Christopher & Sarah, Berkeley, CA
Our experience with SPS was great! Michelle and Cristie were professional, responsive, and caring. We couldn’t have asked for a more ideal surrogate. We know we will have a lifelong relationship with her and her family. We will be back to work with SPS for baby #2!
Janelle & Kirk, San Francisco, CA
Because of an illness that affected Janelle’s immune system, we were not able to carry a child through pregnancy. We didn’t know anything about surrogacy until one day friends of ours told us they just had twins using a surrogate. They recommended their agency, SPS, to us and we’ve now had three beautiful children with the help of SPS. We had a healthy 10 pound boy and four years later, we had boy and girl twins! We are grateful to SPS for helping us through the surrogacy and fertility process and taking care of everything from legal contracts to insurance to pre-natal issues. They made the process transparent and straightforward. And they were with us every step of the way.
Gentille & Danny, Los Angeles, CA
I can’t believe they’re finally here! After so many years of trying, my little ones are finally sleeping in their crib here, swaddled in their blankies with their little pacifiers by their side, just in case… My husband and I got married 10 years ago when I was well into my thirties and he in his early forties. We always knew we wanted to have kids, but like many others these days didn’t meet the right partner until late. At first we tried on our own, got pregnant and miscarried. Then came the fertility treatments – one clinic after another and many procedures, leading to a couple more pregnancies, which also ended in miscarriages.
We were sad, but we (and more specifically “I”) couldn’t give up. I went to see a therapist who told me that if a soul is supposed to come into one’s life, it doesn’t matter how he/she gets there – the key is not to give up… She also believed, based on her personal experience with a miscarriage and later the birth of her daughter who told her that “she was there in her mommy’s tummy” but “that her light had gone out”, that the same soul you miscarry will come back into your life when it’s time. To me, that meant that my kids were somewhere out there in spirit and all I had to do was to reach out for them with all the resources I could find, and all my willpower.
That’s when I began my search for a surrogate. I remember speaking to a couple of Surrogate Agencies who downright made me want to give up on the spot. The first one told me “Honey, if you don’t have at least $100,000, don’t even waste your time filling out our application.” The second one told me they would collect their entire agency fee of $22,000 upfront, and whether or not the surrogate they referred us to would even get pregnant. Finding the right surrogate and going through 9 months of pregnancy already seemed such a daunting task, that we almost gave up at that point.
But then we heard about Surrogate Parenting Services. The owner, Cristie Montgomery, was highly recommended by a personal friend and our fertility doctor, and upon meeting her we realized that if we were ever going to trust an agency to help us through the process, it would be hers. Cristie was a truly elegant woman with a kind and sincere smile, a twinkle in her eyes, and a beautiful family of her own. People came to her from all over the world to start families, because of her reputation as an honest and supportive agency, and one that truly cared about the success of the families she helped. We especially appreciated the fact that she had once been a surrogate herself before creating her agency, and yet seemed to understand both the surrogate’s concerns and the needs of the parents to be – or the so called “intended parents”, which we became.
I would have liked to be able to say that our story unfolded easily from that point on, but as it were, we hit a few more bumps along the road. Not because we weren’t in the right hands with SPS or the surrogates we ended up working with, but because our time hadn’t come yet. The process of surrogacy was stressful and disappointing at times, and looking back, I realize that had it not been for the supportive nature of Cristie and the staff at SPS, we may never have made it to the finishing line.
There are truly no words to express my gratitude to Cristie and her Agency for helping us achieve our dream of having children. So at least, I thought I’d write this testimonial on the SPS website in case you are thinking of giving up. My husband and I are probably not much luckier, smarter nor wealthier than most of you intended parents out there. Yet we managed to pull it through… and with the right support, so can you.
Alex & Keri, Los Angeles, CA
What can we say? Words are not even enough to describe the gratitude and fondness we feel towards you all. It has been 4 months since our beautiful and healthy baby boy has been born through your agency and we are still in awe of this miracle and the whole flawless experience with your agency.
First of all, Cristie, you are running a first-class operation. From our first meeting with you we walked away feeling that you were the most natural, honest, personable and caring. But most of all we felt that you were so dedicated to your God-given destiny of helping others start their own families. It’s a very sensitive and extremely personal line of work but you do it with such class and finesse. Also your home office felt so warm, cozy and very welcoming. We were very impressed to say the least.
