We met back in 2011 while we were both in college and shared a class together in our first year. We worked on a few projects and assignments together as classmates and then became friends. In 2013, we shared another class together and continued to grow our friendship. We both were always early to class but Tanmeet would stop at Starbucks for a coffee and snack before heading to the classroom. One day, Tanmeet asked Nick if he would like some of her cookie (a warmed up Ginger Molasses cookie – yum) and from there it seemed our friendship grew fast and the rest is history as they say! (We always joke about the Ginger Molasses cookie and some of our close friends know the story as well as we joke that Tanmeet captured Nick’s heart with the cookie and we always get one as a treat on special occasions to this day).
OUR UPBRINGING & FAMILY
Tanmeet has two sisters and is the middle child in her family – Tanmeet and both her sisters were born and raised in Edmonton. Growing up, most weekends were spent doing errands on a Saturday morning but spending the rest of the weekend with extended family. Whether that was a birthday party, anniversary party, holidays, random pizza night, most weekends were spent with cousins – and there are a lot of cousins (2 aunts (plus partners) and 1 uncle (plus partner) on the mom’s side and 4 aunts (plus partners) and 5 uncles (plus partners) on the dad’s side plus all the other family relatives (like parent’s cousins – we are close with everyone). Friday nights are also memorable for Tanmeet as it was always take out night for dinner and then we would all enjoy some dinner (mostly with an ice cold glass of pop or juice) and watch a movie together! Tanmeet’s older sister has 1 daughter (who we all spoil) and her younger sister is set to be married in September of 2026. Tanmeet’s parents always put an emphasis on education and working hard – something that Tanmeet always keeps in mind to this day. Unfortunately, Tanmeet’s mom passed away in a tragic accident in July 2023 but we know she would have been a wonderful grandmother and was waiting patiently as we all are to build our family and buy every possible item needed for the baby. Tanmeet’s dad has also been eagerly waiting to spoil another grandchild; he can only give out so many treats and presents to his only granddaughter right now and has already shared all his funny stories to ears that have heard the stories numerous times!
Nick has one older sister (only by about a year) and was actually born in Saskatchewan! Nick’s family moved to B.C. when Nick and his sister were young but eventually moved to Alberta where they all have been since. Nick also has a large extended family and a lot of cousins (5 aunts (plus partners) on his mom’s side and 3 aunts (plus partners) and 3 uncles (plus partners) on his dad’s side); unfortunately, most of the extended family live outside of Alberta but they all stay in touch through visits, vacations, group chats, etc. One of Nick’s favorite memories from childhood was their annual trip to Radium in the summer for vacation and spending time with their family friends who loved Nick and his sister as their own children on weekends. Nick’s parents have also taught him and his sister to work hard but also play hard and have fun as well! Nick’s parents are divorced but, hey, that means double the family dinners and holidays! Both of Nick’s parents would be wonderful grandparents as well; his mom is the ultimate family herder and brings everyone together for holidays and get-togethers and keeps the magic alive (yes – we still get visited by the Easter Bunny each year!) and Nick’s dad values spending time with family and building memories … and capturing those moments (you should see all his albums)!
OUR JOURNEY TO GROW OUR FAMILY
Unfortunately, we never had a chance to try and start a family before we were told surrogacy would be our only chance at having a biological child. Tanmeet was diagnosed with a large blood clot in September of 2016 and when they were looking into the clot (in the lower leg) they found a fibroid in the uterus. It is believed that the fibroid caused the blood clot as it was quite huge and it is assumed to have cut off the blood flow. We had tried a treatment for a few months where Tanmeet would take a monthly injection in hopes of shrinking the fibroid so they could isolate it and remove it surgically. Unfortunately, in February 2017 it was determined that the treatment was not working and the fibroid was growing and it was no longer healthy to keep trying. It was decided that the only option was to have a hysterectomy (the fibroid was too large to isolate so the entire uterus would have to be removed). In March 2017 (months before our July 2017 wedding), Tanmeet had her hysterectomy and the fibroid, along with the uterus, was safely removed but weighed in at almost 12 pounds and had stretched the uterus 3x the normal size! Thankfully the fibroid was tested as a safety precaution and it was benign and the doctors were able to perform a partial hysterectomy which allowed us to create our embryos. We had an egg retrieval in October 2022 which resulted in our currently 5 frozen embryos.
