CHP - arms with Myer

CHP - arms with Myer

17 April 2012

Psychology

It was time to meet with the psychologist/counsellor.

I felt a little nervous going into the appointment, and at the back of my mind worried that somehow I'd say or do something wrong and be deemed "unsuitable". It sounds ridiculous, and I feel silly even writing it, but part of me worried about blowing it and their shot at a baby would be out the window because of some inappropriate joke with terrible timing gone horribly wrong. She was so relaxed and easy to talk to though, so my irrational fears quickly dissipated and we were both quickly put at ease.

The appointment with the psychologist/counsellor is set up for several reasons, and is a mandatory part of the surrogacy process. She needed to make sure that we're prepared emotionally for all that comes with being a surrogate, and to find out whether we're a good "match" with Joel and Janelle. She went into family history, medical history, criminal history, background, finances and several other things that we need to consider in order to do this. She asked about situations that could arise during the pregnancy that could be potentially difficult for us and/or Joel and Janelle. There were a lot of things that I hadn't even thought about before, so that in itself was great to get us thinking about things we hadn't yet considered on our own. She asked a lot of hypothetical questions of what we would do in certain instances, and I think in the end felt comfortable with our answers. 

She asked us if we were comfortable talking about this with anyone and everyone, as essentially we have to be prepared to tell everyone that our oldest daughter may see, to prevent anyone from making potentially confusing comments. (i.e. talk of having a new brother or sister etc.) She had lots of great ideas for when we get to that stage, like explaining to her that Janelle has a broken tummy, so we're using my tummy to help her grow their baby. 

She told us that we were great candidates for surrogacy and we left feeling optimistic and encouraged, and ready to get this show on the road! Joel and Janelle had their appointment that same week with the counsellor and we were eager and excited, as it was one more pre-requisite that we could scratch off the list.  Normally, she would meet with each couple separately, and then have another session with us all together, but we got to skip this last step as we are all so incredibly awesome. 

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