2/23/24 - 2/24/24 - MHB conference in Atlanta - Realised an American journey was far out of financial reach for us and took way too long. We had experienced two failed adoptions at this point and we were ready to start our family. 

2/26/24 - Initial call with Miracle to learn about Surrogacy in Mexico 

3/8/24 - Contract signed with Miracle 

3/14-3/16 - Visit to Cancun for deposit 

4/30/24 - Egg donor began treatment - We went with a proven donor and chose a fresh retrieval 

5/11/24- Egg Retrieval 

5/20/24- Embryos Develop - we had 4 

5/30/24 - Following PGT testing - we found one embryo ready for transfer 

7/7/24 - Surrogate assigned

7/8/24 - Transfer day 

7/18/24 - Blood test results confirm no pregnancy 

Back to square one - new egg collection and embryo creation needed 

7/22/24 - New egg retrieval scheduled (Frozen eggs so no retrieval process this time) 

8/5/24 - Payment made for new egg collection cycle 

8/7/24 - We meet our new Journey Coordinator 

8/15/24 - Fertilization cycle begins 

8/19/24 - 7 Embryos develop! 

8/28/24 - We have 5 viable embryos ready for transfer 

9/19/24 - New surrogate match 

9/25/24 - Transfer scheduled 

10/05/24 - Positive first beta test! 

10/07/24 - Second blood test confirm negative for pregnancy 

We meet with the Miracle team and discuss next steps. We decide to try again and pay for another transfer. 

12/19/24 - Surrogate assigned 

12/23/24 - Transfer of embryo (we transfer 2 this time)

1/02/25 - Positive Beta test! 

1/04/25 - Second positive beta test!! 

1/10/25 - SAC present 

1/24/25 - OFFICIALLY PREGNANT!  

2/7/25 - We hear heartbeat! 9.2 Weeks pregnancy 180bpm

3/3/25 - 1st Structural ultrasound - baby measures 6.5 cm and heartbeat at 153bpm

3/31/25 - Monthly checkup - 16.6 weeks pregnant, heartbeat 139bpm - IT'S A GIRL!!!! 

5/30/25- We attend a structural ultrasound appointment and have brunch with our amazing surrogate! 

4/30/25-7/30/25 - We get monthly check ups sent by our journey coordinator 

8/24/25- We fly down to Cancun and get our apartment ready 

8/26/25 - We have a happy and healthy baby girl! Lila Maeve joins our family

9/05/25 - We got Lila's birth certificate 

9/11/25 - We have our consulate appointment in Merida for Lila's passport 

9/16/25 - We fly back to NYC as a family!

We always welcome (and will be SUPER grateful!) if you want to get something off the registry for Lila! ;) But we also wanted to share because we found it useful to view other registries. Ultimately, you'll do what works best for you and your baby. Some may find they need far more than we did and some may find they need way less than we did. 

Here's our actual Amazon registry and Babylist registry

Items we forgot, needed and had to buy:

• More hats - it was cold in the hospital 

• More cotton towels for bath time 

• Infant cotton washcloths 

• Travel bottle brush clean and dry set 

• Rectal thermometer 

• We didn't forget these items, but had to bring more to the hospital at random times during our baby's standard 48 hour stay. So... in your diaper bag to leave at the hospital, just pack a lot of: newborn diapers, formula, outfits, socks, hats

Some items we bought locally and we are thankful we did:

We went for runs around the neighborhood and took turns watching the baby/had grandmas come visit to help. Here are some of our favorite little spots: 

We chose to use the van service Miracle suggested. It came to about $700. They picked us up at our apartment in Cancun and then picked our surrogate up and we made the 5ish hour drive to Merida. We stopped along the way to get some food. 

We booked a hotel in Merida for us and our surrogate. It was about 15 minutes from the embassy and our hotel provided a free shuttle. Worth noting, the van service from Miracle will bring you to Merida but will not bring you to the embassy or pick you up from the embassy. Plan to take an uber. 

