No Coincidences

This is me sending the final, final (I think??) correspondence of the surrogacy over to the royal courts of London that will officially grant full parentage to Vivianne and David over baby Clara. You see, despite their names being listed as the parents on her birth certificate and my having zero claim to this child in …

Closing up Shop

Baby Clara is six weeks old. Vivianne and David have been in touch a bit since they went back home, though not nearly as much as before – their hands are understandably full. I suspect, however, that we’ll be in touch for life. It feels as though they’ve become family. I really didn’t know what …

And They’re Off

Last night was intense. Last night was surreal. Last night felt like peeling off a band-aid. Very, very slowly. We started by picking them up at their top-floor walkup apartment in Everett. The place where Vivianne and David, and then baby Clara (more on that in a minute) lived since their arrival in the US …

There’s No I in Uterus

I was pretty proud of myself when I first came up with the name of this blog. It hit the intentions of this process spot-on, that the uterus inside me could be used for more than just my own purposes. I could join with another person or couple, and collectively we’d have one big happy …

V’yikareh Shema B’Yisrael: And Let Her Name in Israel Be…

When I first became a mother more than ten years ago, I took on the practice of lighting an extra Shabbat candle for my daughter. On our first trip to Israel together as a family, when she was just three months old, we went to see our friends at the Baltinester Judaica shop in Jerusalem. …

Birth Story

I went in for a routine ultrasound (we’ve been having them monthly throughout the pregnancy) and OB visit with Vivianne and David this past Wednesday afternoon, at 38 weeks and 5 days. After the ultrasound, as per usual, Hannah the ultrasound tech went out to show the results to the radiologist before giving us the …

She’s Here

A new soul entered the world this morning, Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 4:41 am. Pictures first, story later. All is right with the world.

And Now… We Wait (Part Two)

Jamie is nesting, big time. I figure that means it’s time for me to write a blog post. I went to the mikveh yesterday. It was my first time back in the water since the day before this fetus, in its smallest-ever embryonic form, was transferred into my uterus. A lot has changed since then. …

Bullet: DODGED

The most recent blood test came back with the antibodies still too weak to detect. My obstetrician checked with the high-risk doctor and we’ve had a change in plans of the best kind: being this far along (now past 37 weeks), even if the antibody levels were to rise at this point, there wouldn’t be …

All Packed Up

My hospital bag is packed. I’ve got the requisite comfy clothing, toiletries, snack food, possibly a beer… and the pre-birth order that was just approved, mandating that Vivianne and David be listed as the parents on the baby’s birth certificate. Those aren’t actually their real names, though. We agreed to use different ones for the …