Uniting Families Across the World Through Surrogacy
Krystle is a married mom of three boys, has a degree in chemical engineering, is a postpartum doula, and is the intended parent coordinator for a local surrogacy agency, All Families Surrogacy. She is also a three-time gestational surrogate for a family in Israel, and this is the story of how Krystle forever changed the lives of her family and a family across the globe.
After having an easy, uncomplicated pregnancy with her own twins boys, Krystle started thinking about becoming a surrogate to help someone else achieve their dreams of parenthood. Her simple thought was, “I had two for the price of one so I can do this for someone else,” and with that she started her research and decided she wanted to work with an agency to help guide and support her throughout her journey. After finding All Families at a woman-owned business event, she decided she’d found her agency and she was ready to get the process started.
Helping an LGBTQIA+ family was important to Krystle who remembers back to 2017, “when I got the profile of my potential IPs [intended parents] and it was a same sex couple I was so happy be able to support the LBGTQIA+ community.” After both Krystle and the IPs decided to match with each other, it soon became a family affair for Krystle.
“My children have been involved from the beginning. They are always included in Zoom and WhatsApp video calls. We call the IPs “the Dads”, so they are always asking when can we talk with the Dads. They [my children] loved snuggling with the baby bump and were so excited when they could feel the baby kicking. They would come up to me and rub my belly and say “Hi Baby, we love you””. Krystle reminisces that explaining surrogacy to her children was a relatively easy thing to do, explaining that “mom is going to have a baby for another family who can’t” and being open and honest with her children from the very beginning of her surrogacy journey.
One of the best parts for Krystle’s boys was being able to meet “the Dads” in person, when they visited the first time for the 20 week ultrasound. She recalls how “they [the Dads] jumped right in and played game with them [the children] and even jumped on the trampoline with them. My kids loved them and it was an immediate connection for everyone.”
After their first journey, Krystle and “the Dads” decided to embark on a second, or sibling, journey together. Krystle’s boys and “the Dads’” were at this point forming their own bond, and would video chat with each other regularly. Krystle was able to take her family on a trip to Israel, and when “the Dads” come to Portland they do everything together as families. They are now on their third journey together, and the familial bond is even stronger than ever.
When talking about her journeys, Krystle says “I knew I would be changing someone else’s life when becoming a surrogate. However, I never thought my life would change so much. We have made life-long family members. To this day one of the most special moment sin my life was the moment the Dads got to hold baby G for the first time. Their pure joy filled my heart in way I hand not thought possible. We are now embarking on our third journey together to complete their family. I am so lucky and blessed to have been matched with them.”