J&K are a South Carolina-based couple destined for future fatherhood. They are embarking on their first surrogacy journey and are blogging every step of the process for LGBT Fertility. Join them as they take each amazing, momentous step. We hope you enjoy!
You first met with LGBT Fertility at the NYC Men Having Babies Conference in November 2018. Fast forward 9 months and you’re now less than two weeks away from jetting from your home in South Carolina to our offices in Texas. How are y’all feeling now that you’re *this* much closer to starting the medical portion of the surrogacy journey?
We are excited to be moving forward with the process. It has felt like it has taken ages to get to this stage and there is a feeling of excitement revolving around this trip and moving forward with our journey. Now that we are moving into this stage of the journey, things are definitely feeling more real as more of the concrete aspects of the journey begin.
How are you preparing for the medical consultation?
A lot of it is really just getting our heads around the fact that we are about to fly out for the latest phase of our journey. Part of our preparation has been to get any medical records and our medical history sent to the clinic.
Part of the consult includes a semen collection for analysis and cryopreservation. Have you made any lifestyle changes in an effort to boost your sperm count?
We have both been working on reducing our weight through diet and exercise to help improve the count and the quality of our sperm. Additionally, J has taken additional supplements and vitamins for improving his sperm quality.
I’m sure you have a million questions to ask your physician and third-party team; do you have a list ready to go? What’s the one Q you can’t wait to get answered?
At the moment, we are trying to wrap our heads around everything. Our list of questions stems more around the process after our visit to the clinic. One of the biggest questions for us is really regarding the whole embryo grading to understand what goes into determining viable embryos.
Is there anything that you’re nervous about or is it just excitement overload (in terms of the upcoming appointment)?
There is still a bit of nervousness; small, anxious worries pop up every now and then. Largely, though, we have just been excited about getting into the primary part of the process, we didn’t think we would be this much closer to expanding our family.
Do you have anything special planned to mark this milestone? Lucky socks, dinner out in Dallas, sending a postcard to baby-to-be from Texas?
We don’t have anything special planned for the trip itself, but we will look for something special to do while we’re in Dallas, such as going out to eat or something else to celebrate this milestone.
What’s the one thing you’re most looking forward to?
We are looking forward to getting to meet the team that will be taking us through this next stage of the journey as we move forward with finally starting on the more direct portions of the process.