“I chose Family Source Consultants as my Agency because I was referred to them by one of my friends who had nothing but great things to say about them! I also did research online and liked the fact that FSC is made up of former Surrogates, so they know how the process works. “
After seeing my sister struggle through multiple miscarriages, I wanted to do something to help. At the time, we were both having children of our own, so Surrogacy was put on the back burner. Fast forward a couple years and my sister completed her family with 2 beautiful daughters and my husband and I competed our family with 2 daughters and 1 son.
I absolutely loved being pregnant! I had “easy”, uneventful pregnancies and I still felt the desire to help someone expand their family, even if it wasn’t my sister. I told my husband that I wanted to be a gestational Surrogate and I’m pretty sure he thought I was crazy! After explaining exactly what Surrogacy was and what the process entailed, he came around and was supportive and excited for the journey to begin!
On December 30th, 2017, I filled out the initial application with Family Source Consultants. I was terrified, excited and anxious for what was to come! I received an email and a phone call from FSC the following day! Things became very real, very fast as my journey was about to begin!
On January 2nd, 2017, we were presented with a profile of Intended Parents from Spain! I immediately felt a connection to them, just by their answers to the questions and the pictures they provided on their profile. They were so open and honest and I knew that they were “the ones”. As it turned out, they felt the same way about our profile! After our Skype meeting, we agreed to move forward with our IP’s to start our Journey and we were officially matched on January 9th, 2017!
The next month was spent gathering medical records, completing the Psych Evaluation and booking the medical screening! On Valentines Day, my husband and I travelled to Chicago to complete the medical screening with the Reproductive Endocrinologist! Within a week, we received notification that I had passed the medical screening and I was given my medication schedule and my transfer date of 4/18! This gave us one month to complete legal! Our legal contracts were completed and signed 3/18/17 and I began my medication cycle on 3/20/17!
We travelled back to Chicago 4/17-4/19 for the frozen embryo transfer. We transferred one 5 day embryo. On May 1st, I had my first beta and my hcg was 552 (meaning I was pregnant)! I had a couple more betas over the next week to ensure my hcg levels were rising appropriately.
My first ultrasound was scheduled for 5/17 and at this appointment we were able to confirm the pregnancy by seeing the baby’s heartbeat! I continued medications (Progesterone in Oil and Delestrogen injections) until June 12th, when I was 10 weeks, 4 days pregnant. The rest of my pregnancy was uneventful.
Fast forward to December 28th, 2017. I was 39 Weeks pregnant and my Intended Parents flew in from Spain!! We finally got to meet my IP’s in person!! My husband and I picked them up from the airport! We spent the next week showing them around our city, driving them to the store, taking them to the mall, going out for dinner and just spending time getting to know each other!
On the evening of January 4th (my due date), I went in to be induced. The induction went great and baby was born on the morning of January 5th, 2018! It was the most amazing experience to see them hold their baby for the first time! They are so grateful and deserving, I am beyond happy for them!
I am forever grateful to FSC for introducing us to them and allowing us to be a part of this journey! We now have lifetime friends (well, they’re more like family) and we are planning a trip to Spain to visit them in a few years!❤️❤️❤️
The most memorable part of my journey was seeing my IP’s hold their daughter. The joy on their faces and the overwhelming happiness made every injection, headache, round ligament pain, contraction and appointment completely worth it!
My biggest fear going into Surrogacy was what if I became attached to the baby?! This seems to be the most common question that my friends and family asked me throughout my journey as well (which probably added to my fear). I never once felt attached to the baby, not during the pregnancy, labor, delivery or when holding baby in my arms. I think knowing that our family is already complete (we do not want anymore children) and knowing that this isn’t our baby kept myself from growing attached. We weren’t preparing a nursery, buying necessities or even wanting another baby of our own.
Thinking about my IP’s and all their struggles to have a baby of their own was all I ever needed to make this entire process worth it!
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.
