Welcome to the world

Meet Mayla.

Our little Earth Day baby.

April 22, 2021 . 7lb 1oz . 20in

More about her birth story to come.
For now, all are home and resting. 

“Mayla Esperanza, your name sings of hope and that is what you have brought into our world.” 

- excerpt from a letter to our new baby

“Mayla” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

A special re -cap while we wait ... from Florencia

 Florencia:

Tuesday, November 26, 2019. 

This was the day I read Erika’s newest post and decided I wanted to be their surrogate. 

If you haven’t read this post in a while (or ever) I suggest you go back to it.

It’s worth a second read...and a third… and if I’m being honest, I might have read it more than that.But it just spoke to me. I couldn’t shake the feeling I kept getting when Erika said they didn’t know

who, and they didn’t know when... I just felt like I knew all the answers to their questions.

By 2019, our family was complete and I knew that my family, my children, didn’t need my body

anymore in the way they once did, and it was finally time to offer it to help Erika and Luis grow

their family. 

I’m super lucky to have such an amazing and supportive husband, who asked all the right ques-

tions and made sure we thoroughly discussed this path before making the offer to Erika and Luis.I honestly wasn’t even sure if they (Luis in particular) would accept and want me to carry

their next child. What a huge honor and responsibility it is, to be given the opportunity to care

for something so precious for someone else. 

Once we were all on board, we hit the ground running. Scheduling appointments for medical clearance, psych evaluations, discussing lawyers and contracts, etc. It was all so exciting, and yet hard to let really sink in what exactly we were doing. 

One of our very first appointments was at the fertility clinic for medical clearance.
This is a picture of Florencia's uterus before baby.


She even made a crossword puzzle, inspired by the blog post.

Alan and Mica on one of our Sheperales trips.

 

Monday, July 27, 2020

The original date we had scheduled for transfer was supposed to be April 8 but when COVID hit,

we made the decision to pump the breaks on this journey we had begun.

Although no one really knew what was going to happen with the pandemic, we agreed

it would be a good idea to take a step back and wait to see how things played out.

And I’m really glad we did. 

         

A message from Florencia the day we were originally going to transfer.

TRANSFER DAY!!  Oh man. The nerves!! I knew there really wasn’t anything for me to do

but try to stay positive and hope for the best, though I kept telling myself that the first transfer

likely wouldn’t take, and tried to prepare for a failed attempt so that I would not be disappointed

when it actually happened.

BUT IT DID TAKE, AND THERE WAS NO DISAPPOINTMENT! And we were fortunate to keep riding the good news wave, from positive pregnancy tests to ultrasounds with little bean movements and a heartbeat. Every milestone we hit was equally exciting, and I thrived on giving Erika and Luis good news. Although there was always something inside me that feared the worst, I tried to stay positive and hopeful along the way that all would work out just the way it was supposed to.

Again, so extremely grateful for having such a wonderful husband by my side for this journey.

For more than ten weeks he administered my nightly progesterone shots (and anyone who knows

me KNOWS I HATE NEEDLES). Alan took such good care of me just as I was hoping to take

good care of Baby Perales.

Every night, after the kids went to bed, for weeks she'd ask the same thing,"Is it bleeding!?" She laughs about it now.

Saturday, October 3, 2020

The day we told the kids.

Erika & Luis gifted us a book titled “The Kangaroo Pouch” to help share the news with our children. We gathered on the couch and read the book together. The story basically talks about how one Kangaroo’s pouch doesn’t work so another kangaroo mama with two sons of her own offers to use her pouch to grow their baby.

After reading the book I told the kids that Mateo’s mommy was like the kangaroo mommy in the story that needed help growing a baby, and I reminded them that my “pouch” had made each of them. Christian’s first response was “Well we can’t just help someone like that!” I asked him why not and Nico chimed in with, “CORONAVIRUS!”

After a good half hour of conversations comparing and contrasting humans and kangaroos (along with sharks and other random animals) as well as the idea of how a baby is made with “one cell from a man and one cell from a woman” as the book mentioned, we finally shared that I already had baby Perales growing inside me. Christian’s jaw dropped. After some nervous laughter and a few more questions, the kids were informed and on board, ready to help their friend Mateo become a big brother. 

It’s been so much fun watching my children love on Baby P all these months.

They love her like their own, and the bond they share now will only grow as time goes on.

This baby may have only one big brother by blood, but she will have two extra special guys who

will forever watch out for her and treat her like their own sister.

The kids after a long day in the Perales house so Florencia and Alan could have a day off.

And Mica, well, she’s very excited to have her special baby friend come out and play. She often refers to Baby P as her baby, but knows she really belongs to Mateo and will not be living with us.

I am the most interested to see how that all goes when Baby P actually arrives, as I know being 3 years old means Mica will have the most trouble understanding what is going on.  

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

The due date.

By now I thought I’d be about 10 days postpartum, having hoped for an Easter Sunday delivery. But Baby P had other plans, which for the most part I am grateful for. My dad passed away on Thursday April 1, and giving birth three days later just wasn’t going to be ideal. I needed more time to process, to mourn, to work through this new transition in my life. I still need more time, and know that the loss of my father isn’t something I’m going to “get over” anytime soon (or ever). My dad was always so emotional and excited for this growing baby inside me. I know he loved her, even though she wasn’t mine, and I think he would have really loved to have met her, just as I know Erika’s dad did. It truly is heartbreaking that both Erika and I lost our fathers during this pregnancy. But now this baby girl has two angel grandfathers watching over her.

Saturday, April 17th, 2021

So, here we are. Waiting. Hoping. Breathing. Looking forward to her arrival, and the amazing

new journey we will all begin as we all transition into our new roles postpartum.

I am beyond excited for Erika and Luis to experience life as parents of TWO,

and for Mateo to experience life as a big brother. 

A Dutch Baby tradition. Hoping it would help her "ditch baby."

                 

We tried to re-enact the transfer day dance she did.

She really channeled her inner Amy Poehler.

"Dear Baby,

I say this with nothing but love for you… even though you spent the last few months exclusively kicking me in my right side and giving me massive heartburn, it’s been great hanging out all these months. But there are so many people all over this world (Mexico, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Miami...) waiting to meet you.

So now, COME OUT! COME OUT! COME OUT! Your family is waiting for you. ❤️ "

---A note to Baby P from Florencia

Any day now...

Today is baby's due date. 4/14/2021

Both of the peartrees we have outside have just started growing pears! These are the tiniest, but so cute!

Even though she's still cookin', I know she'll be here soon.

And I think we're ready.

I love this tree shelf and all her books and Jellycat toys.

Her little library is just going to continue to grow.

So grateful for people's generosity and the hand-made, personalized gifts, like this quilt and the golden star. People are amazing.

                     

It's 1am. I'm up. And there is so much going on in my head.

The gif I've used the most this week.

I've really been thinking a lot about Mateo and the big brother he is going to be. We have been reading books about being a big brother and what to expect, and though I know there is still going to be a transition period, I know he's going to be such a good big brother and be there for this baby girl. 

We were also given the book You Were the First... you can imagine how impossible it was for me to hold back tears. 

                      

I made this little "bestie" onesie tonight while I watched TV and waited for a phone call from Florencia. 

Such a fun day, painting this special little egg. 

"Dear baby,

Everyone is anxiously awaiting your arrival. I know you'll get here when you're ready, and if Nana is right, your lil soul is just busy dancing around with Papa. But don't worry. Once you get here, we'll definitely keep the dancing going.

Thank you, baby girl, for slowing things down a little so that we could all could take a few days to breathe and prepare. 

We love you so much. See you soon!"

---excerpt from a letter to our new baby