A Two-Time Surrogate’s Story of Adoption and Building Families
Courtney is a mother of three, an educator, and a two-time gestational surrogate. She became a mother through pregnancy, fostered children, and later adopted two sisters. As a surrogate, she carried twins for an international couple and a singleton for intended parents on the East Coast.
While preparing for her first surrogacy journey, Courtney’s family was simultaneously welcoming their youngest daughter through adoption. Her story reflects the many ways families are built, and the love, resilience, and support that made her journeys possible.
Why Courtney Chose to Become a Surrogate
Courtney and her family spent several years involved in foster care. When they decided to close their home to fostering, she and her husband began asking, “How do we continue making a difference in the world?”
Courtney credits their Christian faith with helping guide their decision. While researching foster care and surrogacy, she found a news story of another Heartland surrogate whom she recognized from the foster care community.
That story helped her see gestational surrogacy as another meaningful way to give back. “Let’s get pregnant for somebody else” was the decision that led her to help people who longed to become parents.
“Being a parent is such a gift to me and to my husband.”
Having experienced parenthood through birth, foster care, and adoption, Courtney felt called to help create that opportunity for other families. Not once, but twice.
Growing Her Family Through Adoption While Building Another
As Courtney prepared for the embryo transfer in her first journey, her family received an unexpected call. She and her husband were asked whether they could welcome the biological sister of their adopted daughter into their home.
They could not say no.
Their new baby had been home for only four days when the family traveled to the Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine for Courtney’s embryo transfer. At the time, they did not yet know the baby’s legal name.
One of the middle names they later gave her was Sirsee, a Southern name meaning “tiny unexpected gift.” Weighing just 4 pounds, 6 ounces, she was slightly smaller than each twin Courtney would later deliver.
Courtney was caring for a newborn, moving through the adoption process, and carrying twins for another family. “It was insane!” she recalls. “I didn’t grasp the magnitude until we were in the midst of it.”
Even amid the demands, Courtney saw something extraordinary happening: her family was welcoming a child while she helped another family welcome theirs.
Her experience with adoption also shaped her response when people asked how she could carry a baby and then place that baby in the intended parents’ arms.
“I do have two children that are not biologically related to me. But they’re my babies. They’re my children.”
For Courtney, genetics do not determine whether a family is real or whether love is lasting. She never viewed her surrogate deliveries as giving babies away.
“I’m not giving a baby away. The baby is still there for me to love from afar.”
Courtney felt so strongly about surrogacy that she applied again after reaching the required postpartum milestone. She hoped she might help the same parents welcome a sibling for their twins, but she was equally open to helping another family.
Helping Two Dads Build Their Family Through Surrogacy
In her first journey, Courtney matched with a same-sex couple in Israel. Although everyone was initially reserved during their first video call, they continued talking afterward. Their relationship quickly became warm, comfortable, and full of humor.
Courtney and her family especially enjoyed learning about the intended parents’ culture.
“It was the best experience because our cultures are so different and we had so much fun learning about them.”
Being a same-sex couple did not change how Courtney’s children or extended family viewed the intended parents. They simply saw two people who deeply wanted to become parents. Courtney believes that “everyone who wants to be a parent should be able to.”
After a single embryo transfer, everyone learned during the first ultrasound that the embryo had split, resulting in a twin pregnancy. Although initially shocked, the two families were overjoyed as the twins grew and the pregnancy progressed safely.
Long after the twins were born, Courtney and their fathers continued exchanging messages, pictures, and videos of their growing families.
“Hands down, we’re extended family,” Courtney said.
Their lasting relationship reflects the genuine connection that can develop when a surrogate and intended parents choose to remain part of one another’s lives.
Courtney’s Experience Carrying Twins as a Surrogate
The twin pregnancy was especially shocking because the intended parents had hoped for a singleton. Courtney remembers running to her car after the appointment and calling Heartland right away.
The twins were monochorionic-diamniotic, or mono-di, meaning they were identical twins who shared a placenta but had separate amniotic sacs. Mono-di twins account for three to four in 1,000 live births. This type of pregnancy requires additional medical care and monitoring, so Courtney attended frequent appointments with several providers, including a perinatal specialist.
