Thursday, June 5, 2014

A not so brief introduction

Well clearly C is over the whole privacy thing, which I kind of really love (since I do things like this, certain kinds of privacy are not a concern of mine) and posted a link to my blog on his Facebook page so I imagine I'm having a few new readers from his page. So, friends, family, well wishers of C and K, welcome! Everybody else, thanks for sticking around.

You may be wondering why C and K are so willing to trust me with their baby for 9 months. First of all, we're both working with an agency that had put me through my paces before C and K ever even heard of me. I had to power through a complete psychological and physical screening (physical with my own doctor, one with their doctor is yet to come) after having met the general requirements of an agency surro. So far it's been generally established that I'm moderately sane, at least comparatively, free of most major diseases and kind of rock this pregnancy business.

I also am, as they say in the biz, a proven surrogate. In September 2013, I popped out a lovely, healthy baby girl for a great Daddy and Papa on the East Coast. After 41 relatively easy, uneventful weeks, I was proud and joyful to deliver her into the arms of her fathers, and I hear from them on occasion and get pictures of her lovely face.

But beyond that, the titles and the numbers, what did C and K know about me before they decided I was the one they wanted to carry their child? I also had to create a bit of a cover letter for myself. I wanted to be thorough without being completely overwhelming (I may not have been entirely successful). I wanted potential IPs to know who I was, what they were getting into, as it were, before things got personal. I know there are plenty of aspects of myself that I missed, and I may have glossed over a few of my faults (maybe one. Or two.), but I wanted future parents to really buy into me as a person, because we're going to be partners on this journey for almost a year, and hopefully friends for life. So I tried to fit me on a page, and this is what they got:

Dear Future Parents,

Hello, my name is Tiffany, and I'd like to have your baby. ;-) This is the beginning of my second surrogate journey, and I'm so excited to be finding another set of awesome IPs who are looking forward to building a relationship with my family and myself as we all work together to get you your baby.

I've been lucky enough to have 3 uncomplicated pregnancies, and am totally content with our family as it is. Since we're done with my uterus, it would be a shame for it to go to waste. ;-) I feel very honored to have the opportunity to help others grow their families. It's such an amazingly rewarding experience.

Some of the boring, but important, stuff about me: I'm 32, and have given birth to 3 children at this point. My daughter, Kismet, is 5, my son, Teagun, is 3, and my surro baby was born on September 23 of last year. All births were vaginal. My son's birth was completely natural, which is the way I prefer it. Birth is one of the many areas of my life in which I'm kind of a hippie. :-) All three children were born at almost exactly 41 weeks, and all of my pregnancies were free of major complications.

And now the hopefully less boring part, my mini (but wordy) bio: I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home-mom to 2 crazy awesome little kids.  Our daughter, Kismet, is 5, and is the poster child for precociousness.  She's the life of any party and makes friends as easy as the rest of us breathe. She enjoys reading, exploring and experiments. Our son, Teagun, is 3, and is a loving, sensitive boy, and a study in unpredictability.  He's as likely to start a random dance party as throw a tantrum. He likes puzzles, books, trains and stuffed animals.  They keep me very busy with school, trips to the library, gymnastic lessons and just general climbing all over.

My husband, Tony, works as a critical care transport nurse, and we're lucky to have him home 4 days every week (he works 12 hour days the other 3 days).  He is my best friend and soul mate (gag, I know ;) ), and I know everyday how lucky we are to have found each other. He's incredibly supportive of my surrogacy journeys, after having been a little nervous at first, and even attended OB appointments with me when he was able. We've been together for 9 years, and we look forward to holding hands when we're old and wrinkly.

We currently live in Manteca, a small city just about smack dab in the middle of California.  My family lives here as well, and we're lucky enough that they are all incredibly supportive, and willing to lend a hand anytime we may need it.  Tony's mom comes out to spend the night once a week and get in her grandchildren time, and that's usually the point where Tony and I run out for a few minutes of grown up time. We also have a lot of friends and family in the San Jose area, so we try to make it out there at least once a month.

I was born and raised in Manteca, but was lucky enough to live in the Bay Area for 8 years, 6 of which were spent in San Francisco.  While I was in San Francisco, I attended San Francisco State University, where I graduated Summa Cum Laude with my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with minors in Human Sexuality and Special Education.  I never quite figured out what I wanted to do with my degree, and have spent the years between then and now working with autistic children, as a nanny, as a tutor, an exchange student representative, a substitute teacher, and finally as a stay-at-home-mom.
 
If I had to describe myself, I'd first like to point out that I find honesty, in myself and others, to be incredibly important.  I despise lying, even about little things.  I find it a matter of respect, something I also feel is vital.  I try to treat everyone with respect, including children.  I'm also an overwhelmingly happy, kind, easy-going, open person who appreciates the fun, little things in life (and was incredibly lucky to find someone to spend my life with who also enjoys pretty sunsets and silly jokes).  We consider ourselves a little bit hippie in the attachment parenting, semi-green kind of way. On the flip side, I battle laziness everyday and am only lately getting better at managing my time.  I do not excel at housekeeping. I also am finally really growing out of my shyness.  On good days.  :-)

I really enjoy baking (I fantasize about turning my hobby into a career someday), and look forward to someday having time to play videogames again.  I used to especially enjoy Final Fantasy games and World of Warcraft.  I also love reading, mostly fantasy and sci-fi.  I'm a proud geek, and some of my major geek outs include Buffy (and most things Joss Whedon does), Star Trek: The Next Generation, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and Harry Potter.  I suppose going to the gym is one of my hobbies. In order to balance out the baking, I have to make the gym a habit, and my current goals are to someday soon achieve the splits and a pull-up. I'd be happy with just one.  Oh, and bargains.  Bargain shopping is definitely a hobby of mine.  :-)  I also love traveling, and am so excited to be going to Europe for the first time this summer.

I understand that the above is both a lot to take in, and probably nowhere near all of the information you're interested in, but I figure it's a start. If we don't sound like the right fit for you, I wish you the best of luck in finding your perfect surrogate, and if it all sounds good to you, I can't wait to meet you! :-D

Have a great day!

Sincerely,
Tiffany

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