Woman Carries Baby For Her Friend, Then Unexpected News Changes Everything

woman carries baby for her friend then unexpected news changes everything after getting married kevin and nicole baratini had their sights set on starting a family they dreamed of having children together and were excited at the idea of getting pregnant but like many couples it didn't happen right away they kept trying and hoping to get good news but it never came for them still the baritinis didn't want to give up their dream of having a family when considering other options a friend offered to do something amazing everything seemed like it was meant to be until things took a turn that no one expected kevin and nicole had been married for a few years during which they had tried to get pregnant to start a family they kept trying but with no success they never gave up and were willing to try anything they couldn't have known how things would turn out and the road to starting a family ended up being rougher than they could have ever imagined still they knew in their hearts that this was what they wanted to do the couple were friends with lyanna and sean who lived in east marches new york just as kevin and nicole were trying to get pregnant after their wedding day lyanna and sean wanted to start their family right away together they have five children and love having a big family after five pregnancies lyanna considered having more children with her husband little did she know that she would end up being pregnant sooner than originally planned and this time the child wouldn't biologically be hers [Music] having no luck getting pregnant nicole and kevin considered finding a surrogate to carry their child although they were unsure of what their relationship would be like they knew that if they wanted to start a family they would have to trust the woman to keep them in the loop lyanna shocked everyone when she announced that she would be willing to help the couple have a child by becoming their surrogate for nicole and kevin this was the best case scenario since they were already close-knit friends with her surrogacy is a unique experience dr richard klein was the obstetrician who implanted the embryos in the procedure and said that it was so much fun having both couples appear at the doctor's appointments contributing so much love and hoping for a baby [Music] it was july 2016 at this point and the embryos had been implanted both couples arrived at the doctor to hear whether the embryo had taken and whether lyanna was pregnant with their child in the days leading up to the appointment both couples were nervous but especially nicole and kevin they had prayed for a baby for so long they wondered how much longer they could hold on to hope lyanna had done everything correctly going through the procedure of having the embryo implanted now all they had to do was wait finally the big day arrived when they would find out and everyone's emotions were running high the beartini's were hoping for a baby ever since their wedding day in 2010 the happy couple looked forward to their future together and wanted to raise their children in smithton new york where they lived but time after time nicole still wasn't pregnant she went to the doctors to find some answers that would help her conceive but the news that she received was not what she was hoping to hear it seems that the barontini's plans were not going to happen back when she was 16 years old nicole began noticing small bumps appearing on her skin a few small bumps turned into bumps covering her entire body when she went to the doctor suffering from a fever and fatigue they discovered that her eyes had also turned jaundice the doctor took blood samples and found that her level of platelets was dangerously low while the average adult has between 140 000 and 150 000 platelets in their body nicole only had eight thousand after seeing the doctor nicole was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called thrombotic thrombocytopenetic purpura or ttp still just a teenager nicole was shocked at the diagnosis which could be fatal ttp causes blood clots to form around the body and nicole was in imminent danger after her diagnosis she stayed in the hospital recovering she was lucky to have made it to the doctor in time to be treated as things could have ended up being a lot worse so just how much at risk was nicole blood clots caused by ttp have a 95 mortality rate if they aren't treated immediately the rare blood disorder increases blood lysoprotein and hemostasis which causes different parts of the body to experience blood clots nicole's symptoms of fatigue fever and bruises all match up with ttp which affects one out of every 100 000 people most of whom were adult women nicole was part of the 10 of this population whose case begins before adulthood thankfully the doctors were able to find suitable medications to manage nicole's ttp because of it she was able to live a normal life and not worry about waking up with a fatal blood clot because of this her condition wasn't on her mind often but when she went to the doctor to find out why she wasn't getting pregnant nicole learned that if she were to get pregnant her ttp medication would most likely harm the baby due to nicole's condition it would be unsafe to go off the medication as well after learning the pregnancy would be too risky for her nicole went home devastated by the news a while later her husband kevin came home and instantly knew something was off he recalls i got home from work and nicole had that look on her face like something was wrong and i'm never going to forget it i said what's wrong and she said the doctor doesn't think we can have children and you know nobody wants to hear that she explained the risks and he knew it was true the difficult part for nicole was knowing that she could in fact conceive but the pregnancy would be very high risk for both her and her baby she explained i was able to conceive but i