KENEDI Smith, 28, has been a surrogate three times. She said: “I would say I am addicted to surrogacy.” She was first inspired to become a surrogate as she grew up seeing her own mum, Ellen, complete three surrogacy journeys. After she had her son, Kenedi started looking into how to become a surrogate when she was 21 years old. Ellen was concerned at first but then got on board with it and supported her daughter through the journeys. The pair started a podcast to share their stories and discuss topics related to, and inform listeners, about surrogacy. Kenedi said she loves being pregnant and going through delivery. She said: “I love being in the delivery room with them. That's my favourite part. And being able to watch them see their baby and meet their baby.” But Kenedi has also been judged for her role as a surrogate. She has received comments saying she is ‘messing up’ her own child, or that she’s ‘playing God’. People have also questioned her motivations - saying that she is only doing it for the money. Kenedi said: “People have accused me of selling my body.” But Kenedi asserts that she has been able to show her son different ways people can have a family and said: “My main motivation for doing multiple services is I can. It's my body, my choice.” Kenedi is in the process of beginning her fourth journey and is excited to be a surrogate again and to continue making an impact in the surrogacy world.
Follow Kenedi here:
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Follow Kenedi here:
https://www.tiktok.com/@stop.sit.surrogate
https://www.instagram.com/stop.sit.surrogate/
https://www.youtube.com/@stop.sit.surrogate
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FunTranscript
00:00 I'm addicted to surrogacy.
00:02 I've been a surrogate three times,
00:03 and in total, I have received over $120,000.
00:08 People have accused me of selling my body.
00:11 I'm a (beep)
00:12 I'm selling a baby.
00:14 I'm playing God.
00:16 It's my body, my choice.
00:19 - Do you think being a surrogate
00:21 has impacted you negatively?
00:23 - Hi. - Hey, how are ya?
00:26 Welcome back everybody to Stop, Sit, Surrogate
00:28 with Kennedy and Ellen.
00:29 - Hi.
00:30 - My mom's name is Ellen,
00:31 and she was a surrogate three times as well.
00:34 So I started a podcast with my mom,
00:36 and it's just been phenomenal.
00:40 We talk about the good and the bad,
00:42 and we've both had six experiences with surrogacy,
00:45 and we've had good experiences,
00:47 and we've had not so good experiences.
00:50 - How did I inspire your surrogacy journeys?
00:52 Like what made you wanna do this?
00:54 - Your second journey.
00:55 - Oh, what was my second journey?
00:57 - When you had the triplets,
00:59 and I was like eight,
01:00 and I saw your relationship with the dads,
01:04 and they were just so loving on all of us,
01:07 and I was just drawn to them,
01:09 and I was just like, "Wait, this is so cool."
01:11 How did you feel when I told you
01:12 I was going to be a surrogate?
01:13 - Oh boy, that's mixed.
01:14 - Oh! - Yeah.
01:16 Not happy. - Oh!
01:17 - The first initial reaction was not happy
01:19 because I really flashed back in my head
01:21 and went, "My three."
01:23 Two were not good. - Sure.
01:24 - One was phenomenal, and just thought,
01:25 "Oh no, I don't want her to go through that pain."
01:27 Then as I started to think about it,
01:29 I thought, "Well, she's a single mom, right?"
01:31 - Yeah. - Got a little guy.
01:32 - Yeah. - I thought,
01:33 "What better way to change her life?"
01:34 - I had my son at 20, so when I turned 21,
01:37 my mom had said, "Hey, you qualify to be a surrogate."
01:40 And I started doing my research,
01:43 and I went online, and I Googled agencies,
01:45 and when I came across one that I liked,
01:48 then I signed up, and I met the qualifications,
01:51 and my journey began.
01:53 I did gestational surrogacy.
01:55 - I started to get on board with it,
01:57 and I started to, "All right,
01:58 "she's gonna do it here regardless, so."
02:00 - True. - "Might as well,
02:01 "maybe I can help with giving you injections."
02:03 - I know, you gave me all my injections.
02:05 (upbeat music)
02:07 - I'm hungry, can I have a snack, please?
02:09 - Sure, let's go.
02:10 Hi, Dad. - Hi, Kim.
02:14 - Are you hungry?
02:15 - Starving, actually.
02:17 - Okay.
02:17 How did you feel when I told you
02:20 that I wanted to be a surrogate?
02:22 - I brought back memories of your mother, of course.
02:25 - Well, how did you feel when Mom
02:26 wanted to be a surrogate then?
02:27 - Well, at first, I wasn't too keen on it.
02:29 - Why?
02:30 - Well, I didn't know a lot about it.
02:31 It was a new journey, and it was a new experience
02:34 that I knew nothing about,
02:35 so it was a learning curve for me.
02:38 - Okay.
02:40 - Ashley, how do you feel about Mom
02:41 and doing another surrogacy, buddy?
02:44 - It's okay.
02:45 - Can you tell me what it means to be a surrogate, buddy?
02:48 - To help other people have babies.
02:50 - Do you think being a surrogate
02:52 has impacted you negatively?
02:55 - I think being a surrogate
02:56 has not impacted my son negatively.
