Operation Groemling: Our Surrogacy Journey

Hi! We're Ben and Joey. We're a quirky, fun loving couple of nerds who want to have a family.

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted a big family, with lots of kids.

I come from a large family, as does Ben.

Back in 2011 I was pretty darn sick and the docs couldn't figure out how to fix it. After two D&Cs, they gave me a partial hysterectomy, leaving my ovaries. I mourned never being able to have children of my own and moved on with my life.

In 2015 I met Ben at a board game convention. We hit it off and got married in 2018. The term Groemling is what the hotel of our reception put on our reservation (Grow + Froemling)

Ben knew going into our marriage that I could not carry kids on my own, but he still wanted to have a biological child before we move into adoption and fostering.

Well, in 2017 I was working for a company that covered IVF. Ben and I went through one round (as I was 39 at the time) and we got 6 embryos. Number 7 did not reach viability.

We tucked our little Groemlings safely into the freezer, working toward building our lives together. Over the past few years we got all our ducks in a row and made sure we, as a couple, are ready to be a whole family. We began the hunt for a surrogate.

Success! We have signed an agreement with Circle Surrogacy. This company will handle all of the steps necessary to reach our end goal of having a baby.

But surrogacy is expensive!!

The total cost of our surrogacy will be over 160,000. We tapped Ben's 401k for the down payment of 48,500. Our insurance covers up to 20,000 total towards the procedure, which we will apply to the actual implantation of the embryo. The rest of the money goes to paying for the surrogate's salary, healthcare, and legal fees. We're working to raise the rest of the money. That's where you come in!

We're asking you, the universe, to help us fulfill our dream of having a baby together. We still plan on having a big family. This is just the beginning.

Please please please help us bring a little Groemling into the world!