After my first journey, I knew immediately I wanted to have a second. And when I say immediately, I mean it!

I had to have a cesarean because of my previous labors. The time spent in the operating room with the Intended Parents was incredible. They sat behind me, and when the doctor raised their baby above the curtain for them to see – I will never forget the Intended Mom’s scream of joy and disbelief. It will remain in my memory forever.

My husband was allowed to come into the OR after the intended parents left with their precious bundle of joy, and, as he entered the room I said, “I am totally going to do this again.”

My doctor laughed and said, “you are not even sewn up yet!” but I knew I wanted to. I just had to convince the rest of the family; especially my children.

My two boys were ages 5 and 6 during my first journey. They weren’t really aware of what we were getting into. The first two trimesters were a breeze. When I started to get tired, especially at the end of the day, is when they were the most affected. I could barely stay awake for dinner, as if I had an off switch that turned “off” every night at 7 o’clock. At this point, they were still pretty young, so I was a large part of their night time routine. And when Mommy had to relinquish her night time routine duties solely to Dad, they were agitated.

I didn’t know this until we talked about a second journey, and I was shocked! So, we made a plan that kept everyone happy and assured about starting another journey. My husband let our children know and feel that we were all in this together. Respecting their feelings and taking their words into serious consideration gave my children not only the confidence that I could do this again, but that they could too.

I found that surrogacy made my family stronger, more understanding and compassionate. It was a wonderful experience for all of us. All I can say is, if you are interested in becoming a surrogate, I highly recommend it.

-written by Courtney Clinton, 2X Surrogate with Shared Conception