Hand-me downs galore!

     It's definitely becoming more and more real to me and my partner. In just over a month, we will be off to pick up the twins. We hope they stay put, and give us time to be with GT for her 36th week USG scan. Please, please, don't come out until we get there! :)
    We are still working on our "nursery" -- we will be in panic mode in a few weeks! Our friend and former neighbor can hardly wait to help decorate the room. Maybe I'll call my inner-Artsy-spirit to add what ever decoration she'll put in the room later on (provided I have the time). She also helped organize our "Baby Shower" in a couple of weeks. We are very luck to have her as a friend. On the other hand, I feel weird having the "shower", but then again, in other people's minds, being two dads with kids are weird as well. There is a show called "The New Normal" and it's nice to watch that they are practically in the same time line as us. Tuesday night, the show was about Baby Shower.

Cocoon times 2!

Car seat-stroller with play toys!!!!

    So, if felt like Christmas this weekend. We got some goodies for the twins. We got blankets, swaddlers, some clothes, bjorn, backpack, breathing sensors, pack and play, and lots more. Thanks to our famous radio personality friend, and Jessica for giving these lovely (pictured) baby items. Thanks also to  Jason and Adrian (Stalking the Stork) for the two Phil and Ted's cocoons. We invited them for dinner, and met their two princesses, Clara and Olivia. The girls are so adorable! We look forward to all the play dates with Clara and Olivia, as well as with other kids in our small community of progressive couples.
    It is great to meet up with other couples who have gone through the same process we are now going through. If you meet anyone in Delhi, or in your own country, who did surrogacy, cherish their friendship as it will be a support system you could have (regardless of the continental divide). We formed a long distance friendship with Linda and Johan, and Barbara and Claudio, despite the fact that they are so far away from us. Technology has made it easy to connect with each other so there is no excuse not keeping the line of communication (unless of course you are sleep-deprived due to the baby or babies).
   Okay, I have no clue what they call these things, so I'll just make up some words.

Tummy Wheel of Fortune thingy-majigy

Starship "playslot" Enterprise 

Formula, formula, formula?... Bueller?

Decision, decision, decision... this is why I hate shopping. I can never decide whether I should buy the item or not. 

My sister used Nan for my niece, who is now 1-yr old. Unfortunately, it is not available here in America. There are several manufacturers I checked out, but it's so hard to decide which one to get. Our friend, who has a 3-wk old boy, uses Earth's Best organic brand. I checked out other organic formula and the other alternative is Baby's Only organic brand, or Safeway organic brand. In terms of nutritional content, they are pretty much the same, so it's the price and whether it's organic would be the deciding factors. We might end up buying the Safeway organic brand. Eventually, we'll play around and mix the cow's milk formula with soy milk formula when the twins are old enough. I never liked consuming a cow anyway.... so our twins don't need to have it's milk either.

Needless to say, it's good to have many choices in case we need to switch. Now let's see, we need what!!!?.... Based on his calculations, my partner said we need about 21 tin cans of formula for the twins during our stay in Delhi. Ugh!!! Don't even ask me how many diapers we need... :)

To our dear friends from Brazil, we are sorry that you will have to start over with the process. We are praying for your next successful attempt. We hope that you will get there soon!

Definitely pregnant! :)

Just a short update. USG scans and belly pic below.

Twin 1

Twin 2

Don't panic! We have 2 months....

Two blankets, clothes and hats

Our neighbor is so sweet! The twins got their very first clothing and blanket. First ever! I'm a bit anxious. There is so much to do before their arrival and we have barely started. We hope to have the nursery ready by March. We are lucky to be surrounded by friends who are kind enough to offer some old baby clothes, a crib, and play pen.

We went to our friend's baby shower over three weeks ago now, and her friend, who we just met then, offered to give some of her baby's old clothings as well. I'm amazed how generous our circle of friends. We are very lucky! We hope to do the same and pay it forward when the time comes.

So, the other day I inquired about the DNA kits for the twins. I was shocked how much it would cost to do the process (not including the shipping cost). I guess the bulk of the cost pays for the service. Maybe I should start my own business doing something like this. :)

I'm half-watching the Superbowl as I'm writing the draft of this post (non-US citizens, I know you could care less!). Anyway, it's so bizarre that they loss electricity in the middle of the game. Maybe we should start blaming Bobby Jindal for teaching creationism in his secondary schools. It is scary to think that there might not be any credible future scientists emerging from Louisiana in the coming generations. Hopefully it will correct itself. Congrats Ravens!

Ta-Ta!

Indian surrogacy for unmarried or same sex couples & single individuals -- Update

Update: I came across this info this week from a Facebook page with regard to the "new" guideline.
"All the clinics have been asked to furnish a list of Commissioning Parents i.e. the ongoing cases to FRRO by 18th February 2013 for their review including the list of frozen embryos and frozen samples. Also stating the stage at which they are pending. The ART registration case and the date of the legal agreement to be prepared would be taken up by the FRRO head with Ministry of External Affairs."
-- Surrogacy Laws Facebook.

This info suggests that everyone who commissioned surrogacy prior to the new guideline will be accepted by FRRO. It would be good to have this info written in "black and white" and disseminated by the FRRO.

I hope that the clinics pressure the Indian parliament to pass the ART Bill very soon.

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Several new parents have blogged about their recent negative experience going to the FRRO. They are lucky, though, to have gone through the hoops, and are now back in their respective countries. I wanted to thank these new parents for sharing their thoughts and experiences on their blogs as it will help others deal with the FRRO.

For some of us who are yet to encounter the nightmare, let's hope no "new" rules will be given by the "Ministry of Bigotry Affairs" for the exit visa requirements. To prepare for the requirements, I suggest you visit the FRRO website. You will need to take note of what you need to bring to the FRRO to get the exit visa. Needless to say, make sure you satisfy your home embassy's requirements first before worrying about the FRRO. Anyway, below is the link of the checklist:

http://www.immigrationindia.nic.in/Newly_born_baby2.htm

Are you considering "commercial" surrogacy? If so, you need to make sure your country allows surrogacy in general. There had been situations in which a person or couples commissioned surrogacy and then the child got stuck in India because their home country denied citizenship to the child, since surrogacy is illegal in their home country (especially commercial surrogacy). This seems to have been an issue in some ART clinics in India, and therefore one of the motivating factors to pass a bill (draft ART Regulations Bill 2010). It's not a law yet, but the Ministry of Home Affairs recently submitted a guideline to embassies and consular offices worldwide that is discriminatory to say the least. Read my previous blog for more info.

Note: I am neither endorsing any lawyer(s) nor providing legal advise for anyone. I also have no connections whatsoever with any business or legal entities in India. I just want to share any info so that you could make an informed decision on whether or not to commission surrogacy in India.

Good luck to all future Intended Parent or Parents!