5 Tips for Traveling with Your Baby After Surrogacy Birth

It is without a doubt that the birth of your baby is one of the most magical moments you will ever experience. With that being said, what happens after your baby is born, your surrogate is discharged, and now you are ready to take your baby home after its delivery with the help of a surrogacy agency in California? Here are five essential tips for traveling with your surrogate-born baby.

First off, a quick reminder of what happens before the birth of your baby

Before the baby is born, Physician’s Surrogacy, a surrogacy agency in San Diego, will contact your attorney to make sure that he/she sends all the necessary paperwork to the clinic beforehand. We will keep in touch with your lawyer throughout your surrogate’s delivery and recovery. We follow this procedure just in case there is a need for additional paperwork. Also, we will be informing your attorney when the surrogate has given birth. This way, they can finish all the paperwork required in order to discharge the baby to your care.

As per the laws In many US states, it is possible to complete most of the legal processes before the birth. It allows us to forward all of the essential documents to the hospital ahead of time. Our surrogacy agency in California makes sure to take care of all these documents. However, if there are any additional legal steps you need to take after your child’s birth, your attorney will have already guided you through that process. They will also be ready to finalize the paperwork once the baby is born.

If your situation requires additional documentation, you may have to finish with the signing of the documents or wait until this process is complete. It, however, will not stop you from taking your baby home after he or she is born. Attorneys from both parties will usually have everything ready once the baby is set to be discharged.

The last and most exciting step is getting to take the baby home! Traveling with a surrogacy-born baby is the same as taking any new baby home. However, many Intended Parents are not sure how to prepare. As the best surrogacy agency in San Diego, we believe these five tips for traveling with your baby and getting the newborn to home after a surrogacy birth would be helpful to you.

1. Don’t worry too much about the baby’s birth certificate and social security card

Will people you meet on the road look at you suspiciously and stop you and request documentation showing that the baby is yours? No. However, the earlier you get the standard documentation, the better. So, before you travel with your baby, our tip is that try to get those items in order as soon as possible. In the meantime, you should be okay. 

Surrogacy agencies from a lot of states, such as California, allow for pre-birth surrogacy orders. In this case, your names will be written on the baby’s birth certificate when you are released from the hospital. However, if you require post-birth measures, the attorney will take all the necessary steps to have your names on the birth certificate as soon as possible. These steps will ensure establishing your guardianship of the baby.

Note: It might take some time to process that. Don’t worry if it is not available at that moment. 

You can apply for a social security card as soon as your child is born. But still, remember that some offices may ask you to provide the baby’s birth certificate. It can be very annoying if you are yet to have the certificate. You may have to wait until you have it before you can apply for the card. It might be useful to have pre-loaded or post-birth parentage orders on hand in case those in charge want to see them.

2. Take your time

We understand that you want to get back to “real life” with your newborn. However, please do remember that this precious early bonding time won’t last forever. Moreover, there are two good reasons why you shouldn’t rush to take your baby home:

(i) More time with the Surrogate and her family:

Your Surrogate will be very happy to see your new family together after the baby is born. Make sure to spend a lot of time with her when you can, even if you can’t wait to have some quality alone time with your new family!

(ii) More time to ensure your newborn is healthy and sturdy enough to travel:

Most babies are ready to travel pretty quickly. Albeit, they can also benefit from a few days of bonding and adapting to the world before taking their first trip. If you would be going home by flight, note that airlines may have different policies regarding the earliest an infant can be allowed to travel with them. So, it’s important that you know this before booking that flight.

3. Choose to drive, if possible

The main reason, our physician-managed surrogacy agency in San Diego, California, suggests that you drive if you can, is because airlines have different policies when it comes to traveling with newborns. Many may ask for the birth certificate of the baby as proof of age. It can be a big hurdle if you don’t have it yet.

Although it is possible to fly with a newborn baby, driving your baby comes with some benefits:

• Lower chance of travel delays
• There’s no need for the baby’s proof of age (if you are worrying that you may not have all the baby’s documents yet)
• The ability to stop as many time as needed for feedings and diaper changes
• Reduced exposure to illness for such a new immune system

4. Take along something to organize documents

As we said earlier, your specialist and attorney would have sent all the surrogacy-related documentation to the hospital before the baby’s birth. However, it’s also good to bring along copies of the necessary documents to the clinic. We recommend it just in case the medical staff wants to check something.

You might take physical copies of:

• Your surrogacy contract
• Pre-birth parentage orders (if applicable)
• You and your surrogate’s preferred delivery plan
• Insurance information for your newborn

After this, you will head out of the hospital with the new baby – and many papers. You may receive:

• Discharge papers
• Doctor’s notes
• A list of immunizations for the baby
• A list of medical screenings and panels completed.
• Pamphlets on how to care for their new baby
• And in some cases, a birth certificate.

As a surrogacy agency in San Diego, California, we suggest that it will be helpful to have a folder where you can keep all these papers – and any surrogacy-related documentation you take to the hospital.

5. Follow Standard Safety & Packing Tips

Parents out there will have a lot of advice for you when it comes to packing for the clinic and the trip back home. But the main difference in your own situation is that: you are not going to pack for post-delivery care. Also, you will want to take some extra clothes and supplies along in case you are in the hospital for some time.

The most important things you should get ready before walking out of the hospital with your newborn are:

• A diaper bag
• Diapers and wipes
• Additional clothes
• Breastmilk or formula
• Rags and cloths
• Bottles (note that you can clean them while on the move, if need be, so you shouldn’t overpack)
• Plastic bags to temporarily store dirty rags and clothes
• An approved carrier or infant car seat

Conclusion

Bringing home your newborn is such a joyous moment. As excited as you will be, you need to remember; there is no need to pack cute, unnecessary things. You only have to make sure that your newborn is comfortable, safe, warm, and well-fed as you travel home. We hope these tips for traveling with your baby was helpful to you.

If you have any questions regarding using a Surrogate to become a parent, or traveling with your Surrogate-born baby, please feel free to visit our agency website at www.physicianssurrogacy.com or call us directly (858) 209-3801 to schedule a free consultation. Our surrogacy agency in California loves to help you with any questions or concerns you may have.