OUR HOME & NEIGHBOURHOOD
Currently, we live in a very young, but new, neighborhood with young family or young couples who are hoping to start a family. Oh, it’s also a very dog friendly community which is perfect for our dog, Benny! (Did we mention we have a dog!? We have a 3.5 year old golden retriever named Benny and got him when he was 8 weeks old). We live in a detached home with a fenced in backyard and know our neighbors (actually most of the crescent). We have a spare room which is currently being used as a guest room when we have family visiting which we would turn into a nursery. We also have an unfinished basement but are thinking of finishing it if we have a child so they have extra play space in addition to their room and the bonus room.
We have a few elementary schools nearby and are close to stores, pharmacies, clinics, etc. Right now, we live in the Southwest of Edmonton and are about 15-30 minutes away from our families (Nick’s dad is less than 10 minutes away!). We have always said we would eventually move to a city right outside of Edmonton, (St. Albert) so that would be in the plan for the future. Nick and his family grew up there when they moved to Alberta and it’s a smaller city but feels more familial without giving up any of the closeness to amenities. Nick’s mom also lives in St. Albert but we would be able to maintain the 15-30 minute distance from our families in St. Albert.
OUR JOBS, PETS & HOBBIES
Tanmeet absolutely LOVES her job! She works at a small, local company which is finally maturing from being a start-up slowly. It’s one of two space based companies in the province of Alberta. Tanmeet works from home 99% of the time and has very flexible hours with unlimited time off and a very supportive team. Some folks say their work is like family, but Tanmeet really feels like her team is family (they all know about the journey to surrogacy and cheer on Tanmeet and Nick (and Benny)). Nick maybe doesn’t love his job as much as Tanmeet but that might be because he just finished property tax season with the City of Edmonton. As mentioned, he works for the City of Edmonton as a citizen services representative (and our families go to expert about city things) and is on a hybrid schedule which looks like 2-3 weeks at home and 1 week in office right now.
We do have a dog, Benny (also nicknamed Mr Benjamin, Benji, Benster, Blueberry Muffin, Fishy) who is living his best summer right now (a road trip to the mountains, swimming lessons and an upcoming baseball game). He also is THE most spoiled dog – we don’t even want to tally up how much we spend on his Christmas and birthday presents! He is the typical golden retriever, a friendly giant and he is so caring – his daycare tells us how he spends time with the puppies if they are in when he goes and ‘mothers’ them. We absolutely love him and know he will the best big brother!
In our free time, we are always daydreaming about future vacations, dreaming up home renovation projects, catching up with friends and family or planning Christmas! Well, that is more so Tanmeet’s hobby – she loves Christmas and plans for it year round!
HOW WE WILL SUPPORT OUR SURROGATE
Honestly, we will support her however she needs! This is probably a cliche answer but we are here to support her and her family however we can; it’s the least we can do for her when she is giving us the greatest gift. All eligible costs and expenses that are allowed under current Canadian law will be reimbursed – no question there. We also would help in other areas where we can as long as it is legal – Tanmeet’s love language is gift giving and she is ready to spoil their surrogate – we don’t want to give away spoilers but Tanmeet has already been dreaming up gifts throughout the journey for their surrogate and family! Aside from money, we will both be there to lend an ear, a shoulder to cry on, a sounding board or anything that the surrogate needs. We want to keep open communication, not just about the journey, but also on the day to day stuff (like how is your day today? what did you get up to this weekend? etc). However, we also want to respect our surrogates wishes and if she wants a limit on communication, we would respect that.
We would want to continue an on-going relationship as long as the surrogate would like that as well. This isn’t just a transaction for us, it’s a relationship. We would want our surrogate and her family to keep in touch with us and vice versa. We would never hide the fact that our child was born via surrogate and be very open about it. This is not something we would hide from our child or take away from them to get the chance to know the surrogate if that is what they want.
TO OUR FUTURE SURROGATE
Thank you so much for reading our story and getting to know us a little bit! We cannot thank you enough for your time and for considering being our surrogate. We always say surrogates are truly angels on Earth; the gift that you provide is the greatest gift anyone could ever ask but on top of that, it speaks volumes about who you are as a person. While we cannot offer the same gift that surrogates do, we are inspired to always be generous, thoughtful, kind and compassionate in life and pay it forward where we can. As Tanmeet’s mom always said, it costs nothing to be kind and we keep that in mind every day.
Please know that we are here for you and your family in any way you would want us and need us to be! We are here for you and we are so looking forward to caring for you not only in the journey, but for life. We cannot wait to welcome you and your family to our family!