Become intrigued by this question: A person has two pregnancies and delivers two sons. Both pregnancies were difficult, with symptoms including nausea and fatigue. Why, when those experiences were so hard, would it be appealing to subsequently have three surrogate pregnancies and deliver three sets of twins?
Riverwind Stone was 32 years old and had two young sons in elementary school when a friend commented that Colorado needed more surrogates. She said to River that becoming a surrogate for families that could not have their own babies might be rewarding and therefore something to consider.
After looking into the possibility, River became drawn to the idea of helping men who wanted to become fathers.
I wanted to have babies for dads. Being part of the queer community, if things had been different in my life, I might not have had my own kids. I felt that dads need that extra support.
-Riverwind Stone
In this conversation with Kathryn, River describes the process of becoming a surrogate, starting with choosing an agency, going through screening processes and medical exams and receiving the implantations of two embryos and delivering twin babies...three times for three different families.
To be a surrogate, it is required that you already gave birth and are raising your own biological children. I think that requirement is because you need to know how you are with your body, how your body handles pregnancy and how you connect with the gestational carrier journey. For me, it was very, very obvious going into it that I would never connect with somebody else’s babies the way I had with my own when I was pregnant with them.
-Riverwind Stone
The first family was comprised of a single Chinese-only-speaking dad from Taiwan and his sister and dad. They flew into the US to meet and take home their two newborn sons who were born at 38 weeks in July 2015.
After that, River was open to another surrogacy, and a lovely pair of gentlemen from NYC came to Colorado to have dinner with River’s family. At the end of the pregnancy, when labor began in the middle of a December 2016 blizzard, the parents flew in and were delayed in arriving, finally making it in time to be present for the births of their newborn boy and girl. The families are still in close contact, with occasional visits in NYC and frequent receipt of photos.
My boys know that families are built in all sorts of different ways and that is a really important lesson that I think they were able to get.
-Riverwind Stone
The third surrogacy was for another NYC couple in which the wife was a cancer survivor. River had another boy/girl pregnancy and delivery for that couple and continues to be in contact with them.
If you are considering needing a surrogate or being a surrogate, River would be happy to chat with you, explore your options and answer your questions. Just contact us at info@livingwholeonline.com and we will connect you together.
I love the fact that I was a gestational carrier. It’s a little bright spot on my soul. I’m so lucky that the parents send pictures. I can talk with them and see how they all are growing into wonderful little humans. I can show my boys and say, “look what we did!”
-Riverwind Stone