At 49 years old, Utah mom Chalise Smith never thought she’d be pregnant again. After learning that Kaitlyn Munoz had been suffering from infertility, Chalise Smith made the ultimate sacrifice.
Chalise volunteered to become a surrogate for Kaitlyn’s second child.
Kaitlyn, 25 years old, had struggled with infertility for many years. She underwent egg retrieval and in vitro fertilation to start a family together with Miguel Munoz.
In May, Kaitlyn’s dream of expanding their family finally came true when her mom gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
Chalise, a mom of eight, said the decision wasn’t made “lightheartedly.”
Chalise, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said she felt called to be a surrogate after witnessing Kaitlyn’s infertility journey for so long. Before telling her family, she leaned on her faith and thought deeply about what she wanted to do.
“It was on my mind daily. It was on my mind daily. I prayed about it, just wondering and asking if this was a direction or path for me, and before I even told Kaitlyn and Miguel or my husband, I just kept these thoughts to myself,” Chalise told Good Morning America.
Three weeks later she felt the urge call Kaitlyn to tell her what she had been thinking. She offered to be her surrogate right away.
Kaitlyn was at the lowest point of her infertility journey, when her mom called.
“I was definitely surprised,” she said. “I mean, I’m a third of eight kids. So she is Wonder Woman, and the idea that she was willing to get pregnant at 49, and she turned 50 while being pregnant — just the fact that she was willing to do that for me was amazing.”
Callahan had been successful in her first pregnancy via IVF. In January 2021 she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She couldn’t carry another child safely because her kidneys were damaged.
“I was devastated,” Kaitlyn said, who had grown up with seven siblings and dreamed of recreating the same experience for her son. “All I ever wanted was a big family like the one I had.”
Chalise was able to get medical clearance to have her ninth child after getting her husband and her family on board. Her doctor gave her the OK because she was physically healthy and didn’t have any underlying conditions.
“It went really well,” Chalise said of her surrogate experience. “With the IVF cycle, I had the shots for the first 10 weeks of the pregnancy. My husband was a great nurse who administered the shots. We told our extended family 15 weeks after I passed some of those markers in that first trimester and from there on, it was great.”
Chalise was six months pregnant when she went to Disneyland to celebrate her 50th Birthday with her family.
“I just trooped across that park every day with my kids and it never became a problem, so I feel like honestly, I was really blessed,” she said.
Alayna KaitChalise, her granddaughter, was born to her on May 17. She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces.
Kaitlyn chose this name to honor her mom who made the incredible sacrifice of carrying her child.
Baby Alayna has done well so far.
“She has such a calm nature and she is just the sweetest little thing,” said Kaitlyn. “She lets you know when she’s hungry but other than that, she sleeps and just chills with us throughout the day.”
Her two-year old is already in love her new sibling.
“If she’s in her bassinet, and I’m walking around, picking up something, he always looks at me and says, ‘Oh, where’s baby Alayna?’ So he’s very concerned for her and he just adores her and wants to hold her all the time,” she said.
Kait and Miguel are currently focusing on their two children, but they remain open to the possibility of growing their family.
These families deserve congratulations for their new bundles of joy. Click on the video below to learn more about this wonderful story that perfectly demonstrates a mother’s love.
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