wouldn't be able to have a healthy pregnancy and it would result in death of myself or the baby it was clear that it would be too dangerous for nicole to fall pregnant and she would need to find another way to achieve her dream of having a family with her husband nicole was absolutely heartbroken that she wouldn't be able to carry her own baby and it took her a while for the news to sink in she was incredibly frustrated that she was able to get pregnant but that the doctors told her not to she even told kevin that she was willing to risk everything but he said no nicole was grieving a loss and the couple took time to cope with it all through it all they were still trying emotions running high eventually they decided to stop trying to conceive and face the facts they were presented they needed to calm their hearts and listen to their heads because this was a very serious decision then nicole decided to freeze her eggs and think about searching for a surrogate since it would be a safe method of starting their family they also considered adoption one of the first options that the couple was considering was adoption for nicole and kevin the most important thing to them was that they had a family and whether or not the children were biologically theirs wasn't the most important aspect they quickly found out that adoption is incredibly expensive and that they didn't have the funds to make adoption a viable option for them especially since they would need to save money to raise the children too there's no question that there are lots of children out there who need a loving home but the way the system works makes adoption an extremely expensive option for couples part of what makes adoption so pricey is the legal fees involved going through the process [Music] according to adoptive families international adoptions finalized in 2015 and 2016 cost an average of forty two thousand dollars domestic adoptions for newborns averages at thirty seven thousand dollars while their hearts said yes the couple's bank account wasn't ready for the cost adoption appeared to be too expensive for the couple so they turned to their next option surrogacy they switched gears and started researching the process right away they were devastated by the price tag more than seventy five thousand dollars as it turns out surrogacy is even more expensive than adoption still hoping to make it work nicole contemplated who would be willing to carry the couple's child for free she said we had heard stories that sisters carried and mothers carried but i don't have a sister and my mother is over the age new york state's law on surrogacy came as a surprise for nicole and kevin they had no idea that it was illegal to pay someone to act as a surrogate in the state to work around the law they would need to pay someone who lived out of state to carry the baby but this was also a problematic option as it would be too expensive to travel to and from doctor's appointments and they really wanted a surrogate who they could be close with still the couple decided that they wanted to go with a surrogate the medical process includes creating an embryo by ivf and implanting it into the surrogate the embryo includes the mother's egg and the father's sperm so although another woman is carrying the child biologically it would be related to the couple like many other couples this is what nicole and kevin saw as their best option they still needed to find a way to do it however no longer a secret that it wasn't safe for nicole to get pregnant the couple shared their dream of finding a surrogate to carry their firstborn they were amazed at the supportive response from their friends and family many of them even offered to become their surrogate it seemed that things were looking up for the couple once they put it out in the universe that this was what they wanted however they were just as quickly disappointed when they found out through initial testing that the women who had offered weren't fit to carry lyanna was a friend of nicole and kevin's she and her husband sean have five children together and the couples had known each other for 20 years lyanna loved being a mother and couldn't imagine life without her children when she heard of their situation she was empathetic she contemplated offering to carry their children but she had just given birth and wasn't sure if her body was ready to carry another child yet in order to qualify to become a surrogate a woman must be entirely healthy because the process is costly and the chances of becoming pregnant decrease as women age a lot of factors are considered before the procedure takes place and as nicole and kevin found out not all women are a good fit to become a surrogate once the woman gets the green light to become a surrogate however there's a good chance within three tries of implanting the embryo that they will become pregnant in december of 2015 the two couples met up for dinner one night it was clear that kevin and nicole were going through a stressful time in their lives lyanna and sean wanted to lift up their spirits without prying too much into their situation of course the topic couldn't be avoided and they soon started discussing having children nicole was visibly upset about not being able to have a child and lyanna a mother of five wanted to help after listening to nicole speak about their childbearing woes lyanna said something completely unexpected kevin recalls what she said at the dinner table that night as lyanna goes you know i have five children shawn and i want to have maybe one or two more and nicole and i looked at each other with a puzzled look like you have five kids why would you want any more what she said next caused everyone to tear up it would almost seem like throwing it in her face that lyanna was talking about having a sixth child when kevin and nicole couldn't even have one they didn't know what to think but lyanna kept talking kevin said and she goes no not for me for you guys