My daughter was born in 2008. Within her first year of life, my husband and I both knew that our family was complete, and we’ve been a little family of three ever since. I don’t remember the exact year when I began thinking about surrogacy, but I remember hearing an advertisement for an agency seeking surrogates and thought about how amazing it would be to carry a child for someone who wasn’t able to carry their own. I had really loved being pregnant, found the experience to be fascinating and full of wonder, and thought it would be incredible to carry a child for someone else. I also didn’t think that I would qualify to be a surrogate. I was older than the age the advertisement specified, and our daughter had been born preterm and in need of immediate medical care from a series of congenital anomalies. I was sure that those things combined would disqualify me, and I spent the next 3-4 years with the dream in the back of my head.
