Before Kim Kardashian chose to have a surrogate carry her third child, she had two very high-risk pregnancies. It wasn’t until after her second that her doctors urged her to not get pregnant again and instead try using a surrogate. Initially, Kim was completely against this program because she had fears that either the surrogate wouldn’t take care of her baby, or that she would not have the same bond she shared with the children she carried to term.

In the end, she knew that if she ever wanted to have more children, she would have to go through with a surrogate. This lead her to find what she later described as the perfect woman and fell in love with her.

Her name was La’Reina Haynes: a mother of two who living in San Diego, California. Haynes was in her mid-twenties, in very good shape, with a criminal justice degree from the University of Phoenix and a natural affinity for being a mom.

Thanks to La’Reina, Kim welcomed her third child into the world, a daughter named Chicago West, who was born on January 15, 2018.

Now it is no lie that Kim hated being pregnant. She has said it many times before that she and pregnancy just don't mix. At first, she didn’t trust, nor like, the surrogacy method, but she soon realized her fears were nothing once her daughter was born. Their surrogacy with Chicago West was so successful that Kim and Kanye vowed if they ever had a fourth baby, they hoped La'Reina would surrogate for them again. Well apparently the time has come for this hypothetical to be a plausibility as the couple recently announced they were planning a fourth pregnancy!

Keep scrolling to learn more about Kim’s first surrogate and why exactly Kim chose to do surrogacy in the first place.

20 The World Was Certain She Would Be Pregnant With Kimye’s Fourth Child

Multiple sources believed that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s first surrogate would carry their fourth child.

According to usweekly.com, after her daughter Chicago West was born, Kim was left with one embryo and it was a male. Now that little man is due to make his grand entrance into the world around the end of April, early May.

Now, Kim has always wanted four children, while her husband Kanye has always wanted at least seven. Kim knew a few days after her third child, Chicago West was born via surrogate on January 15, 2018, that she wanted to use the surrogacy program again to have a fourth child. She loved her surrogate so much that she was hoping that when they were ready, that she would carry their fourth child for them.

However, in an announcement that took most by surprise People announced on Thursday night that KimYe was actually choosing a different woman to carry their fourth baby. She is "a local woman" who has been seeing Kim's obgyn regularly.

19 They Found Her Through “Family Creations”

When Kimye decided to have their third child via a surrogate, they went through a program called Family Creations. It was there that they found La’Reina after seeing her promotional video and how she explained on the video that being able to carry and bring someone else’s child into the world was such a humbling and amazing experience.

According to heavy.com, back in April 2015, Haynes was reported talking about her connection with Family Creations and how much she enjoyed being a surrogate through a Facebook message.

“Family Creations LLC has made not only choosing to be surrogate amazing but being guided through the process by their staff has been, for lack of better words, utterly amazing! I am still in the beginning stages but confident that all the way to the end of this process will be easy and nurturing. Thank you for having an amazing staff and helping me be paired with amazing intended parents.!!!!”

Before Kimye found her back in 2017, La’Reina had been a surrogate to another family who lives out in Los Angeles, California.

18 She Is A Stay At Home Mother Of Two Of Her Own Children

When Kim and Kanye shared the news that they had chosen a surrogate to carry their third child, that was all they shared. For a while there, the identity of the woman they had chose remained a secret, even the surrogate didn’t know whose baby she was carrying for a while there. They chose to keep her identity secret due to wanting to keep her safe and out of the public eye, so she could go back to normal life afterward.

After a while though, some information made its way into the light and we learned not only who she was, but that this wasn’t her first rodeo.

According to heavy.com, her name is La’Reina Haynes and she lives in San Diego, California with her husband and two children. While her husband is in the military, La'Reina has chosen to be a stay-at-home mom to her two little boys.

La’Reina was the perfect candidate for Kim and Kanye due to not only having two children of her own but also being the surrogate of another high-profile couple years earlier.

17 Kim Kardashian Absolutely Loved Her

Kim was super hesitant at first about using a surrogate to carry her third child. She looked into other options before finally deciding that this was the only way she was going to be able to have more children.

When she found La’Reina, she fell in love with her and everything about her, so much so that she wanted her to be her surrogate again when they were ready to have another baby.

According to heavy.com, when Chicago West was born on January 15, 2018, Kim took to Instagram to gush about her surrogate and the entire experience.

“I’m so grateful for modern technology and that this is even possible. It’s not for everyone, but I absolutely love my gestational carrier, and this was the best experience I’ve ever had. Our gestational carrier gave us the greatest gift one could give … The connection with our baby came instantly and it’s as if she was with us the whole time. Having a gestational carrier was so special for us and she made our dreams of expanding our family come true. We are so excited to finally welcome home our baby girl.”

16 She Had Some Super Strict Rules To Follow

When it comes to have another carry one’s child, that mom-to-be wants to make sure that their surrogate is keeping healthy and taking good care of their unborn baby.

According to heavy.com, La’Reina was no exception and had to adhere to some pretty strict guidelines and rules.