i'd like to carry a child nicole and kevin were completely in shock kevin said the two of us just forget about it we just we all started crying finally the couple felt that they had found the answer to their problems this was meant to be lyanna knew in her heart that it was the right thing to do she said i was blessed to have five kids and they are all amazing and i couldn't picture my life without them and to see this family so deserving it broke my heart it was the joy that lyanna got from being a mother that led her to wanting to give that experience to someone else who otherwise wouldn't be able to have children after giving birth to her fifth child in 2015 lyanna and sean felt that their family was complete lyanna's heart was so full with all the love she had for her children that she felt she had more to give she was considering becoming a surrogate to help another couple have a family lyanna brought the idea up to her husband sean she let him know that if she chose this path it would require extra help from him in taking care of their children he agreed with her idea through tears nicole and kevin accepted lyanna's offer of carrying their child on the spot they were over the moon about their friend's selfless offer which would help them get what they've always dreamed of lyanna passed the medical tests with flying colors making it official the timing was right and everyone was on board nicole and kevin couldn't have been happier with finding the perfect person to bring a baby into their lives after passing the medical exams lyanna went to the doctors to have the embryo implanted it would only take one week to find out if the embryo took but it felt like an eternity for everyone involved although they felt like everything was falling into place the couple had been disappointed before they knew that nothing was guaranteed and all they could do was wait and pray the two couples went back for the follow-up appointment only to learn that lyanna wasn't pregnant although it didn't happen the first time neither couple was ready to call it quits the doctor was optimistic and told them that this time around they would implant more embryos increasing the chances of lyanna getting pregnant they had to wait yet another week to find out if lyanna was pregnant with the second round of embryo again everyone was on the edge of their chairs praying and hoping that this round would take once again both couples arrived at the doctor's office to find out if lyanna was pregnant with kevin and nicole's child this time the doctor had good news to deliver he told them that the embryo had taken and that lyanna was pregnant he had even better news on top of that they were pregnant with twins everyone was overjoyed and emotional as they heard the good news kevin and nicole would be welcoming not one but two babies into their family that year labor day weekend rolled around and kevin and nicole thought it would be the perfect time to share the news 60 of their closest friends and family were in attendance at a labor day celebration and they were all about to hear the couple's big announcement they stood in front of everyone and asked the guests to be quiet for a moment that they had something they wanted to share no one could have expected to hear what they would say next on february 10 2017 the twins arrived kevin and nicole welcomed a boy and a girl they named them dominic and luciana both babies were born healthy and everything with lyanna's pregnancy went just fine the couple was overjoyed holding their newborns in their arms and couldn't be more thankful to lyanna it's probably the most amazing thing kevin said because you think it's the end of the road now here we are with two beautiful children of course lyanna and sean became the twins godparents they had already been there through every step of their children's lives and they would always be connected nicole said of lyanna i don't have a sister but i consider her like that we don't hold back we are open honest and i am constantly turning to her for guidance everything worked out nicole was able to stay on her medication to manage her ttp and they were still able to welcome two kids they didn't stop there now having successfully started their family nicole and kevin wanted to share their experience with the world and advocate for surrogacy to become legal in new york state and beyond the couple began working with new york legislators and reproductive specialists to change the laws kevin said we are happy that our story went public to help others in the time of need it's honorable how open the couple made their experience so transparent and honest to show others that it's possible nicole and kevin never take lyanna's kindness for granted without her they couldn't have made their happy family nicole wants other women in her position to know that they too can find someone willing to take the journey of surrogacy and it's all worth it there are people out there like lyanna that will do it out of kindness it's easier to find them than it seems it's never the end of the road the couple continues to fight to legalize surrogacy in her early 30s katie page was living in alabama yet was feeling unfulfilled she was looking for a new beginning to get out of the rut she felt she was in her marriage had recently ended and she felt completely lost it was the time she had described as the hardest in her life she knew that the only thing she could do was to start over entirely and despite having friends and opportunities in alabama she needed to get out even after her marriage had ended she was aware that there were still opportunities that she could take advantage of so she decided to figure out which ones were worth examining with so many options in front of her she was hesitant but knew that whatever she did would help the situation she was in at least she hoped it was at that time that katie received a job offer that seemed like the answer to her problems katie took