You've Got Mail

I have to admit that I did not expect to start getting responses from possible gestational carriers this fast.  Already we have emails from 5 ladies wanting to carry our baby.  Mark is beside himself with happiness, but me being the pragmatic one (Mark says pessimistic, I say pragmatic) says that we should hold on a minute before getting too excited.

Door #1 is 39, in the UK and has never been a GC before.  She says that it is something that her and her husband have talked about before.  That having seven children was such a positive experience for them and they would just like to give that experience to someone who would not otherwise be able to have children.  I am getting a genuine "vibe" from this person, however the UK is quite far away, the USD is not stacking up very well against the EUR or the GBP at the moment, and 39 is getting to the top of the age range for a gestational carrier.

Door #2 claims to be a PhD student in Northern California who has a healthy lifestyle, and is looking to possibly facilitate a healthy birth.  Her profile picture looks suspiciously like Demi Moore in "About Last Night" and she doesn't give a lot of information.  I am immediately suspicious of the authenticity of this person.

Door #3 is a 25 year old nurses assistant in FL who has 2 boys and friends that are using a surrogate.  She said that her pregnancies have gone very well, is familiar with the process through her friends, and wants $25K plus travel, medical and a monthly allowance.  I give her props for being up front about things and knowing what the going rate is for a first time surrogate.

Door #4 also lives in FL.  She is a 2x experienced surrogate and has full medical coverage.  Her BMI is 18 (which is underweight by the way), but claims to have carried her last two pregnancies to 40 and 41 weeks without complications or c-sections. No fee quotes yet but I suspect she'll be on the high end of the range.

Door #5 also lives in FL (why do all of these people live in FL?).  She is 32, has three children of her own and has been a surrogate 3 times (triplets, twins and a singleton).  The pregnancies were all uncomplicated and she is at a healthy weight.  She has already signed up with an agency for a fee of $35K - but is willing to work things out on our own without the agency and could be flexible on the fee quote.