Kelsey Brooks
What month and year was/were your surrogate baby born?
November 2020
What originally inspired you to look into surrogacy?
I struggled with infertility (and ended up doing IVF) to get my first child. When I finally carried a successful pregnancy I love it and always thought it would be amazing to carry for someone else.
What was your favorite or most memorable moment during this whole process?
Watching mom meet her twins the first time and the friendship we developed over time.
What was the most unexpected part of this process?
Twins! We knew it was a possibility just didn’t think it would actually happen.
How was the matching process?
Good! We both had similar morals and were on the same page.
How was the pregnancy and how involved were the Intended Parents during the pregnancy?
Pregnancy was seamless. The mom was as involved as she could be considering covid restrictions
How did you talk to other people about the process, like your friends and family? Even strangers?
I just started by saying what I was doing and then explaining more if they seemed interested and answered their questions.
How was your delivery and post-pregnancy?
Dramatic. Ended up with pre-eclampsia at 36 weeks and was induced. Delivery went great (was able to deliver vaginally even with a breech 2nd baby). But then I hemorrhaged after delivery and it took awhile to get it under control. My doctor was amazing!
What were your feelings when you saw the IP(s) hold their baby/babies for the first time?
I was very excited for them! It was just like my best friends had a baby. I loved them but there was not the same bond as there was with my kids.
What was one thing you wished you would have had in your hospital bag that you forgot?
Stretchier pants!
What did your kid(s) and/or partner say when meeting the baby?
My husband bonded more with them after birth than all of my pregnancy. He was sweet with them.
What were some of the benefits of working with an agency?
The agency got to have all the hard conversations for me directly with the IPs
What words of wisdom would you share with other/newer gestational carriers?
If you have an opinion on something voice it. If not, try to let the IPs weigh in as much as they want so it feels more real to them.
If you decided to be a gestational carrier again, what would be the reason?
To give the gift of life to another family.