the job and moved to colorado springs colorado where she started working as an integrative service manager for the construction company ge johnson she was feeling positive that she had made the right decision in order to turn her life around and accomplish some of the goals she had she ended up purchasing a four-bedroom home that required a lot of renovation katie commented that the house was a large four bedroom home i told my friends at the time that it was meant for more even though i really didn't know what more meant at the time renovating a home no matter what size is not cheap by any means so katie decided that she would take on the job herself keeping her busy and giving her a purpose she stated the house i bought would require extensive work to transform into my vision and most of which i would have to do by myself in order to afford it however she was doing some self-reflecting at the time too recalling i remember literally looking in the mirror one day and sobbing at the woman i saw and i knew that i was not the woman my heart desired to be [Music] katie was well aware that her decision to remodel her home herself would be a daunting task it was no light remodel either she would even have to replace the floors while she felt fulfilled while working on the house and was keeping busy she still felt that something in her life was missing it wasn't long before katie received a letter in the mail that would change her life forever she realized she had been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime that she wasn't going to pass up after moving to colorado katie became a deeply religious person joining a local church on that fateful day katie received a letter from her church about a seminar they thought she would like to attend it was about the opportunity for her to become involved in a foster program for children in need she wondered if this was the answer she was looking for and the longer she thought about it the more confident she became so she agreed to attend her church's seminar in the events leading up to katie receiving the letter she had been focusing on becoming the woman that she wanted to be she moved across the country starting a new job and became involved with her church yet she still felt that there was more she could do not just for herself but for others katie figured that the foster program would be an excellent way to help and would bring her the satisfaction she had longed for looking at all the space in her home she knew she wanted to put it to good use after deciding to attend the seminar she knew that she would need to talk through everything before she made such a life-changing decision so she called the person that she trusts the most her mom if her mom agreed with her decision katie knew that it was definitely the right choice however at first her mom was caught off guard with katie's proposition she couldn't wrap her head around why katie was interested in becoming a foster mom her mom was well aware of how difficult it is to raise children but agreed to attend the meeting with her after speaking with her mom katie was sure than ever that she had made the right decision to attend the seminar once she got there she felt more passionate than ever about everything she knew this was exactly what she needed during the presentation katie learned the ins and outs of what it meant to be a foster parent becoming inspired by the many stories she heard from those already involved with the program of course she was also nervous but this was a huge decision at this point katie had done just about everything to turn her life around she moved to a new city started a new job joined a new church and was fixing up her house now she had this to look forward to too before receiving the letter from the church she had never even considered being a foster mom now she wouldn't stop thinking about it yet that doesn't mean she dove in head first she knew what a big decision it was and didn't want to mess it up right out of the gate although katie believed that being a foster mom was her calling in life she was also aware of how much time and dedication it takes this led her to feel both excited and anxious about the whole thing on top of that she hoped that she would even be able to meet the requirements she poured over the documents and looked at all the options available after a final discussion with her family and friends she decided she was going to do it on mother's day 2015 katie completed and submitted her application for the foster program after taking the proper amount of time to think things through she knew she had made the right choice with each step she completed in the program she was feeling more and more fulfilled as she became more involved with the program she also learned about all the ways she would be helping these children in need only solidifying her feelings even though she was still scared she wasn't going to back down after completing the application process and the necessary training katie was a full-time foster mom her first few cases weren't infants either but children who needed temporary housing after a traumatic event she cared for each child with all of her heart providing them with whatever they needed while simultaneously being there for them emotionally while she took her job incredibly seriously over time she began to feel that she wanted to be more than just a foster parent during her time as a foster mom katie had the opportunity to help four children in need after just her first case katie knew that she was meant to help these children not only that but she turned out to be a natural at parenting making being a foster mom not even feel like a job while she was content with being a foster parent another feeling began to grow inside of her she started to think that she wanted to become an actual mother herself not long after becoming a foster mom katie found herself wanting to adopt a child of her own she had worked with young children