“The surrogate is required to refrain from [ingesting anything harmful or from drinking] during the pregnancy. She also agrees to restrict [close] activities in the weeks leading up to the pregnancy. The surrogate cannot go in hot tubs or saunas, cannot handle or change cat litter, apply hair dye, drink more than one caffeinated beverage per day or eat raw fish.”

Those are just some of the guidelines she had to follow, which go for any woman who gets pregnant and wants to have a healthy pregnancy.

15 It Took Months For Kim To Find Her

Choosing a surrogate is a hard decision. The person that a family chooses to carry their child is going to be responsible for the safety of that child for the next nine months and they want to make sure that she takes care of herself, their baby and that she is responsible and in a stable environment.

According to heavy.com, when it came down to Kimye and their surrogate, it took them months to find the perfect candidate.

A source close to the family told People magazine: “The entire family is over the moon. Kim had been looking for a surrogate for months until recently when she found the perfect candidate. Given her health scares in the past, Kim felt the need to hire a surrogacy agency that helped serve as the liaison in finding a healthy woman who would be a great surrogate option for her and Kanye. Both of them have been super involved in the process. They want everything to be perfect and for the baby to be extremely healthy.”

Before she found La’Reina though, there were rumors circling the web that Kim was going to ask Kylie to carry her child. Obviously, that did not happen seeing as Kylie welcomed her child a month after Kim’s was born.

14 She Didn’t Even Know That She Was Carrying Kimye’s Baby At First

When Kim and Kanye first chose their surrogate through the surrogacy program Family Creations, they chose to keep their identity from her at first.

When a family chooses a surrogate to carry their child, they have the option of meeting the surrogate and building a friendship and connection with her, or they can remain secret and not have contact with her.

According to babbletop.com, the reason Kim chose to keep her families identity secret at first was that she was afraid that the surrogate was not a fan of her family and that she would refuse to carry their child. After a while, she came forward with the hopes of building a relationship and La’Reina could not have been happier.

Who wouldn’t be happy? Fan or not, being able to carry a child for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West is a big achievement and definitely something to brag about.

13 Kim Had No Choice But To Use A Surrogate If She Wanted More Kids

Kim has been very vocal throughout her years about how hard pregnancy has been on her. With her first two kids, North West and Saint West, she suffered from a condition called Placenta Accreta.

According to babbletop.com, Placenta Accreta is a condition where the placenta attaches itself deep into the uterus wall, which means the mother can not pass it naturally and if not taken care of after delivery can cause her to bleed out.

Because of this, Kim was told by her doctors that it would be best if she found a different method to have children due to the high risks of her carrying a child.

Which, is why she ended up using a surrogate for her third child and now her fourth.

12 She Only Earned A Little Over $68,000

Some people found that the money Kim and Kanye paid for La’Reina to carry their child was a bit low. Being a power couple such as Kim and Kanye and being worth several million dollars, one would expect them to pay a bit more than what they did.

According to babbletop.com, Kimye only paid their surrogate a little over $68,000, which sounds a bit low considering their status, but who knows what surrogates actually get paid.

Some even believe that Kim and Kanye kept their identity secret at first so that they were treated like any other parents trying to have a child, and not as million-dollar celebrities who have all the money in the world.

Either way, all things considering, it is still a lot of money and in the end, it is about being able to give a family in need of a child.

11 She Gave Birth To Kimye’s Third Child Naturally

Giving birth is one of the most painful experience a person can face in their lives, aside from burning alive. There are some women who get to experience the painful joys of giving birth to their child vaginally, while other women are unable to and give birth to their babies via C-section. Either way, they are both beautiful experiences that give the reward of a new bundle of joy.

According to babbletop.com, when La’Reina gave birth to their third child Chicago West, Kim was giddy that La’Reina would give birth to Chicago vagally due to some health benefits children get from vaginal births.

10 Khloe Was Her First Choice For Surrogacy

When news hit that Kim was going to use a surrogate to have her third child, rumors started to spread that she would ask her sister Kylie to be her surrogate.

According to babbletop.com though, it was during an episode of Keeping Up with Kardashians that Kim asked Khloe if she would consider carrying her third child. Khloe was excited and honored that Kim would choose her to do it.

Most of the time when a family chooses a surrogate, it is typically a family member close to them that they choose to carry their unborn baby due to them knowing their struggles, being able to empathize with them and just all around wanting nothing more than to bring them happiness. Making Khloe the perfect candidate for Kim and Kanye.

Unfortunately, Khloe was in a committed relationship with Tristan Thompson and was eager to start a family of her own, something that couldn’t happen if she was carrying Kim’s baby.

9 She Would Earn More If She Got Pregnant With Multiple Babies

Having more than one baby is harder than having a single baby. There are a lot of high-risk complications that can happen, which is why is it normal for a pregnant woman carrying multiple babies to be closely supervised by Doctors throughout her pregnancy and to have to take it easier than a pregnant woman who is just carrying one baby.

That being said, we are no way saying that a woman carrying one child doesn’t have it hard either. There are many high-risk situations that can arise during a single birth too.

According to babbletop.com, Kim and Kanye’s surrogate would have gotten paid about $5,000 more if she would have become pregnant with more than one baby due to the high-risks.

