“We are over the moon happy to say we chose to work with FSC because it was a partnership” – FSC Parents S&S
As part of our 15th Anniversary celebration, we are following up with some of our amazing FSC Families.
We first met S&S in 2015, when they were just in the beginning stages of researching agencies. After just a few weeks, they were matched with Surrogate Danielle, who carried their twin boys and delivered in 2017. We recently checked in to see how their family has grown since we last talked to them!
How did you first hear about surrogacy?
After my hysterectomy with my first daughter and we wanted more children.
What made FSC stand out from other agencies?
We read their reviews online because we had a bad experience with a prior agency. FSC was 100% on target with what they said they would do at every stage of the process.
What were the top qualities you wanted in a surrogate?
We wanted a surrogate who would love our baby as if she were carrying her own baby. We were told we would have to wait a longer time to be matched because we were not interested in multifetal reduction. Danielle was also told the same, that she would be hard to match because she didn’t want to reduce multiples. We were matched within weeks of signing up with FSC.
How did you know that your surrogate was the one for you?
We had the same values. She is perfect in every way!
How did you tell friends and family and how did they react?
We have always been very open about wanting children. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love all children. I was also an elementary teacher prior to our boys being born. And S (husband) is one of 8 children, so wanting a larger family has always been something we both wanted.
What was your relationship like with your surrogate?
We felt very comfortable with Danielle from the start. She was very open and honest about everything. She asked lots of questions and told us a lot of information about her and her family. She was extremely courteous of us and thinking about us always. She would facetime, text, or call after all of her doctors’ appointments. We would have results and/or information regarding her appointment before FSC did because Danielle would call, text, or facetime us to keep us up to date on everything. She’d also send us pictures weekly of her growing belly with a comparison as to the size of the babies (ie. each baby is the size of an orange.)
Was your relationship with your surrogate different than you expected?
Our relationship is better than we ever expected For us, anyone wanting to give up their bodies for an entire year and not have a very open and honest relationship with that person would be crazy. I have been pregnant once so I was more comfortable with the process than some may be. We had to trust that any surrogate is going to do everything they can to keep the baby(ies) safe and not do anything that would not do if this was their own child they were carrying.
What is your relationship with your surrogate like now?
Our relationship with Danielle is great! We have another family with her, her husband, and her children. We traveled to where Danielle lived at least six times prior to the boy’s birth. We had family outings together on all of our trips. Since the boy’s birth, we have been able to visit Danielle and her family at least once a year. This past year she was able to fly to our home and spend a week with her two children and our family for vacation-pure joy-so much fun!
Do you have any advice for intended parents who are just starting out?
Try not to let your emotions get the best of you and go with your gut. Think about things as if you were the mom carrying the baby(ies). When Danielle would travel out of state our only request was that she check with her OB/GYN first and if she said yes, then all we asked was she send us a text so if she went into labor we knew where to go. You must TRUST your surrogate and want to build a relationship with her.
She will be a part of your lives forever, in many ways. Someday your baby will ask questions about how they were born. We had a photoshoot with Danielle and her family showing her growing belly etc. Those pictures and the relationship we have with Danielle are things we will treasure forever.
Aside from the birth, tell us was a wonderful memory from your journey.
When Danielle gave me a birthday gift of a 3D ultrasound and arranged for a pregnancy family photoshoot all the same weekend with our families.
Staci Swiderski, CEO and owner of Family Source Consultants has been involved in the field of reproductive medicine since 2002. Staci has vigorously grown the comprehensive egg donation and gestational surrogacy agency to become a worldwide leader in the third-party reproduction field. Staci is a former intended parent herself. She and her husband welcomed their son via gestational surrogacy in 2005. Additionally, Staci had the experience of assisting an infertile couple (AKA Recipient Parents) build their family through her efforts as an egg donor, with her donation resulting in the births of their son and daughter.
