Paul and Marco

Medical Information:

General Health:

Good.

Fertility Information:

3 Euploid embryos following PGS testing. We have used a known donor and we are willing to create more embryos if required.

Fertility Clinic:

Victory Reproductive Care in Windsor, ON

Why are you looking for a Surrogate?

As a same-sex couple, this gives us the opportunity to start our own family.

Tell us about your family & loved ones.

We expect our parents to be excited and supportive of our surrogacy journey. They’ve always been loving, open-minded, and understanding, so we anticipate they’ll fully embrace this path to growing our family. We both have siblings and are both Uncles through our siblings. They would be very happy to know that they in turn will become Uncles and Aunts and have more cousins for their children. We have a strong network of close friends in and around Amsterdam who have already voiced their clear support for our journey. They are ready to offer helping hands and advice when required. Our co-workers would also be happy for us and we hope to take a paternity leave package on the eventual arrival of our child.

Would you like to attend appointments with your Surrogate?

We would be happy to be as involved as is feasible. Being international Intended Parents, it would be difficult to make it to regular doctor’s visits but we would definitely like to have open communication via telephone calls, video calls and messages, so that we may support her as much as possible every step of the way. This being said, we are also ready to try to plan and be there for some of the important doctor’s visits in person.

What are your thoughts on termination of a pregnancy due to genetic abnormalities or complications related to the pregnancy?

Termination is never an easy decision to make for anybody involved, but we would want to have the choice in cases where either the carrier is at risk, or the quality of life of the child is not guaranteed, for instance in cases where the child could not live an independent and fulfilling life due to genetic abnormalities. We are not mentally and physically in a place to give long-term round-the-clock care to a child in need of full time attention and we do not live in a country which could offer the full support needed also after we are not there anymore.

If the Surrogate becomes pregnant with multiples, how would you feel? How do you feel about the possibility of selective reduction being recommended due to a multiple pregnancy?

In the case of twins we would be very happy and excited. We know it would be more work, but the twins would have a sibling from day one. In the case of higher multiples we would follow the advice of medical professionals in view of the risk to the carrier and the babies regarding selective reduction.

Are you vaccinated for Covid-19? Do you have a preference for a Surrogate to have been vaccinated for Covid-19?

We are vaccinated for COVID-19. We prefer that the Surrogate is vaccinated.

What kind of relationship do you want to have with your Surrogate during the pregnancy?

We would like a close, clear, straight-forward and friendly relationship with open communication both ways, supporting and understanding. We believe that being clear and direct in a polite way is the key for a healthy relationship.

Do you want to be in the delivery room when your child is born?

We know it would be a very important moment also for us to be present.

What kind of relationship do you hope to have with your Surrogate after the birth of your child?

We would be very open to becoming close with her and welcoming her into our extended family so that she and our future child could not only know each other, but also create their own bonding for the future. We believe that giving the opportunity to the child to understand her/his/their origin and being able to be in contact with the person that made possible the miracle of the birth , would play a key role in her/his/their mental health and confidence.

Would you be open to a home birth?

We would prefer hospital delivery.

Are you open to midwifery care?

We would be open to midwifery in conjunction with obstetric care.

Would you like your Surrogate to provide breastmilk?

We would be happy if the Surrogate would be open to providing breastmilk for the period we remain in Canada for the baby to be ready to travel overseas and for the paperwork to be completed.

What will you tell the child about the Surrogate, and the circumstances of their birth? If your child asks to meet the Surrogate, how will you feel?

We think it's very important to be open and honest with our child about the journey. For this reason we also chose to have a known egg donor with whom we are trying to maintain contact. Having the opportunity to create a regular connection with the Surrogate would facilitate awareness and understanding of his or her origins from the beginning. We would be absolutely open and happy to support the child meeting and getting to know the Surrogate.

If the transfer is unsuccessful, will you want to try again? If so, how soon after?

Yes. We are very ready to start our family so we would want to try again as soon as possible, following the advice of the doctor.

