You, Your Surrogate and Your Baby Shower!

So you are
an intended parent and your family and friends are excited about throwing you a
fun-filled and festive baby shower. 
Sounds great but for you, there is only one hiccup   Your surrogate mother happens to live
relatively close by, you all have a great rapport and you would love to include
her in all the pomp and circumstance of the baby shower.  After all, she’s the one doing the hard work–carrying
your baby!  How do you include her in your
special day when everyone else is celebrating your impending
motherhood?  

Shared
Conception has a few solutions for you.

1. If
   you can, send her and her significant other on a well-deserved mini-getaway or
   out to a nice meal.  The getaway doesn’t
   have to be extravagant, just relaxing and tasteful. If providing a quick
   getaway isn’t an option, send your surrogate mother and her family out for a
   day in her city or the nearest seaside town or splurge on nice meal for them.

2. Planning
   a separate party for her after the baby is born would be a wonderful way to
   honor her, before or after the getaway. Invite both her friends and your family
   members and toast her contribution to your family.

3. Before
   your shower guests arrive, you could potentially present your surrogate mother
   with a special gift or a gift certificate to be used any way she’d like. Also,
   feel free to include her in the shower festivities–allow her to help open
   gifts, or help you record the names of gift-givers.

Keep in mind
that during the shower, you’re in a unique position. Most moms-to-be are fawned
over, but by that point in their pregnancy they’re typically uncomfortable and
unsteady on their feet, and sit for the duration of their showers. You can
completely set your surrogate at ease while making her as comfortable as
possible and fawn over her a bit, as you both enjoy the festivities. With a
little bit of advance planning, your shower can be for you as the new
mom-to-be, while your surrogate is comfortable while feeling useful, and after
the birth, she can indulge in her own getaway and thoroughly enjoy herself.