ConceiveAbilities Surrogate, Natalia lives in Kansas with her husband and two children. She describes herself as a quiet person, who doesn't necessarily talk a lot but who likes to help whenever she can. She enjoys Zumba, watching documentaries, and is hooked on several Netflix and Hulu series.
In April of 2019 Natalia delivered boy / girl twins for her Spanish Intended Fathers (IFs) as a gestational carrier. We asked if she would be willing to answer a few questions about her journey and what it was like to carry for her IFs. She graciously provided the below responses.
Yes. Right after my husband and I first started dating I told him about my plans of being a surrogate, and of course he thought I was crazy and I was just playing. 12 years later, after we married and had our own children, I told him that I was ready but that I just needed to lose a few pounds before being completely ready, lol. And now my dream has come true and I have also made IFs’ dream a reality, so that is pretty awesome.
Two weeks after ConceiveAbilities told me they were creating my profile, I was told that a couple from Spain was interested and wanted to meet via video call.
No. I was very happy and excited. I thought, “well I have one of the best dads in the whole world. Wouldn't be awesome to have TWO?”
His only concern was morning sickness, since I had bad morning sickness with my first son.
In the beginning, before we met our IFs, my husband was worried about what his family or people at church might think. But after we met my IFs and talked with them on that first video call, my husband’s initial concerns were totally gone and he was on-board and excited.
It was awesome. Their story, their hobbies…we had so many things in common. I love that we all speak Spanish, we like the same type of music, same movies, TV series, and also food.
That they deserved it. They deserve to have a family. They deserve to have kids.
I think is different because they really had no idea about pregnancy, symptoms or signs or cravings. They were so cute and so sweet, my IFs were worried about me all the time. If I had a headache or morning sickness they were always supportive. I never doubted how important I was to them. And because really they have no other choice to have a baby I think that makes them so grateful for surrogates.
They were hoping for a baby, they knew chances of twins were higher, but they were also scared of the transfer not working.
My family was very supportive, my parents were super happy and curious. Still to this day, every time I talk to my dad (my parents live in Mexico) the first thing he does is ask about my kids and right after he always asks about the twins, “how are your other babies?” My three sisters love the twins and the IFs, we are all like a big family, we all connected through Facebook. I did receive negative comments from one person at church (I am Catholic), but more about doing IVF. My husband's family was not supportive. They just didn't like risking my health but that's ok. They just deleted the whole surrogacy journey from their mind I guess...like it never happened.
Mostly. There was a nurse who tried to make me sign a paper, consent for vaccinations for the twins. I told her telling several times that “I am not the mother, you need to find their dads, I am not signing anything.” But all the other nurses and healthcare providers were awesome.
Yes, I have more knowledge about the discrimination they suffer, about how they need to fight for all their rights. It is sad how everything is more complicated for them and it is not fair.
The first time I saw the twins, I felt so happy, so excited about their family, I thought about how lucky they are to be so loved.
No, because I had a C-section and only one person can come in the OR so my husband was with me.
Yes, we are connected through the WhatsApp app and we also communicate on Facebook. We talk at least once a week. We share pictures of what we are doing, food, and of course our kids.
Keep in mind that they will love you forever, they will become your family, they will be forever grateful. And you will love them back.
Yes. My IFs are excellent dads, I knew they would be even before the delivery. I bought some belly buds for the fathers to record messages for the babies, and each story they recorded was so touching and so wonderful to listen to. After the delivery we spent every day together until the day they had to go to Chicago to do some paperwork before returning to Spain. I saw how they took care of the babies, how the twins were on a schedule. I wondered how they did that. I remember not having a scheduled with one baby…LOL. I got to see how they made decisions related to the babies after talking to each other. It was awesome to be a part of.
We could not help ourselves. After how sweetly Natalia spoke about her relationship with her IPs we had to reach out and ask for a quote from their perspective. We asked about both Natalia and their surrogacy journey, and their response did not disappoint. They shared: "We are so happy and thankful for having the two most beautiful and fulfilling experiences in our lives: becoming parents and gaining a new family in America."
Many thanks to Natalia for sharing her story with us. Thank you to the IPs for providing the quote and sharing their family photo with us.
At the beginning of the interview Natalia jokes that she had to lose a few pounds before becoming a surrogate. BMI is an important consideration for surrogates. ConceiveAbilities requires applicants to have a BMI between 18-32 for acceptance into our surrogacy program. Learn more about our surrogate requirements on our website.
Although ConceiveAbilities cannot guarantee that all of the matches we bring together will have the same taste in music, as was the case with Natalia and her IFs, matching is our specialty and our Matching Matters process provides the best possible match for the smoothest and most fulfilling journey possible.
Written by Jesse Fiest
Jesse has been in awe of the gestational surrogacy community since first joining the ConceiveAbilities team, back in 2015. She enjoys creating content relevant to third party reproduction whenever the opportunity arises and is thrilled to be a member of RESOLVE, the national infertility association.
All Things Conceivable is a blog dedicated to sharing the knowledge and expert opinions of the dedicated team at ConceiveAbilities, a Chicago-based egg donation and surrogacy agency.