Baleria’s Journey
Posted on June 22, 2020 by admin
“The Intended Mother caressed my head, and tears fell down her face as she said, ‘Thank you, he is perfect.’ That is a moment I will never forget.”
While we hope that each and every journey is an amazing and memorable experience, sometimes your journey is not what you imagine it to be. This was the case for Baleria whose journey was not entirely the experience that she had hoped for. She first heard about surrogacy when she came across a news article about a woman who selflessly carried her daughter’s child (her grandson) as her daughter was unable to carry a pregnancy to term. After reading this article, Baleria was astonished and so incredibly inspired. The topic of infertility hit home for Baleria, who watched her sister struggle to conceive for years. At one point, Baleria, who has four children of her own, sat down with her sister and expressed that she would be happy and willing to carry her child for her. Fortunately after 15 years of trying, her sister fell pregnant and was able to have the child that she had longed for. But the idea of helping complete someone’s family still lingered in Baleria’s mind and was embedded in her heart.
Months later to her surprise, a close friend began working for a surrogacy agency and after some time, Baleria was asked by her friend if she was interested in applying to become a surrogate. Though this was something that Baleria had thought about doing for years for her sister, the idea od doing this for a complete stranger was what kept her from applying sooner. After speaking to her husband and close family, she decided to submit her application and get the process started. It wasn’t long before she was matched with a sweet international heterosexual couple. Though they spoke through messages, it wasn’t as often as Baleria had hoped and because of the little to no communication, it was hard for them to form a friendship or close relationship. It wasn’t until the Intended Mother came to town a month prior to her baby’s due date that they really got to know each other and formed the bond that Baleria had hoped for all along.
After a fairly smooth delivery, Baleria gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby boy. Though most of the birth is a blur, she vividly remembers the intended mother caressing her head and tears falling down her face as she said the words, “Thank you, he’s perfect” and in that moment, it had all been worth it. Following the delivery, Baleria was very emotional and understandably so. She chose to give herself some time to mentally and emotionally prepare herself prior to seeing or holding the baby.
The intended parents spent a few months in California prior to going home to their country, during which time Baleria got to visit the baby along with her family. Today, they are still in contact and she receives monthly photo updates which she loves, as she enjoys seeing the baby grow.
Surrogacy changed her life in a positive way and she encourages women who are thinking of participating in a journey of their own to go for it! But also urges them to make their expectations clear from the very beginning in terms of how much communication they would like, etc.