Danielle was the easiest and nicest surrogate anyone could have ever dreamt of having as a surrogate. Wow!!!! Is all we could say about Danielle. Throughout her pregnancy, she was even-tempered, personable, communicative, calm, professional and very mature. And on top of it all, she was a pro in the delivery room. We will definitely stay in touch with Danielle as long as she continues to feel comfortable about it. We absolutely adore Danielle.
Katie, Katie, Katie…another example of the professional yet personable member of our team. We again got lucky and blessed to have Katie on our team to help facilitate with all aspects of the surrogacy experience. So many E-mails and texts to Katie asking her all kinds of questions and concerns and she was responsive, helpful and very kind. Really a pro.
Michelle, wow! Another pro on our team. Our experience with Michelle was another professional, caring and patient team player. Very helpful in all areas. Thank you so much for all of your help and advice. Most of all thank you for your patience. What an honor it has been to work with all of you at Surrogate Parenting Services. You have left a mark on our hearts. We will never forget the experience with you all but most importantly your kindness. Our lives have been impacted forever by our experience with you all.
God bless you all a thousand times and may all of your lives be enriched with the fulfillment of all your hearts wishes and desires as you are helping so many people fulfill their most wanted wishes and desires.
With so much gratitude to you all!
Ben & Laurie, Los Angeles, CA
When we made the decision to begin the surrogacy process, we discovered we had a lot of choices in agencies. But it was one meeting with SPS that set them apart from all others – they are emotionally invested in your success – so much so that you, as the Intended Parent, feel secure that you are getting the best efforts of everyone involved. When we called Cristie, anxious to start the process as quickly as possible, she found us an ideal match with a surrogate within a short amount of time. We truly could not have found a better match. Most agencies stop their work when the match is made but SPS personally guided us through the complex process, from attending doctor’s appointments, navigating any issues that arose, connecting us with a wonderful lawyer and team of doctors, and standing by our side at the hospital for the entire 49 hour labor! We feel so fortunate we were guided to them by others struggling with fertility and we 1000 times recommend them to any Intended Parent looking for a surrogate. SPS took a process which is inherently stressful and made it all seem seamless. We were able to focus on the issue that really mattered – welcoming our amazing son into our lives.
Roberto and Antonella, Italy
Dear Cristie and Michelle
We wanted to thank you so much for what you did to help us realize our family. Our journey to realize a family has been a long process with lots of uncertainty on our part. During this process you and your team were always there to answer our questions. Every time we had doubts you were able to encourage us and keep our dream alive. You were compassionate and professional. Without you, our dream of realizing our family probably would not have happened. From the beginning we had a good feeling that we could trust you and in the end this allowed us to have our beautiful baby boy. We will always be grateful for what you did. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Marisa, Alfredo, Luca and Lis, Brazil
Our experience with SPS was absolutely fantastic. Since the first contact, it was possible to notice that they were not only extremely professional but also very sensitive and human. They always took care of us in every step of the way. And we had very difficult times. Our babies were born prematurely while we were at the movies in Brazil! And they gave us all the love, support and information that gave us some kind of relief until we arrived in California. Every single person that works with SPS is committed to their client’s dream to have a baby to love and cherish. They became real friends to us; people that we will carry in our hearts for the rest of our lives. My surrogate became a sister that God put in my life to help me to bring my miracles to this world. I love her as family. That’s what SPS gave us… our family exactly as we asked God! They are angels that guide us to our dreams. I will never be able to thank them enough.
Andrea & Nicholas, Newport Beach, CA
My husband and I were interested in having a family but we needed some assistance. We had met with a couple of different surrogate agencies to learn how the surrogate process works. We never felt comfortable with the process because of the uncertainty and it was “new” to us. We did not know anyone personally who had done this before. We met with Cristie Montgomery and she made us feel very comfortable about the process. For us, it was the initial intimate meeting with Cristie in her home that made us feel like “we could do this” because we were going to have personal 1:1 attention; and that this agency was truly dedicated to helping us through the “entire” process. Cristie was extremely knowledgeable and walked us through in detail the entire surrogate, donor, IVF, pregnancy, psychological, legal and delivery process including the timing of when and what we need to do next. Per our request, Cristie provided potential IVF doctors, donor agencies, names of lawyers for contracts and even OB-GYN recommendations. Most importantly, Cristie were familiar with all of these folks but she left it up to us to determine who we were most comfortable with. Cristie knowledge and resources were extremely comforting and invaluable.
SPS matched us with a wonderful surrogate. Our surrogate and her beautiful supportive family were amazing. They were personable and caring; and we all had a mutual respect for one another. I think that SPS does a great job in matching couples with surrogates based upon values and personalities.
