Match Meeting

One of the reasons we chose to work with the Surrogacy Center is because of how they run their agency. They have been in business for almost 10 years and have had close to, if not more than, 100 babies born! It was founded by 3 family and child lawyers in Wisconsin that wanted to make a difference. The women that work there are amazing in so many ways! They are a smaller agency, but I kind of like that. They are there to help, protect, guide, inform, and support both sides of the surrogacy journey. I am so grateful for each of them.

Once we found out we had been accepted into the agency the excitement and nerves really went into overdrive! I kept telling myself to take it one day at a time, who knows when we would be matched. Little did I know it would only be a few short weeks later! The process for getting matched is simple and yet very involved. Each agency is different, but the Surrogacy Center only gives the IPs (Intended Parents) one surrogate's information. This way surrogates are not "competing" against one another, and it makes it easier on the IPs. The center goes through the applications, the psych evals, the personalities, and lifestyles to figure out who would be a good match for one another. When we had our first meeting with them, they said they had about a 90% rate of having the IPs match with the first surrogate they read about. Not bad odds, right? 

It was Friday the 13th, and it was definitely not bad luck! I was at work and got a random phone call from the Surrogacy Center. I called them back to find I was on a conference call with all 3 of them! My heart started to race and my thoughts started to go in a million different directions. I have never talked with all 3 of them at once before so I knew something was happening. They began to tell me about a couple that they thought would be a good match for us. They could not tell me a ton of information, but enough to give me goose bumps. At this point they asked if they could send my portfolio to them, and the words came out of my mouth faster than my brain realized it was happening...YES, YES, YES! Gracious! Is this really happening?! (Quick side note: my portfolio consist of my application, insurance info, pictures of myself and my family,and a letter I wrote to them)

After I brought myself back down to earth, they continued to tell me that they usually give the IPs about 10 to 14 days to look over the information and decide. At this point they say yes, we would like to meet them, or no, we don't think it's a good fit. Talk about the longest 2 weeks of my life! Thankfully we heard from the center in 5 days, and the good news kept coming. The couple had reviewed our portfolio and wanted to continue forward. So now it was our turn, we received their portfolio and had to decide if it was a good fit for us... Now one thing I was nervous about was just "taking" the first IPs, I wanted to make sure it was the RIGHT one. We really didn't go back and forth with the decision, but I definitely did a lot of praying about it. After a couple of days, we too decided we wanted to continue forward with this couple.

So after what seemed like forever, which was actually several weeks, here comes our actually match meeting! At this meeting we would get to know each other a little more, go over some details, and really find out if in fact we wanted to continue with them. Our meeting took place on April 2nd, and it was the longest trip to Madison I had ever taken! My stomach was in complete knots, but I was so thankful to have Eric by my side keeping me calm. We arrived at the center and I had to laugh because one of the first things they say to me is, "they are just as nervous as you are, but within 30 minutes everyone will be relaxed." 

Sure enough it happened! Our meeting got underway, and it was like we had been friends for a long time! We shared how we got to this point, why we were there, and of course Eric's first reaction. Then the IPs shared with us their story. (Sorry, but I will not be sharing on my blog about them or their story out of respect for their privacy) We discussed what the next step in this journey would be, what to expect medically, how much the IPs would be involved, what to expect once the baby or babies are born, and everything in between. Our meeting lasted about 2 hours, and then we decided to have lunch with just the 4 of us. After another 2 hours, tons of laughs, heart felt and sincere conversations, and a mutual feeling of something great it was time to say our goodbyes, for now, and head home.

With all of my excitement and nerves, I never thought twice about why or how I was going to do this. Now that I have met this couple, heard their story, learned about their families, and created a bond with them...I have never been so sure of something, other than saying yes to Eric, in my life. I get goose bumps every time I think of my IPs, my heart starts to swell when I think of them holding their child for the first time, and I am so excited that I get to be a part of that.