We are a happily married couple living in Vancouver, BC with our 7-year old pup Jenny, a cuddly and affectionate Brussels Griffon.
We are a team of three who does most things together, including being active and exploring the outdoors, going for evening walks, traveling (be it a day / weekend trip, or trip to another country), spending time with family / friends, or spending a quiet night at home enjoying each other’s company. We are always joking, and Chris has the dad jokes down pat. Chris also loves to serenade Lauren and Jenny with made up songs that keep everyone laughing. We love cooking new recipes together and enjoy having our friends and family over for dinner regularly—especially our adventurous one-year old niece who will try anything we cook for her, including different curries and ramen. We are very fortunate to live in a household filled with love, companionship, laughter, and happiness.
Our story began after meeting in Calgary. Chris, an outgoing and friendly east coaster, moved to western Canada from Nova Scotia ~10 years prior, while Lauren, a kind and sharp witted Edmontonian was interning at a law firm in Calgary. We found our groove right away, losing ourselves in long conversations, debating simple things such as what is the best pizza in town and whether the Flames or Oilers are better, while also finding that we share key values – especially our unwavering love and commitment to our families and friends.
We quickly fell in love and wasted no time in introducing each other to friends and family. By the fall, we had planned our first Christmas together on the east coast, where Lauren received a warm welcome from Chris’ loved ones in the typical enthusiastic and generous east coast fashion. We got through COVID together, where we kept each other sane by telling jokes, baking cinnamon buns, and playing super Nintendo. We continued to grow our bond and fell into a simple comfort of feeling at home with one another, which led us to getting married, moving to Vancouver, and making plans to start a family.
Our Upbringing and Family Life:
Lauren grew up with her parents and two sisters in Edmonton, and was close with her extended family. Lauren, her siblings, and cousins grew up free range kids, playing with other kids in the neighbourhood, building snow forts, catching frogs in the river valley, setting up lemonade stands, and biking around the neighbourhood. Lauren was particularly close with her grandparents, and would spend hours hand-folding perogies together, talking and laughing. Her family remains extremely tight-knit and continues to spend as much time together as possible, as Lauren’s sister, niece, and brother-in-law live a short walk away in Vancouver, and Lauren’s parents visit frequently.
Chris grew up in Halifax with his parents and older brother. A significant tenet of Chris’ childhood was the enormous sense of community from family and friends that helped in his upbringing. Chris grew up in a very close community, where friends and neighbours across generations frequently took turns hosting kitchen parties and spending time together. Chris grew up knowing his neighbours, and his friends’ parents and grandparents. When Chris and Lauren visit the east coast, his friends’ parents still invite them over for dinner, and many made the trek out to western Canada to attend our wedding.
We are currently an auntie and uncle to our two nephews and niece, who we love to pieces. We would love to have our own child to complete our family.
We value fostering strong connections between our future children, our extended families, and the friends who we think of as family. Our dream is for our child to have a childhood filled with love and time spent playing with friends and family, and developing deep bonds with the many people who love them. We want to nurture our child’s interests and sense of curiosity, and instill a strong sense of community in our child. Our home will always be a safe space throughout our child’s life for them to grow and explore the world.
Our Journey:
Our fertility struggles include a string of miscarriages and health complications. Lauren has lupus SLE and a blood disorder. Outside of complications triggered by pregnancy and miscarriage, these conditions have been well-managed and have not impacted Lauren’s ability to live a full and healthy life. However, both conditions cause miscarriages, and can do so at any stage in pregnancy. We have tried every currently known medical intervention to manage the incidence of miscarriage arising from these conditions without success. We have had three heartbreaking miscarriages, including the most recent one that occurred days away from the second trimester. Following each miscarriage, Lauren’s lupus is triggered and typically takes a few months to go into remission following medical treatment. We feel compelled to go down the surrogacy path due to the impacts on Lauren’s health and previous failed attempts. We have completed two egg retrievals and currently have 4 PGT-A tested embryos at Olive Fertility Centre in Vancouver, but would be open to working together with a surrogate located anywhere in Canada.
Our Surrogacy Goals:
We are fully committed to ensuring a positive and rewarding surrogacy process, and to the wellbeing of our future surrogate. We will cover all costs / expenses and want to ensure that you feel fully supported and respected through the surrogacy journey. We understand that intended parent / surrogate relationships can come in all shapes and sizes, and we are very open-minded people who would be thrilled to meet you to discuss what sort of dynamic works for all of us, and especially for you. Surrogacy is a huge commitment and we want to ensure that you have a fulfilling experience.
Thank you for reading our story. We hope to connect with you to see if we would be a good match and you would be the one to help us with our dream of welcoming a child into our family!