COLORADO SPRINGS — In celebration of Pride Month, a surrogate mother was reunited with the surrogate child for the first time since birth. They invited News5 to capture the reunion and heartfelt moment.
Surrogate Zarah Hilliard was overflowing with joy and nerves as her partner and son awaited the arrival of the baby she carried through surrogacy.
“I'm so excited right now,” said Hilliard.
It was the first time Hilliard has seen 20 month old Caleb, a baby she delivered for partners Randall Thomas and Daryl Garcia.
“Hi, oh my gosh hi,” said Hilliard.
It was a homecoming greeted with many hugs.
“Give hugs to Zarah,” said Garcia.
An emotional reunion.
“Oh my gosh I have missed you guys,” said Hilliard.
From a young age, Hilliard was inspired to become a surrogate.
“As a surrogate you get to decide, like, do you want it to be more, you know, business, do you want it to just be like that business type relationship, like you have their baby and then that's it or you get to decide, kind of, if you want that more intimate relationship, if you want that forever connection with the family,” said Hilliard.
Hilliard wanted to stay connected to the family. Thomas, Garcia and Hilliard connected through the company SurrogateFirst. Hilliard described the process like online dating. She knew she found the perfect match when she met Thomas and Garcia.
“I think we instantly had just this really great connection,” said Garcia.
Hilliard said the paperwork, doctors appointments, and pregnancy was a long process, but Thomas and Garcia supported her throughout the entire journey.
“The dads, they have good hearts, they're very genuine people. I love them so much... It changed my life. I would say they were amazing,” said Hilliard.
In 2022, Hilliard gave birth to their son Caleb in Colorado Springs.
“He's going to a family that has wanted him for a while, you know, like I was super excited to, like, at birth be able to hand over Caleb to his dad's,” said Hilliard.
Thomas and Garcia are raising him in California, but came back in June to visit Hilliard.
“Super cool to see her grow as well too. We kind of think of her a little bit as like a sister so I think that's kind of fun. To see her growth and their future plans as a family too,” said Thomas.
Both being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, they say it was special to reconnect during Pride Month.
Hilliard said she is pregnant and going through the surrogacy process again. She is carrying a child for a couple from Taiwan.
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