Sal_Mom_Rev - page 11

mommag.com
11
Family comes first.
Every family has their own traditions,
rituals or inside jokes. What’s one
of yours?
Many of our traditions are related to
holidays. One of my favorite Christmas
traditions is Gabriel’s Christmas Eve
present. Each year on Christmas Eve he
gets to open a present early (when he was
younger this was his Elf on the Shelf’s
parting gift). The present always has a new
pair of pajamas, popcorn, candy, and a
movie, but he always seems so surprised
when he opens it! Receiving gifts is my
love language, but I would argue that I
get more joy out of giving gifts than
receiving them.
Gabriel loves traditions and rituals. Lately,
he has been trying to make French Fry
Friday a thing.
When did you know you wanted to be
a mom?
I’ve always loved kids, and when I was
younger, it was my goal to have 10 kids!
We adopted my youngest brother and
sister when I was 12 and 14 years old so I
got to have lots of experience with babies
and I loved it! I would always carry them
around and play dress-up. It was like
having living dolls, and it confirmed my
desire to be a mom. Now I just have one
child, but I’m not giving up on my
Rachel Ihmud
Gets real!
Cover MOM
Not only is Cover MOM Rachel
Ihmud mom to her son, Gabriel,
she helps others become a family
through her work with All Families
Surrogacy.
dream for more kids yet—probably not
10, though.
Tell us about one of your proudest
mommoments.
Gabriel has autism, and I can recall with
perfect clarity the first time that he
verbally responded to my question of
“Where are you?” He actually responded,
not just repeated the words back to me.
He was almost 4 years old, and he was
playing outside at my parents’ house. I was
watching him from the porch as he lined
up his toys in the grass. We had been
practicing this for years so I didn’t really
expect an answer when I called out
“Gabriel, where are you?” But, for the first
time, he said “I here.” It might seem small
to some, but in that moment I couldn’t
have been more proud of my son.
No one works harder
than mom.
We know that being a mom is a full-time
job. Tell us about your work or volun-
teerism outside of the home.
I am the Surrogate Intake Coordinator for
All Families Surrogacy (AFS), the same
agency I used for my own surrogate
journey. AFS works with intended parents
all over the world and matches them with
surrogates here in the U.S. I love getting to
work with some truly amazing women on
their journey to become surrogates.
How do you balance (or not) mother-
hood, activities, work, volunteering,
household responsibilities and life in
general?
As a single mother, a flexible schedule is
essential to this balancing act of life. I work
from home most days of the week which
allows me to drop off and pick up my son
from school and attend all of his soccer
games and wrestling matches. I have big
dreams for volunteering—I desperately
want to snuggle all those NICU babies—
but I haven’t figured out how to manage
that yet.
Tell us about a recent achievement
you’re proud of or a personal passion or
talent.
I am so proud to say that I was a surrogate
and delivered adorable twins for two
amazing dads from Israel in March of this
year! Being a surrogate was an incredible
experience and seeing those dads hold
their babies for the first time was a
moment that I will never forget.
If mom’s not happy,
nobody’s happy.
What are you hoping to find under the
tree this year?
Airline tickets to Israel to visit my surro
babies and their daddies! And since I’m my
own “Santa,” I have a feeling that this wish
will come true!
If you could turn any activity into an
Olympic sport, what would you have a
good chance at winning a medal for?
I’m incredibly skilled at snuggling babies
and could snuggle them all day long! I’m
also good at being pregnant. I am one of
the strange ones who loves being pregnant.
I didn’t have any morning sickness with
Gabe (I did have some with my surro twins
which I attribute to all the IVF meds), and I
feel more confident when I’m pregnant.
continued on page 14
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