Additionally, every couple is assigned a SPS case manager, who will attend all of the doctor appointments and acts as the liaison between us and our surrogate. We loved our case manager, Katie. Katie was once also a surrogate at one time, thus, she was helpful for our surrogate and us with the entire process.
In summary, working with SPS was the best experience for us and we have a beautiful, healthy baby girl. We would definitely recommend SPS to couples who may consider starting a family but may need a little assistance.
Desiree
There are truly no words to describe the beautiful relationship I shared with surrogate parenting services. I had interviewed a few agencies and knew right away that we wanted to go with SPS. The agency has such a “mom and pop” feel, as Cristie (thr owner) was a surrogate herself and gives every ounce of her being to help families find their perfect match. Sherri, our case manager, was extremely professional and came with an incredible amount of knowledge and expertise, which made this unknown process so much easier for us!
Lastly it is impossible to describe in words the special experience we shared with our surrogate. Cristie managed to match us with the most PERFECT surrogate. I never imagined having someone else carry my baby, but my surrogate was so incredible and truly wanted the best for us and our baby. She was incredibly reliable and took wonderful care of our baby in utero. Both Cristie and Sherri were ALWAYS available if we had any questions. Overall I highly suggest this agency. I am so grateful for what they did for my family. They helped complete our family and did so in the most beautiful way possible. We are forever thankful to SPS!!!!!!
Michelina
Our journey of having children was a long and difficult one, there were a lot of disappointments, sadness and only very few victories. This is why, when I had only one chance to have my second baby through a surrogate due to cancer, it had to be the One and very special. I was very particular and I didn’t have a lot of faith in people because of our journey. So I turned to my best friend, an OC lawyer that specializes in family law and surrogacy. My friend, knowing how picky I was sent me to Surrogate Parenting Services.
So I began project bring baby home with an interview with Christy. She has a process where she connects intended parents with surrogates and she’s very good. She is also very careful about who she chooses to be a surrogate in her agency. I’m a huge critic of everything and everyone (I drive my husband nuts) so Christy passing my test is a big deal for me.
Christy matched me with an amazing surrogate that knew how important this was because it was my last chance to complete my family. I started with two embryos, 2 baby girls. I delivered my first, then I found out I had cancer so I couldn’t carry my second.
The agency set my surrogate and I up with Sherri, our case manager. Sherri had a difficult task ahead as I’m a control freak and my surrogate and I became very close. There were issues that came up, even at delivery and Sherri handled it wonderfully. She got us through it all, as did the wonderful women at the agency. Something as emotionally raw as this will have bumps in the road, but that’s why the agency and your case worker are there, to get you through it all.
SPS is 5 stars all the way. I am so thankful to them for helping me get my baby home. She had joined her sister and we are one deliriously happy family. Complete and Blessed.
L.
I am very happy to share about our experience with SPS. We were referred to them by a dear friend in 2017 and it’s been great working with them. Via surrogacy, we had a healthy daughter in 2019, and are starting the process (with our same wonderful surrogate and SPS) to have a second child in 2021.
We were so pleased with our first experience and watching the many ways that the SPS staff has had to figure out how to quickly shift and change with Covid affecting so many aspects of the process has been helpful and led us to make the decision to try for another child despite the circumstances.
Our case manager (Sherri) has always been super responsive and very well-informed about pregnancy and all of the medical decisions and options. There are definitely moments when it feels weird or you’re not sure how exactly to communicate something to your surrogate (for me it was often because I didn’t want her to feel like I was annoying/micro-managing but I was also so curious about every little detail) and it’s really helpful to have a person who has been a surrogate before whose whole job is to help you navigate that process. There was only one appointment she wasn’t able to come to last time, and there was another case manager who came instead, which was really great. I think now everything is virtual so travel conflicts won’t really happen, and even though I’m sure it will be weird for everything to happen on Zoom, it will be extra helpful to have another set of ears to listen to the doctor and recap the visits with us. It was really nice to have her there at the birth and to navigate getting the birth certificate and working with the hospital, particularly since we live in the Bay Area and our surrogate is in Southern California.
I really love the fact that the agency is run by women who have all been surrogates. There’s something both so hard and so beautiful about becoming parents in this way that is very difficult to describe or explain unless you’ve gone through it. So, it’s really meaningful that everyone (from the accountant to the owner) knows what you’re going through in a very personal way. I feel incredibly lucky every day that I get to be a mother and grateful to SPS and our surrogate for making it possible.
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