They have been best friends for 20 years.
Now their precious journey has been captured in a series of beautiful images.
When 45-year-old Calie Fletcher found out she wouldn't be able to have a second child, her best friend Jeni Mitchell decided to offer herself as a surrogate.
Luck was on their side and Jeni fell pregnant on the first attempt.
Calie and her husband had embryos left from previous IVF attempts they had before their son Kai was born.
She told the
Huffington post:
“We wanted to have another child and just leaving the embryos wasn’t an option for us,” she said. “We had to at least keep trying. I had one more transfer, which again failed and that’s when the doctor told me that my uterus was too damaged to support another pregnancy.
They said they all had to draw up some very clean roles in the entire process. Jeni would grow the baby and Calie would support her physically and emotionally.
They decided to get photographer
Kris Baum to capture their shared birth story.
Jeni gave birth a few weeks ago to Calie's daughter, Annika.
“My husband and I are eternally grateful to Jeni and her family for completing our family. We will always have a special bond and Annika will always know her incredible story.”
