Choosing an egg donor seemed to be the biggest challenge we would have on our surrogacy journey. Naming our children certainly wasn’t. We had discussed having children on our first date; David indicated that he would name a son after his brother who died of leukemia before David was born. I accepted that request and interjected that I would get to contribute to the naming of our children too without realizing that we had skipped dating, and our wedding, and moved right into full-on family! So, going through the process of getting our first-born seemed natural and another adventure on the journey that we were meant to be on.
This was especially true when a long-time friend offered to be our gestational non-genetic carrier for our first child. The only issue being that she lived in Honolulu, HI and we lived in New Jersey – just 5,000 miles away! The journey awakened awareness in us to things we hadn’t expected as probably happens to most parents and to anyone when embarking on something as special as bringing a new life into the world. We were preparing, planning and getting excited about our new adventure.
Then, one evening, we got an unexpected call. Our surrogate had developed preeclampsia. To save her and our child they needed to induce her immediately, but, luckily, we were in Honolulu less than 25 hours later and still before our son was born. The two of us, each holding one of our surrogate’s hands, were both there as our son entered the world, eight weeks early and less than 4 lbs, but with a will and determination to persevere!
Doctors said he would be in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit) for six to eight weeks, but the strong fighter that he was, he was out in two and a half weeks. That time in the NICU was surreal, but also a great learning opportunity for us. We learned how to care for our delicate boy in this steriled environment and began to prepare for how to care for him when he would come home with us. We quickly recognized his fighter spirit and, to honor his homeland where he was born, we named him aptly for it. His first name decided years ago on our first date was settled, but we wanted a middle name that would reflect his unique story, the land of his birth, and something that demonstrated his personality – “brave warrior” in Hawaiian, he was our “Kekoa”.
Kekoa Foods was born out of the strength shown by our son and the need to ensure he was given highest quality and nutritious food.
To continue to watch our warrior grow, he needed to be nourished with the highest quality of food to support his health, development, and physical growth. However, it was hard to be sure where the baby food sold in stores was sourced and the quality of the ingredients used. Much of the food available to purchase did not indicate if the meat or dairy products were from grass fed, pasture-raised animals or if the fruits and vegetables were non-GMO (genetically modified organisms). Further, why was it so bland and gross tasting? Where were the herbs and spices? We were so unsatisfied with what was available to purchase that David decided he would make all our baby’s food from scratch.
David approached this task in two ways, first it was important to ensure that we had the highest quality of meats, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products. Second, we wanted our baby to start his life experiencing the flavorful world of food too. So, David included herbs and spices for their nutritional benefits and delicious savoriness as well.
Kekoa Foods was born out of the strength shown by our son and the need to ensure he was given highest quality and nutritious food. So, we promise that the products we make will come from high-quality, grass-fed, pasture-raised animals and non-GMO fruits and vegetables. All recipes are based on what we used to make our son’s food, or would feed him and ourselves, because all of our purees are healthy and delicious tasting too!