrogacy to our children and how to answer some of the questions they may have. The group session was a great way to get to know the IP’s without the pressure of trying to find topics to talk about, while also broaching some topics that can be a little uncomfortable-albeit exciting, due to the long road the IP’s have traveled that has brought them to this point. Getting to know our IP’s, seeing them in person and hearing some of their journey towards parenthood, has only solidified further, my and my husband’s decision to carry their baby and finally make them the family they’ve always wanted to be.