Fans were able to read more about the details surrounding the surrogacy agreement as it was leaked online. As more and more details came into the light, we learned that this is actually a common practice among surrogate families and not a unique deal made for Kimye.

8 She Appeared On An Episode Of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians

For a while there, fans had no idea who Kim and Kanye had chosen to be their surrogate. Was a family member, a close friend, or maybe a friend of a friend? No one knew.

According to thetalko.com, it wasn’t until an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians aired on March 4, 2018, that Kim and Kanye’s surrogate was revealed.

Although she appeared in the episode, her face was not revealed. The family wanted to make sure she remained hidden away in order to give her some privacy and keep a somewhat normal life.

Though fans were not able to see who she was, they were still able to learn more about her, which made the whole experience exciting.

7 The Episode She Appeared On Was The First Time She Met Kim’s Family

During the episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians where the world was introduced to Kim’s surrogate, fans were not the only ones meeting Kim’s surrogate for the first time.

According to thetalko.com, it was also the first time Kim’s family met her too. During the episode fans got to see her meet Kris, Kylie and Khloe, it is speculated that she also met Kourtney, but she was not in that particular scene, so we are unsure.

The episode aired on March 4, 2018, but it is obvious that it was filmed months before seeing as La’Reina was still pregnant with Chicago West and she gave birth to her on January 15, 2018.

It was an emotional episode and a very sweet moment captured on camera.

6 She Loves Being Pregnant And Feels It Is “Natural”

So, earlier it was stated that typically when a woman decides to become a surrogate, she only does it once due to the emotional toll it can have on her. La’Reina, on the other hand, finds great pleasure in being able to bring the joy of a child to another family.

According to thetalko.com, La’Reina once said, “I've always had easy pregnancies. I like being pregnant. I know that sounds really weird. The pregnancy itself, you know, it just feels natural, like I'm supposed to do that."

For some women, pregnancy comes easily to them. While others are going through severe mood swings, constant morning sickness, constipation, and even hemorrhoids, others are lucky enough to skip all the negative complications and just enjoy their time pregnant.

5 She Is Delighted To Be Able To Give Other Couples The Joy Of Parenthood

As stated previously, La’Reina is overjoyed that she can bring couples in need the joy of children. She looks at it as almost being a job and takes joy in every minute of it.

According to thetalko.com, when La’Reina was asked during her appearance on the March 4, 2018 episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians what her thoughts were on carrying someone else’s baby, she responded:

“My joy and my satisfaction are for whoever I'm having the baby for."

Unlike some women who suffer heavy emotional tolls when having to give a baby up, even though it is not theirs, La’Reina does not feel sad and is just overjoyed.

4 Kimye’s Third Child Was Not Her First Surrogacy Baby

When a woman becomes a surrogate for other families, it is recommended that she has experience with pregnancy already.

When it comes to Kim and Kanye’s surrogate, not only did she have two kids of her own already, but she was also the surrogate for another couple a few years previously.

According to babbletop.com, most women who become surrogates only sign up for it once, due to the fact that carrying a child and then having to give it up is so draining. Even though it is not their child, they have gone nine months carrying it, keeping it safe, nurturing it and feeling its every move. They are emotionally connected to it.

For Kimye’s surrogate though, she is in it to help those less fortunate than her and has chosen to do it more than once.

3 Kim’s Surrogate, Along With Kylie And Khloe, Were All Due Just A Few Months Apart

The year 2018 was a big year for the Kardashian/Jenner clan. Not only was one baby born that year, but three baby girls made their way into the world that year.

According to thetalko.com, during the episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians that aired on March 4, 2018, fans were able to meet Kim’s surrogate who carried her third child, Chicago West. It was also during that episode that fans learned that not only was La’Reina due to give birth to Kim’s child early in the year, but Kylie was due the following month and Khloe was also due four months later.

How cool is that?

2 She Wasn’t At The Baby Shower

When Kim decided to throw a baby shower for her new baby girl that was due early on in 2018, she went all out. Fans were curious though if she was going to invite her surrogate to the shower or not.

According to thetalko.com, turns out that Kim did not have La’Reina at the shower. There was a genuine reason behind her decision; she hadn’t told Saint and North that she was going to have another baby, but that another woman was carrying it.

During an interview with The Real, Kim explained more about her reasoning behind it:

“Of course, I would've wanted her to be there and be a part of it, but I hadn't really gone that far in explaining it to my kids yet."

Which is understandable, it is a hard thing to explain to children at such a young age.

1 This Isn't A Job To Her

Being able to give a family in need a child is a selfless and an amazing act of kindness. Yes, they are getting paid for it, but no money in the world could change the meaning behind the act.

Some people will argue that is more of a job to them, then an act of kindness. While they are getting paid a hefty sum to bring another families child into the world, one can not classify it as a regular job due to the emotional toll it takes on a woman.

During her appearance on the episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, La’Reina had this to say about her experience with being a surrogate:

“It makes me feel important because I’m like, ‘Wow, I did something so good. This is beautiful. I would do this again a thousand more times.'"

She really is doing an amazing thing.

References: usweekly.com, heavy.com, babbletop.com, thetalko.com