Meet Joey!

“I had a great experience with family sources I’d highly recommend them to any of my friends or family looking in to surrogacy or egg donation.”

Joey is an amazing surrogate who delivered a handsome baby boy for an incredible family.

Q: What led you to become a Surrogate?

I’ve always been interested in egg donation, and I really looked into it for a while, so I applied but didn’t have any luck, so when I chose Family Source, I really wanted to give surrogacy a try and experience something that no one I knew had any idea about, and honestly, I just felt that if I wasn’t going to have anymore biological children of my own, then I was willing to help one lucky parent or couple to have a child they’ve been dreaming of, and I did just that!

Q. Who was the most significant support person throughout your journey?

Honestly my case worker was there through each step and guided me through it all and I really appreciate that so much. Also my boyfriend was such a big help on days I was struggling to give myself daily shots it was pretty difficult some days but we made it through it.

Q. What made you decide to choose your Intended Parents?

Honestly I picked my IP because we shared the same religious background and I also liked that he was a very well educated man and I new he’s worked so hard for all he’s ever had in life and I felt that this man should be able. To be a father and I new this child would not only make his life complete but that this child would be well taken care of and so loved. And I just couldn’t dream of a better person to help get to this point in life buy giving the gift of life.

Q. What are some of the highlights of your journey?

Honestly seeing the embryo transfer was such a amazing experience. And getting to know my IP through out the 9 months we became close friends! And knowing I was making such a difference in someone else’s life really made me feel good about doing this process.

Q. Do you have advice for women who are interested in becoming a gestational surrogate?

I would advise them on the kind of commitment they would be agreeing to and make sure they have a good support person or system cause not every day will be easy. And to develop a good relationship between yourself and the IP because I feel like it’s really important to have.

Q. How do you feel about your experience working with Family Source Consultants?

I had a great experience with Family Source I’d highly recommend them to any of my friends or family looking in to surrogacy or egg donation.

Q. What would you like other people to know about surrogacy?

That it is such a amazing experience and that there are so many loving individuals waiting patiently to become parents. And that there should be more people willing to help people out and can really make a life changing experience happen for them.

Q. How has becoming a surrogate impacted your life? 

It honestly open my eyes that not only woman struggle with infertility and just finding the right person to have a child with but so do men, and men deserve to be parents as well whether they have a partner or not and that becoming a surrogate has made me more humble and thankful that there are people out there willing to help others. I’m just so grateful that I was able to experience this journey.

Q. What did you find was the biggest misconception people had about surrogacy? 

That they didn’t realize all the medicine you have to take and all the trips you have to make to see a specialist for this kind of treatment. Some people thought they were using my egg when that definitely wasn’t the case.

Q. Was this pregnancy different than your other pregnancies? If so, how?

Honestly, I think since I’m older that I have more aches and pains in my body and I felt like since this wasn’t my egg that we did not share any DNA that my smell wasn’t as strong as it was with my other pregnancy. I gained more weight then I thought I was going to towards the end but that’s ok we got a healthy child out it and that’s all that matters.

Q: How did you prepare yourself for separating from the baby after birth? 

Since day one I engraved it in my mind that I knew this child wasn’t mine and why I chose to do this was to help someone become a parent. I knew this child had a parent that waited so long to meet them and honestly that was just so satisfying to see the child and parent bond together.

Q: What would you like someone who is considering working with a surrogate to know?

Grow a strong friendship with your surrogate and whenever your surrogate goes through some bumps in the road just be understanding and try to be patient with them and that we all have ups and downs.

Learn more about becoming a surrogate by submitting a request for information, or start your surrogate application today!

Staci Swiderski, CEO and owner of Family Source Consultants has been involved in the field of reproductive medicine since 2002. Staci has vigorously grown the comprehensive egg donation and gestational surrogacy agency to become a worldwide leader in the third-party reproduction field. Staci is a former intended parent herself. She and her husband welcomed their son via gestational surrogacy in 2005. Additionally, Staci had the experience of assisting an infertile couple (AKA Recipient Parents) build their family through her efforts as an egg donor, with her donation resulting in the births of their son and daughter.