March 8 - Phone Interview

I had my phone interview today! It took about 30 minutes, but there was nothing too surprising. We mostly talked about my general medical history, my pregnancy and delivery history, family history, etc.

We talked a little bit about the social and emotional side - Am I willing to travel for the pre-natal visits (IPs might be in a different state)? What is my personal support system like? How do I feel about IPs that are non-white, non-married, non-straight? The agency rep was very professional, but she did let out an "awww" when I told her I was open to all parents but that my preference was for two gay men, since they have the most hurdles in building a family.

The only thing that gave me pause was the travel question. Ideally I would match with IPs in my state, but there aren't currently any IPs here. That means I can match with someone further away, but that's not ideal because I will need to travel to the IPs fertility clinic multiple times for medical screening, pre-pregnancy monitoring, implantation, and initial ultrasounds. Or I can wait to see if someone more local comes along, but I don't think I want to hang out in medical limbo - careful of my alcohol intake, diet, medications, etc - for very long. Plus, I'm super impatient. Once I decide to do something, I want it done yesterday. The third option is to look for local IPs through my network friends and family and then have them sign up with my agency. I've already been approached in private by friends asking on behalf of others, so this might be a viable option.

The agency rep I talked to took down my responses and will now pass them along to the agency vice president. If she likes what she sees, we will move on to the home visit. That will most likely be via video conference, but could be in person if there's an agency rep close enough to me.

The staff didn't give me a score or any indication of how I did, but I feel like I come off as normal and healthy compared to the questions I was asked. Fingers crossed!