The Surrogacy Experience: Adjusting to New Life (Part 3 of 3)

Adjusting to a newborn can be stressful, and twins have the reputation of being exponentially more difficult. But Kelly says she was prepared for major impact and has been pleasantly surprised so far. "I expected it to be a lot harder," she says. "We have two really good babies! They are on the same schedule. They cuddle up together and even hold hands!"

For surrogate mothers, recovering from labor and delivery (and, of course, nine long months of pregnancy) can be stressful. The baby that had made his or her home in the surrogate's womb is now outside, and the skin and fat that protected the precious newborn are now saggy and stretched. Hormones are out of whack, and there is a definite letdown from the high of giving birth. As a result, many women experience some postpartum depression or baby blues in the weeks following delivery.

Tracy Huffman, assistant to a surrogate mother coordinator for the Center for Surrogate Parenting and six-time surrogate mother, says, "There is a blue period that a surrogate goes through. Mostly because of hormone fluctuations, but you also miss your couple. They are busy with a new baby so you don't hear from them as often as you did during the pregnancy."

And without a baby at home to take care of, surrogate mothers are more aware of "how your body looks and the discomforts of recovery, like having a sore bottom, bleeding, your milk coming in," says Huffman.

She says she found meaning in her recovery by pumping milk and donating it to a local milk bank. "Doing that made me feel like I was still doing something positive, and it helped me lose the pregnancy weight as well!"