that had grown up in abusive situations however they never stayed for long so she decided she wanted a child that she would never have to say goodbye to however things were about to quickly get serious her next case would be unlike anything she had experienced before and would test if she thought she could take on full-time motherhood soon enough katie received a call from the foster program about a specific case a mother had abandoned her child after giving birth to a baby boy at a nearby hospital and the hospital reached out to katie to help care for him katie was currently fostering a 14 month old infant but had never cared for a newborn even though caring for these two babies would prove to be a challenge she also didn't have a choice the child needed help as soon as possible the child was just four days old and had already gone through so much after being discovered at the hospital's front door at just four days old the poor baby needed help and fast as if his young age wasn't bad enough doctors soon discovered that the baby had been exposed to drugs in the womb fortunately after some tests it was announced that the drugs would not have long-term effects on the child but still the newborn would experience withdrawal symptoms katie wasn't prepared for this type of responsibility but knew it was something that she had to do even though katie was already taking care of a 14 month old she knew that she would need to give everything she had to care for this new and suffering baby however she knew that she needed to call her mother first to give her some much needed support katie asked her mother if she could come stay at her house to take care of the babies her mother agreed immediately within a day katie had moved into her mom's house something she is eternally grateful for considering that the baby had been abandoned at four days old he didn't have a name at least not yet katie decided to give him her favorite boy's name grayson because by god's grace she now had a son katie had fallen in love with grayson the second she laid eyes on him and felt a connection that she couldn't explain she slowly began to realize that the feeling was true motherhood and she wanted to raise the boy as her own since katie had been caring for grayson since he was just four days old he had earned a special place in her heart katie and her mother looked after grayson for 11 months while a social worker looked for his biological parents however nothing came up in their search except his mother's first name and date of birth which was left on a bracelet on grayson at the hospital they were desperately hoping that they would get answers soon [Music] unfortunately it was clear that they weren't going to find out anything about grayson's past anytime soon it broke katie's heart that nobody wanted to claim such an adorable and bright baby boy as sad as it was katie also saw it as an opportunity it meant that it would make adopting grayson incredibly easy something she had been considering for some time yet she dreaded the day when she would have to tell him the truth that nobody had claimed him but she had a connection with him that she couldn't ignore it became increasingly clear to katie that grayson was destined to be her son she had acted as his mother since almost his first day alive so the only thing that would change would be some paperwork katie also didn't feel guilty since they had done everything in their power to find his mother she made the decision to adopt grayson making him the newest addition to the paige family he had just turned 11 months old and katie couldn't be more in love although katie felt like everything was developing so quick she couldn't be happier on may 25th 2017 she officially became grayson's mother her dream of adopting the beautiful boy had finally come true and it felt so good to call him grayson page even though katie knew that she eventually wanted to expand her family further for the time being she was content with just grayson she wanted to give him her undivided attention for a little while unfortunately grayson had some issues as a result of his exposure to drugs while inside the womb what he was experiencing was not uncommon for cases like his they resulted in developmental and physical problems one of the reasons katie didn't adopt grayson sooner was because she was too focused on getting him the proper care that he needed yet a couple of weeks after grayson's adoption was finalized katie received a call from the foster agency they had a baby girl with similar issues to grayson and they needed her to take the baby in after receiving the phone call about the baby girl katie knew she needed to help once again even though she had grayson to worry about however after talking to the social worker katie felt like she was having deja vu the little girl was four days old and had been dropped off in front of the same hospital as grayson the child's mother had also been using drugs when she was pregnant while katie knew that it was hard work it seemed like some kind of sign that she would be faced with a similar challenge it wasn't a walk in the park by any means and katie felt overwhelmed yet the similarities between the newborn girl and grayson kept her going she felt like she was meant to care for both of the children at the same time after seeing what grayson had gone through she knew that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she hadn't welcomed the little girl into her home she even somehow saw some of grayson in the girl making her feel even more connected to the child after the little girl was finally settled in with katie she knew that she had made the right decision she cared for the baby girl much like she had when grayson first arrived in her home while the other baby katie was fostering eventually found a home it wasn't long before she had two children under her care once again she had done it once before so she knew that she would be able to do it again