Attachment?

I was shopping tonight and as the sales person was walking me to the register, she asked me how far along I was.  I told her and she then pointed out that the cashier was pregnant too and just a couple of weeks behind me.  I was getting a lot of stuff and the transaction was going to take a while, so we got to chatting.  Typical pregnancy questions, "Is this your first?  Boy or Girl?  When are you due?"  She was pregnant with her 2nd and was planning on a birth center birth.  Then of course, the conversation continued when I told her my answers and that I was a surrogate.  I love being able to educate people about surrogacy because even though it is in the news so much more these days, there are still so many people that don't really understand it because they've never known anyone that's been directly involved with it.

During our conversation, the BIG question came up.  Don't you get attached?  She explained how attached she was to her own children during her pregnancies.  This is actually one of my favorite questions.  The truth, in my opinion, is that you can't carry a baby for 40 weeks without becoming somewhat "attached".  However, the attachment is different.  It is not the attachment I felt/feel for my own children.  The best way I can explain it is that I do care, love and have some attachment to this little one, but it is more like a niece/nephew, a caregiver/nanny/child relationship or even a long term friendship.  Although some of my kiddos teachers have "loved" my children, it's not the same love that we have for them.  I always consider myself the "babysitter".  I'm going to do my best to care for this baby until they are born.  This little one has two great parents who love them so much and I am so excited to be a part of the process of building their family.  My belly will be empty once this baby is born, but my heart will be full knowing that there are two new parents loving their little one, as I love my children.

Here is a great article.
http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/work-education/meet-the-baby-carriers/indexp3.php