Things that make you go ‘Hmmmm’…

21 weeks…

Over the years I have talked with a few different couples who were interested in having me carry a baby for them (in addition to the two I ultimately decided to carry for). While the questions they asked, and the requests they made, are for the most part pretty mild and tame, you always have that one question that makes you wonder if you are being pranked. Here are a few of my all-time favorites…(not one asked by the family of the baby I am currently carrying)

• ‘Do you want to hold the baby first?’ Absolutely NOT. This is not my baby and he/she needs to immediately bond with you as parents.
• ‘Will you keep the baby in the room with you until he/she goes home?’ Heck no! Your baby will have woken me up plenty during the 9 months I carried him/her. If the baby isn’t in the nursery, he/she will be with you.
• ‘Do you ‘require’ the intended parents to be present when the baby is born?’ Ummmm…I’m not delivering a bouquet of flowers. If you feel this question is valid or appropriate, I think we are done here.
• ‘Will you breastfeed the baby?’ Ha! Errrr…Oh, you were serious?! Ok. So, NO. I won’t breastfeed your baby. However, I would consider pumping and donating.
• ‘Can we bring the baby to you if it is crying at the hospital?’ As long as I am not asleep. lol. Hospital time is my time to heal and catch up on my rest. Welcome to parenthood and Baby 101. I already graduated from that class.
• ‘I like your skin color, and we want a bi-racial baby. Can we use your eggs?’ (This was an actual question, almost verbatim. And she was Dead. Serious.) That is a firm NO. My uterus is available. My eggs? Not so much.
• ‘What will you eat while you are pregnant?’ (I wasn’t sure where this question was headed, but by this point the conversation was already headed downhill. I decided to have a little fun.) While I am pregnant, I make every attempt to eat healthy. But if the baby says we crave something a little less healthy- like a glazed donut or 2- we will probably eat it. Who am I to deny your baby’s happiness?

Looking back, I laugh light-heartedly…How could you not? But the folks making these requests were being 100% serious and genuine. I doubt I have heard the last of questions like these, so stay tuned while my family grows another…