Liz Jones
When are you due with the surrogate baby?
“November 2020”
Why did you choose to be a surrogate, especially a second time?
"I really enjoy being pregnant and being able to help people experience the joys of becoming parents. I loved seeing my intended parents with their baby when he was born. I'm really excited to see that again."
How was meeting your intended parents?
“The first meeting is always a little awkward, everyone is a bit nervous. It helped a ton to have representation from the agency at the meeting not only to help everyone feel comfortable but also to make sure we talked about those important things that intended parents and gestational carriers need to feel the same about.
How is the screening process? Does anything hurt?
“The screening process can be time consuming but nothing really hurts. Its move invasive then your typical GYN visit but no more painful.”
How do you handle all the medications, especially shots?
"I made myself a calendar/tracker to make sure I take all the different meds on the right days. Its really only the week leading up to transfer that I had to take a lot of different things. The shots become second nature. The first few are always nerve wrecking but once you find out that it’s not so bad, they honestly become easy."
What has been the best part of the process so far?
"So far, the best part of this journey has been finding out we are pregnant."
How was embryo transfer? Were the intended parents able to attend? Tell us about that experience.
"Transfer was a breeze. My intended parents were unable to attend because they live in a different country. I had my husband drive me but I did the transfer process by myself. The transfer itself is really quick. I was able to fall asleep during the post transfer acupuncture! Then I went home and napped some more."
What are you most looking forward to?
"The day my intended parents get to hold their baby!"
Why did you choose to work with an agency, particularly us?
"Working with an agency reduces stress on me. The agency is able to screen intended parents and coordinate all the legal aspects of the process. This allows me to create a genuine friendship with my intended parents. Also, I feel confident that I have someone in my corner to advocate for me and to help navigate medical and legal things. Being that this agency is local they are able to quickly support me in anything I need, often in person. This has been especially helpful given that my intended parents live in a different country, the agency reaches out to me often just to check in on me."
Anything you would like to add, especially since this is your second journey?
"I do feel more prepared and more confident in this second journey. I feel like there are less unknowns now that I have navigated all the medical and legal items once before."