02:59 When I started surrogacy, my son was almost two,
03:03 so I really didn't describe the first journey to him,
03:06 and then my last journey, he was almost five,
03:09 and with that, I explained a bit more.
03:13 Mommies tell me you can't carry a baby, but mommies can,
03:16 and this isn't your brother or sister,
03:18 but we're going to help them have a baby
03:22 so that way they can go to Disneyland
03:24 and equate the things that he would do.
03:27 Are the babies that I don't keep,
03:28 are they your brother and sister?
03:30 - No.
03:31 - No, who are they?
03:32 - They are other people's babies.
03:35 - They're other people's babies.
03:36 So some positive things that have come out
03:38 of me being a surrogate is I've been able to show my son
03:41 different ways that people can have families.
03:44 - I'm just kind of curious,
03:45 how do you feel about going into this next journey
03:47 with Kennedy?
03:48 - I feel super excited to experience
03:51 for the very, very first time
03:52 what a surrogacy journey would look like,
03:54 especially with her.
03:55 - Are you nervous?
03:55 Are you scared about any of the process?
03:58 - Just the shots.
03:59 (laughing)
04:02 - So we have been together for two years
04:04 and he has not yet experienced surrogacy.
04:07 - Kennedy told me she was a surrogate on our first date.
04:11 I had no idea or anything related to surrogacy
04:14 before I met Kennedy.
04:15 So there was a ton of questions,
04:17 just her experience mainly about it, you know,
04:19 and just the process of it all.
04:22 I was really intrigued by it.
04:23 - What judgment have you had about being a surrogate?
04:26 - That I'm selling my body, I'm a (beep)
04:29 I'm selling a baby, I'm affecting my kid negatively,
04:34 I'm playing God, I shouldn't be compensated
04:38 for being a surrogate, just outrageous things
04:41 that are very uneducated.
04:43 But I can combat each one of those statements.
04:47 You know, I don't do this just for the money.
04:49 I wouldn't do this for free,
04:50 but I don't do this just for the money.
04:52 My son is not affected negatively.
04:54 I wasn't affected negatively, 'cause my mom did it.
04:57 In fact, this affected me positively, I'm a surrogate now.
05:01 I can understand how some people, if they're religious,
05:03 they think that we're playing God,
05:05 but really, you wanna do anything in this world
05:09 to be able to have your family.
05:10 And for some people, that's surrogacy.
05:13 And I'm not selling my body, my body, my choice.
05:17 So I have, over the span of, let's see, 2015 to 2021,
05:22 I have collected maternity clothes.
05:27 And they are not cheap, so I don't get rid of anything.
05:32 Surrogacy isn't all about the money.
05:35 It is the fact that both parties are helped.
05:39 Let's see, one more box.
05:41 I would say to people who think that I'm doing this
05:43 for the money to get educated.
05:45 In total, out of my three surrogacies,
05:48 I have received over $120,000.
05:51 And I was a single mom, and I was able to afford a house
05:55 in California by myself.
05:57 And that was really important to me,
05:59 to be able to still provide for my son in that way.
06:03 Like I said, I still love surrogacy,
06:05 and I was addicted to that feeling
06:07 of helping another couple grow their family.
06:09 I have a friend who makes surrogate clothes.
06:11 She's super cute, surrogate sister design.
06:15 I love it.
06:16 When I got pregnant with my son,
06:17 that's when I started collecting them.
06:20 And then as I grew on to more journeys,
06:23 you know, that leaves me with three buckets full.
06:25 So right now I'm in the process of my fourth journey.
06:30 I would say that I became addicted to the feeling
06:34 of surrogacy after I had my first surrogate baby.
06:39 When I got to see the parents meet their baby girl,
06:43 that's the feeling that I was addicted to,
06:45 and I just had to do it again.
06:46 In my fourth journey right now,
06:48 we are in the process of basically
06:52 just getting my background check done,
06:53 and then once I'm cleared, then I get to do matching.
06:56 I'm really excited.
06:57 I'm kind of sad.
06:58 It's a little bittersweet,
06:59 'cause I know that it's going to be possibly my last journey,
07:03 but I'm excited, so I'm ready to get started.
07:07 What I've loved most is being pregnant and delivery,
07:12 which sounds weird, but it's true.
07:14 Another thing is I've actually grown closer to my mom,
07:17 because we've had something else to connect over.
07:20 I've grown a huge community online with surrogates,
07:23 and we all understand each other
07:24 and are there for each other and support each other.
07:27 Hi, everybody.
07:28 So I just wanted to pop on and just let you all know
07:31 that even though it's been a year,
07:32 I finally signed with an agency,
07:34 and I am so excited to see where this journey goes.
07:38 So stay tuned and see what happens.
07:42 I've been pregnant all of my 20s,
07:44 so as excited as I am to be a surrogate,
07:47 I'm also excited to finish my family
07:50 and be done being pregnant.
07:51 It's a little bittersweet, but it's also fun
07:55 and hopefully making an impact in the surrogacy world.
07:59 (upbeat music)
08:01 (upbeat music)
08:04 (upbeat music)
08:06 (upbeat music)
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