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Ian & Alexandra
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<h2 class="elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large">OUR STORY</h2> </div>
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<div class="bb-theme-elementor-wrap bb-elementor-custom-family bb-elementor-custom-size bb-elementor-custom-line-height"> <p>Ian and I, Alexandra, met in Montreal while I was completing my graduate studies in Art History at McGill, and he was working in sales. We moved to Vancouver in 2014 and in 2015 we got married in a beautiful church with a small group of family and friends. We knew early on we wanted a<strong> house full of children </strong>and as well as pets so shortly after we got married we walked into an animal shelter with the intent of adopting one dog…and ended up with<strong> two</strong>! It turns out that our dogs Lily and Daisy ended up being <strong>wonderful distractions</strong> as we endured years of <strong>infertility</strong>. We welcomed our <strong>daughter</strong> in 2019 with the help of a <strong>surrogate</strong> in California. I have been a stay at home mom to our daughter ever since.</p> </div> </div>
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<h2 class="elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large">Our Interests</h2> </div>
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<div class="bb-theme-elementor-wrap bb-elementor-custom-color bb-elementor-custom-family bb-elementor-custom-size"> <p>As a family of three our hobbies include going to the beach (<strong>rain or shine!</strong>), walking our dogs, swimming, arts and crafts, and visiting numerous playgrounds and libraries on <strong>repeat</strong>. We also enjoy playing card games and boards games with each other. Our extended family lives in Europe as well as other parts of Canada so <strong>travel</strong> is a big part of our life. Recently we visited Portugal and we often visit the interior of British Columbia to spend time with family. Our daughter has learned to love nature as we are often <strong>outside exploring </strong>no matter where we are.</p><p> </p> </div> </div>
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<h2 class="elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large">What led us to Surrogacy</h2> </div>
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<div class="bb-theme-elementor-wrap bb-elementor-custom-family bb-elementor-custom-size bb-elementor-custom-line-height"> <p class="cvgsua">Our decision to pursue surrogacy came after<b> years</b> of unexplained losses and <b>heartbreak</b>. A family friend recommended a clinic in San Diego, so we took the leap and created embryos there. As we are international, we worked with an agency and matched very quickly. We were present at the embryo transfer at the clinic, as well as a few appointments throughout our first surrogate’s pregnancy. This time we feel confident we can pursue an <b>independent journey</b> with the support of <b>The Biggest Ask.</b> Although we live in Canada, we live just minutes to the US border. We visit California, Oregon, and Washington often. Our daughter is a very talkative and curious child so she will be involved in our<b> next surrogacy journey</b> as much as possible too! </p> </div> </div>
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<img width="768" height="1024" src="https://thebiggestask.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/A9D34FD2-2C4C-4137-97F2-F34E50A63F9F_1_105_c-Alexandra-T.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-image-19670" alt="" /> </div>
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<h2 class="elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large">Our Hopes & Dreams for Our Future Child</h2> </div>
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<div class="bb-theme-elementor-wrap bb-elementor-custom-family bb-elementor-custom-size bb-elementor-custom-line-height"> <p>We want our future child to know how much they were <strong>wanted</strong> and how much of a <strong>village</strong> it took to get them to be here. Our daughter knows her birth story and is very proud of it, she will tell pretty much anybody she meets how she was born in California. We also look forward to watching our future child <strong>discover </strong>their own interests and hobbies.</p> </div> </div>
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<h2 class="elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large">Extra Information</h2> </div>
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<li>Names: Ian & Alexandra
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Number of embryos: 2 PGS Tested
Agency/Management Team: The Biggest Ask
Fertility Clinic: La Jolla IVF
Requirements: BMI of 30.9 or less, no more than 2 C-sections, OB clearance for more than 6 vaginal deliveries, OB clearance needed if over 40 years of age
The Biggest Ask Says
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine provides the following recommendations for evaluation of gestational carriers (i.e., many fertility clinics will require the following for their gestational carriers):
- Carried at least 1 child without complications
- Fewer than 3 deliveries via c-section
- Be within the ages of 21 and 45
- Body mass index in between 19 and 32
- No smoking, abusing drugs, alcohol or prescription medications
- Not receiving welfare, public housing or cash assistance from the government
- Has a stable home life with emotional and child care support
- No mental health conditions requiring the use of medications within the last 6 months (including depression)
- No criminal record
Watch the following video to review the Medical and Psychological Clearance procedures that surrogates must complete.
No one likes to talk about surrogate compensation, but it is an important factor in any surrogacy agreement. The following is how we classify high, medium and low compensation (excluding the value of any benefits). Many factors affect surrogate compensation including surrogate experience (e.g., has the woman been a surrogate before?), whether the surrogate is signed up with an agency and surrogate preferences.
- Low = surrogate compensation less than $30,000
- Medium = surrogate compensation between $30,000 and $45,000
- High = surrogate compensation greater than $45,000
You can learn more about how much surrogates get paid in our surrogacy guide’s module: “How much does surrogacy cost?”.
Could you be their surrogate?
If you're interested in learning more about John & Laura, send us an email at hello@thebiggestask.com - subject line "John & Laura".
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