it also helped that her mother was still willing to help when the social worker arrived at katie's doorstep with the baby the two had a long discussion about the girl's complicated case the longer they talked the more connections katie made between the little girl and grayson much like grayson the social worker knew little to nothing about the girl's past and the two babies medical conditions were similar as well as soon as she took the little girl in her arms something caught her eye now katie was officially the mother of grayson and the foster mom to the little girl while performing her duties as a single mother katie couldn't help but notice unmissable coincidences between the two children both in how they acted and how they looked katie thought she was crazy at first but it turned out the girl's birth mother had the same first name as grayson's so she decided to dig deeper and went to the hospital to look at grayson's discharge papers katie poured over every document that she could get her hands on about each of the children she wanted concrete evidence before she would claim her suspicions to be true while researching she discovered that the birthday for the girl's biological mother was just one day away from what grayson's had listed could the two babies have the same mother katie thought it was too big of a coincidence to be possible but also something she couldn't ignore now completely invested in uncovering the truth katie really got to work after months of research and hypothesizing she finally got in touch with the girl's mom and sat down to talk with her during their conversation the mother admitted that she had indeed given birth to another child prior to the little girl she also claimed that she had given up the baby without any records so she couldn't be traced after some discussion katie convinced the woman to sit down with the children's caseworker to see if they were indeed siblings still katie couldn't imagine it was possible that she ended up with siblings randomly of course she also knew that there was too much evidence for her to stop now katie commented there were features on the babies that were very similar they both have a chin dimple and the other feature is one that only a mama would see because it's covered by their diaper finally katie received a call from the children's caseworker and the caseworker said katie i think you're right the social worker was equally as stunned and was sure to double check all of her evidence in the end everything added up with the social worker saying her story breaks my heart and i can't believe it but i am 90 sure you're right and this is a miracle while the social worker claimed to be 90 positive the next phone call confirmed their suspicions she discovered that the two children were indeed siblings after she finally found the last name for both of their mothers amazingly it was the same neither katie nor the social worker could believe what they had uncovered not only did grayson have a little sister but they had both found their way into katie's care katie now knew that everything had led up to this point although katie and even the social worker were fully convinced that the children were siblings she wanted scientific proof so she took the children in for a dna test and the results were exactly what she thought the two shared the same genes which made katie break down in tears of joy it was obvious what katie needed to do next and go straight to work on the paperwork needed to adopt the baby girl there was no way she was going to let the siblings ever be separated again katie knew that there was a reason she was so drawn to the little girl when she first held her after learning her true identity she adopted the girl on december 28 2018 she was now the proud mother of two siblings and their story is nothing short of a miracle she named the girl zoe hannah page and the two children bonded like any other two young siblings however they definitely aren't the same person grayson is a lot calmer and hannah has a lot of energy since katie had first heard about this foster care program she was drawn to it for a reason she couldn't explain and now she knows why after making her discovery people praised her for solving the mystery about her two children even when social workers were doubtful at first she started out with little to no information but her determination and love for her children proved to be worth it now she has two beautiful children and quite the story to tell about their family katie eventually met her children's biological mother once again only to discover that she was pregnant once again to katie's dismay she learned that the woman planned to do the same thing that she had done with the first two children luckily katie learned of her plans beforehand and intends to adopt the child immediately after it's born although this will add a whole new level of responsibility she believes that all of the siblings should grow up together she's now taking the time before the baby is born to prepare for a time katie thought that the children's birth mom was trying to take her children back however after seeing everything katie had done for her children and the love she has for them she realized katie is their true mother the sibling's biological mother gave birth to a boy 13 months after zoe was born and katie is in the process of trying to adopt the child although katie has not released any information about the newborn she has every intention of being the mother to all three siblings katie has had quite the journey since she first decided to move to colorado springs but it all worked out in the long run yes she had her ups and downs at times but her determination to better her life and the lives of others brought her where she is today now she's the mother of two beautiful children and hopefully soon a third her story shows how quickly your life can change if you're willing to step out of your comfort zone and open your heart