We have a two month old!

A very silly 2 month old!

Getting a pedicure

Telling me all about her day

I can finally play dress up with someone other than a dog

A little hungry after her visit to the Taj Mahal

Nighttime bottle with her furry protector

Kisses from dad

Wow, I can't believe that it's been nearly 2 months since the last blog!

We've been busy enjoying our new life with Asha.

First the boring stuff.  The exit process has been pretty well blogged about, so I will only add a few details that we missed.  First, the embassy needs to give you a letter (generic) stating that surrogacy is legal in your country.  The US Embassy didn't give us this automatically, so we had to race from the FRRO back to the embassy on the stressful exit day.  The other important thing to note for US parents is that the US Embassy only does DNA testing on Tuesday.  We got the birth certificate on Wednesday, so this basically added an entire week to our visit in India.  Also, even though the US Embassy paperwork takes about 20 minutes to fill out, they'll try to tell you to come back the next day if it isn't already filled out.  We pushed a bit and were able to hand it in that day.  Kinda silly.

Hanging out at the Svelte pool

If you're staying at Svelte, check out the website zomato.com.  They have lots of inexpensive (by Western standards) delivery - much cheaper than the mall.  Also, if you plan to stay there, I  recommend booking last minute, since the rates were always cheaper that way.  

We decided we would face the music early and not use a nurse.  This worked out well for us, but Asha is an easy baby.  We did finally hire a nurse one day so that we could go and explore India a bit, which was great.  It also forced us to realize that we can't be with our baby 24/7, so it kind of broke us into that.  Also, if you take nothing else from this blog, hire a nurse for your visit to the FRRO.  It is a life saver.

Regarding the FRRO, just be patient.  It was total chaos.  10 people reviewed the same documents over and over.  They just flip through the pages not really looking at anything.  Of the 10 people that reviewed it, none of them noticed that the surrogacy contract was signed with a totally different last name than my current last name.  There is a lot of false security in India. Last comment is regarding the ice queen.  She asked why I came to India for surrogacy, was it my health or was I gay?  I've never hidden the fact that I am gay, but I told her that I had a medical condition that required ICSI and therefore surrogacy so when I realized I could do it anywhere, I picked India because I love the country.  She seemed satisfied with the answer, but she clearly wanted to know if I was a big ol homo.  In any case, there is nothing she could do about it anyway.

And now the fun update - Asha!!

She is a dream come true!

In the past couple of weeks, she has gone from a sack of dirty diaper to a happy smiling little lady.  She is also learning the difference between day and night, giving the nanny a run for her money during the day, but sleeping 5-6 hours at a time at night and chugging down a bottle and passing out within the hour (usually).  There is nothing more rewarding than seeing her in her crib first thing in the morning with a big gummy smile.  We are so lucky and hope this lasts!  She is reaching for things, making new sounds every day, and loves staring at herself in the mirror (she gets that from Brent).  By next week, we're hoping she masters violin and starts tutoring students on algebra to bring in a little extra income. It's hard not to brag about her and it's hard not to only talk about her when we're talking to friends and family.  We don't want to be those parents, so I am working on it.

I haven't commented on many blogs lately since life has been so busy, but I have read each one.  Congrats to the many new babies, new pregnancy milestones, and we sent our thoughts to those who have been given new struggles.

Charlie & Brent