The Embassy, for us, was not a great experience. We arrived at 6:45am for a 7:30 appointment. After waiting until 8:15am to even get in line for security, they told us we couldn't enter because we had a little fan for our daughter. We asked them to check our bags to see if there was anything else we should get rid of before trying to enter again and they told us if they check and find anything, we'll be denied entry for the day. 

So, in an effort to not risk it, Horacio ran to the local mall, got a bag from Starbucks and stored all of our battery opperated items behind the trash can in the bathroom. The Starbucks wouldn't hold the bag. Thankfully, no one stole anything and we were able to get the bag after. 

We finally got into the consulate and waited about 4 hours for a 10 minute appointment. The actual appointment was easy and quick since we had all of our documents in a binder, clearly labeled and organized. Miracle was tremendously helpful in helping us get all of this together. They gave clear instructions to us and went through everything we had on some video calls leading up to the appointment to confirm we were ready. 

The diplomat at the Embassy even mentioned to us that Miracle Surrogacy was an agency they appreciate working with because they have their act together and everything is done well. We felt really comforted hearing this confirmed. 

I definitely recommend printing everything you can at home and putting it in a binder with labels. It's one less thing to worry about when you're caring for a newborn baby. Any documents that Miracle needs to provide, they will give you and make sure you have copies. 

Eventually, we got to leave and were told we could return at 3:00pm to get our daughter's passport and after that, we were cleared to come back to home! 

We spent a few hours exploring Merida, which is beautiful, before getting the passport and leaving Merida. The drive back to Cancun took about 5.5 hours. Note: there is a 1 hour time change from Cancun to Merida. It messed with our little routine but we quickly recovered. 

Consulate Recommendations:
-Keep a google drive folder with PDFs of everything you need (5 years of taxes, Medical checkups, birth cert, pictures of passports, Miracle invoices, initial contract and surrogate contract etc.)
- Print 2 copies of everything before you leave for Mexico
- Place in secure binder and label every page with post its 

- Bring extra clear sheets for the papers Miracle will print for you 

- Get to the consulate at least 15 minutes before your appointment but be prepared to wait possibly. Eat before. There is no adult food at all allowed. 

- Do not bring any electronics accept for your phones. No portable chargers, fans, wires - nothing 

- Bring extra food for baby and a blanket - it's cold in the consulate

- Look carefully at your consulate's website for what you can bring inside. For the US, it's ultimately at the descretion of the guard. We got lucky and they allowed us in with the stroller but they didn't have to. 

We are so grateful both grandmas were able to come Cancun and be with us at different points of our stay. They helped us tremendously and we are lucky boys to have such amazing moms and grandmas to Lila. If you can bring your parents with you or have them come down to help, we highly encourage it! 

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors who have been cheering us on throughout this journey. So many people have reached out with help, guidance, and advice, and their support has meant the world to us. We highly recommend sharing your story—when you’re ready—with the people around you. Setting clear boundaries about which questions you’re comfortable answering and what information you’re willing to share made it much easier for us. And now, we get to celebrate the greatest gift of our lives with everyone!

Looking back on the entire process feels a bit surreal. How lucky are we to live in a time and place where something like this is even possible? Miracle Surrogacy has truly been a blessing. From the doctors they partner with—who took videos of the birth when I was too overwhelmed to reach for my phone—to people like Alex, who captured every special moment of our journey in Cancun, we felt genuinely cared for every step of the way.

One thing that mattered most to us was having a single point of contact throughout the process. In the U.S., you juggle a clinic, an agency, a hospital, a surrogate, and several lawyers. We were overwhelmed by the cost and the sheer number of people to keep track of. With Miracle, it was a true one-stop shop. We had one person, Kevin, guiding us until we arrived in Mexico, and even then—once we were in a group chat—our questions were always directed to the same friendly face (though the whole team was wonderfully supportive).

Would we do it all again? Absolutely. In fact, we’ve already begun our second journey and hope to pursue a third. At the end of the day, what matters most is that we were able to grow our family in a safe, ethical, and affordable way. We now have the most precious gift anyone could ever give us, and we are beyond grateful. Words can’t fully express how thankful we are to Miracle and their team for turning this dream into reality.