She remembers feeling “huge the entire time.”
“One minute it didn’t look like I was pregnant and the next I thought there were eight babies in there.”
Courtney relied on the Heartland team and her medical providers for encouragement. “Brie [a co-founder of the agency] was cheering me on through text the whole time. I would be posting something [on social media] and she was the first to text me at 6 a.m. to tell me I got this.”
Her delivery did not unfold as expected. After Baby A was born vaginally, Baby B changed position and could not be delivered safely the same way. Courtney needed a C-section to deliver the second twin.
“But I can push him out!” she said during the delivery. She recalled feeling “like a failure” when that was no longer possible.
Recovery was more difficult than Courtney anticipated, and she depended heavily on her husband as she healed. Before this experience, she said, she “had no clue” what C-section recovery involved.
Courtney described her husband as “such an amazing, hands-on father to our children.”
“He did not allow us to miss a beat. We worked hard to keep things afloat… I’m so, so proud of us.”
How Courtney’s Care Team Supported Her Twin Pregnancy
Near the end of Courtney’s mono-di twin pregnancy, she underwent monitoring approximately every 10 days. Her perinatal specialist became an especially important source of support.
During one difficult appointment, Courtney became overwhelmed and questioned whether she could continue. Knowing that Courtney ran half-marathons, her specialist compared the final stretch of pregnancy to a long-distance race.
“We’re at mile 10 right now and you’ve got a 5K left… What do you need from me to make it this last 5K?”
That familiar comparison helped Courtney regain her focus.
The support continued through delivery, when approximately 15 medical professionals were present in the operating room to care for Courtney and both babies.
For Courtney, “It took a village.” Her husband, the Heartland team, physicians, nurses, and other providers all helped her reach delivery day safely.
How Communication Strengthened Courtney’s Second Journey
For her second journey, Courtney matched with a couple in the United States hoping to welcome their first child. Communication became difficult at times, with concerns on both sides left unspoken.
The turning point came when the intended parents traveled to Courtney’s state for an appointment. Afterward, they spoke openly about their concerns, expectations, and shared hopes. The conversation helped rebuild trust and refocus everyone on what mattered most: safely welcoming the baby.
By delivery day, Courtney described both the relationship and the birth as joyous. After the baby was born, she welcomed the new family of three into her home. They celebrated the Fourth of July with Courtney’s husband and children, sharing food, laughter, and time together before the intended parents returned home with their son.
“The hiccups we overcame, but it ultimately led to an amazing outcome.”
Courtney’s second journey shows how honest communication, supported by an experienced agency, can help surrogates and intended parents work through challenges and remain connected to their shared goal.
Balancing Surrogacy, Motherhood, and Self-Care
Balancing responsibilities with self-care can be difficult for any parent. For Courtney, managing motherhood, adoption, and surrogacy required planning, compromise, and dependable support.
She prioritized sleep whenever possible. “I love sleep… I get sleep first.” She also found small windows of time to strengthen her body.
“I feed my soul,” she said of that time.
Her husband supported her need for rest and exercise, particularly during pregnancy and recovery. His involvement reflects the meaningful role a surrogate’s family and support network can play throughout the journey.
Courtney’s Advice for People Considering Surrogacy
Courtney’s journeys were demanding. She cared for a newborn during a twin pregnancy, attended frequent medical appointments, delivered one twin vaginally and the other by C-section, faced a challenging recovery, and later worked through communication difficulties during her second journey.
Despite those challenges, helping two families welcome their children made both experiences profoundly rewarding.
“There are sacrifices, but the sacrifices are so important and so worth it… It’s life-changing on both sides.”
When asked whether she would become a surrogate again, Courtney said, “I would do it 10 times over if I could.”
Every surrogacy journey is different. Courtney’s story shows both the demands of the experience and the lasting impact one surrogate can have.
If Courtney’s story has inspired you, learn more about the process, qualifications, and support involved in becoming a surrogate with Heartland Surrogacy. You can start with a surrogate consultation or fill out the form below when you are ready to begin.
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