If this surrogacy journey is successful, would you want to complete a sibling journey? What do you envision that looking like? (timeline, same Surrogate etc.)

We would be happy for the child to have a sibling and we are open to a sibling journey within a couple of years following the birth and possibly with the same Surrogate.

What are your plans for childcare once the child is born?

We both intend to take paternity leave to look after the newborn for the first few months. On our return to work, we intend to enroll the child in a local creche (nursery) facility in Amsterdam.

What does a typical weekend look like for you?

Our weekends in Amsterdam are a blend of relaxation and fun. We enjoy unwinding from the workweek with walks or bike rides, weather permitting. Marco loves discovering cultural events through newsletters, so we often visit exhibitions or festivals. We catch up with friends, hosting dinners or Sunday brunch at home. When not socializing, we relax with our cats, watch TV, or head to the cinema. Paul also practices violin, and we take care of gardening and house chores.

What are some of your interests/ activities?

We have a wide range of interests that keep us busy and fulfilled. We both love cooking, trying new recipes, and hosting dinner parties for our friends, sharing good food and great conversations. Travel is another big passion—we enjoy exploring new places, with so far trips together to Italy, the UK, Japan, Cuba, and Canada. Staying fit is important to us, so we regularly hit the gym or go for a run. We’re also music lovers—Marco plays guitar, and Paul is learning the violin. Cozy nights with our cats binging TV shows are a favorite too! Recently we have been enjoying shows such as Bridgerton, The Good Doctor, and Heartstopper to name a few.

Other fun facts:

We have two friendly cats, Jaap and Joep (pronounced Yap and Yoop). They are brothers from the same litter, adopted by Paul almost 8 years ago and are a big part of our current family.

We love any home-cooked Italian dish, thanks to Marco’s background and superb culinary skills. We also particularly enjoy middle eastern fare such as hummus, while sushi is also a firm favorite.

Marco
Marco has a keen eye for art and design. He started his collection of paintings and photographs of young promising artists 15 years ago and he is always up to visit a new exhibition to stay up to date. Being an engineer, he also loves looking and discovering authentic houses or apartments to renovate. His current project is modernizing an apartment in Milan. He is also always on the hunt for cool, unique pieces of design furniture with a soul.
In college he took part in several theater show based on books by Agatha Christie and Neil Simon.
Being Italian, he was exposed to big gatherings and lots of cooking which made him open and happy to invite people over to his house to cherish and share happy moments and delicious food with lots of friends and family.
He has lived in Italy, Norway, Germany and now in The Netherlands.
Paul
Paul is the ultimate middle child having grown the third of five (with older brother and sister and younger brother and sister)—so things were certainly never quiet for him! He was born sporting a rat-tail hairstyle, which was totally fashionable in the 80’s (think Boy George), and has dual British and Canadian citizenship thanks to his mum, who’s from Ottawa.
He started learning to play violin as a child and picked it up again as an adult following a 20 year hiatus.
He has lived in UK, France, Germany and The Netherlands, in part due to a passion for languages, and now speaks French, German and Dutch (Italian in progress).
His favorite movies include The Fifth Element and Interstellar.
Paul and Marco together
We started collecting a new quirky, fun Christmas bauble every year in different places we visit so as to create a memory of each trip and each year together.
We are extremely in love with Japan trying to explore the country as much as possible for the rich, elegant, never loud culture.
We met by chance while walking in Amsterdam through a mutual friend, and only later realized we worked at the same company. Small world! Since then, we started bumping into one another in the office canteen. Instead of going for a traditional coffee date, Marco invited Paul to a special event about a gin&tonic tasting on a real train and their journey together started.
We have enjoyed exploring new shows and cities together, and are always up for the next adventure.

“Becoming parents has always been our dream, and we’re so grateful to be on this journey through surrogacy. Family is everything to us, and we can’t wait to share our love, support, and care with a child. We’re hoping to find a Surrogate who shares our values and would like to stay connected even after the birth, as part of our extended family. Your kindness and generosity mean the world to us—thank you for considering being a part of our journey to parenthood!”