Canadian stats and fashion don'ts

- By Kim

Intervention...or not?

Lily is now 4. Maybe to other 4 year-olds she looks great. Myself, I'm considering nominating her for "What not to wear" or some other makeover show. I think she may appreciate it when she's older.  

She will be going to a new school next week, and I'm wondering if I should intervene with her choice of attire on school days. This is her most recent "ensemble", how she graced the other patrons at Costco on the weekend. This picture doesn't really show off the purple sequinned belt, or do justice to the pants that are also covered in sequins, and pulled up to the knee to be "short pants" for summer. Now that's thinking practically. (As opposed to practically thinking - though almost interchangeable is this particular circumstance)

Here are a few other creations that she has come up with:

Love the socks at different heights and her pink leopard print shoes.

 Accessories not to miss: butterfly purse, bracelets, baton, rosary around her neck and oversized sunglasses with neon green arms.

No comment needed.

In surrogacy news: it's been just over a week since I've written and I'm still waiting for my period. Until that happens, I don't really think there will be too much to report as far as progress. After the past couple of months being so busy with appointments, schedules, medications and visits, not having anything on the go makes it almost easy to forget what we're in the middle of. At times it seems like it was so long ago that Janelle and Joel were here, and not knowing when we might be able to attempt a transfer makes that seem far off too. Almost like in the middle of nothing. 

When I've had quiet time, I've been doing some surfing on the internet, and it's really been an eye opener for me. I've learned so much about the struggles people have with infertility, and the different options (obviously including surrogacy) that people will explore to complete their families. It's made me realize how much I have taken for granted, and how blessed I am with my own children and the ease at which we were able to have them. When I say ease, this is not to be confused with labour and delivery. Just to be clear. :)

Anyways, I just thought I'd share some of the things that I found.

From Surrogacy.ca:

SURROGACY IN CANADA

Surrogacy is legal in Canada, however, compensated or commercial (for fee/profit) surrogacy is now prohibited. Under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act passed in 2004, a surrogate mother may only be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses. Although compensated or commercial surrogacy is common throughout the US, a surrogate mother in Canada cannot receive any sort of wage or fee for carrying a child. 

It is estimated that there have been 50-100+ surrogacy arrangments in Canada, but the exact number is unknown.

CANADIAN SURROGATE BIRTHS REGISTRY

To date, there are 72 babies recorded (including multiples)                    For the whole country???

50 recorded cases since 2000

7of those in BC

I didn't even know that there was a surrogate birth registry. The first paragraph would explain why the numbers in Canada are so much lower, but I would never have thought that they would be this low. I find it really hard to believe that there have only been 7 cases in BC in the past 12 years? Our province isn't that small. It makes me wonder how up to date this is, just because I find these stats so hard to believe. I keep thinking that this can't be accurate. Can it? I searched online some more, and could find nothing to either prove or disprove this.

So much of the information out there is from the US, so I found it interesting to see how much we differ from the States. I had no idea that there are several countries where surrogacy is illegal, hence people will use an international surrogate, often in the US. I read that Canada is often thought of initially to potentially find surrogates, mainly due to our health care where there is no cost for prenatal care, hospitalization for birth and/or postpartum care. Though actually finding a surrogate here, can be a different matter all together. I don't think it's quite the same as in the States. 

All this can make your head swim. 

I think I'll go back to worrying about what Lily plans on wearing the first day of school instead :)