Spending time with your surrogate can help you bond and often gives intended parents more of a sense of involvement in the pregnancy. While you don’t need to wait for a special event or holiday to suggest a meetup, Easter is a great opportunity to set something up. Even though the holiday is a religious one, a little more than 80% of the population celebrates it regardless, meaning even if Easter mass is a no-go for one or both of you, there are lots of fun activities you can do to enjoy the day together.
1) Attend an Easter Egg Hunt with Your Surrogate
One of the requirements to become a surrogate is that the woman must have had at least one healthy pregnancy and she must have at least one of her own children living with her. That means she’s probably looking for Easter events to take her own children to and there’s a good chance she’d welcome some company- especially if she’s feeling extra pregnant or symptomatic and chasing after children in a park could seem daunting to her. Granted, some women feel energetic and breeze through pregnancies too, so she might not need or want any assistance at all, but family events such as this give plenty of opportunity to spend time together in a way that suits your personal relationship with your surrogacy team.
2) Host an Egg Decorating Party
An egg decorating party is ideal whether you want to make it a family-friendly event or use it as an excuse to get friends together. Sometimes, having an activity to take part in reduces the social pressure and makes interacting with others easier. Activities like this are especially helpful if you’re just starting to get to know the woman carrying your baby (or who will be) or if you find yourself engaging more in professional/ diplomatic/ guarded conversations and you’d like to interact more like friends.
3) Have a Picnic or Easter Dinner Together
While traditional Easter meals tend to call for ham or lamb, there are no hard rules that say you need to have either. Again, you’ll want to defer to your surrogate to find out which foods and venues are best, and there’s a good chance your surrogate would love to spend the day outside the kitchen, but might happily attend something you’re hosting or would gladly bring a dish to a potluck. On a side note, if your baby is at least 21 weeks old, he or she can taste anything the gestational carrier eats, and the flavors baby is exposed to most via amniotic fluid tend to be the foods he or she likes most later in life. If you’re especially fond of a certain type of food, offer some to your surrogate. If she winds up liking it and eating it more often, your baby will likely naturally share your food affinities.
4) Make an Easter Basket for Her
If your schedules don’t allow you to get together for an activity or event, you can let your surrogate know she’s in your thoughts by dropping off an Easter basket for her or for her family. Consider tossing in treats, a movie she might like, sidewalk chalk for her children, or other items you feel she’ll enjoy.
Work with EDSI
If you haven’t yet begun your surrogacy journey, the Egg Donor and Surrogacy Institute would be honored to assist you as you grow your family. We help parents find their ideal gestational carrier, establish contracts, and walk beside them through every step to ensure the journey is as straightforward and easy as possible. Call (310) 209-1898 to connect with us or visit our section for intended parents to learn more about the surrogacy process and the services we offer.
