Kamryn Vonderhaar eyes a stranger for a moment, then buries her head in the warm spot of her mother's neck.

        “She's a momma's girl,” explains Gina Vonderhaar, as she strokes her daughter's soft-brown hair.

Gina Vonderhaar holds her 1-year-old daughter Kamryn as Gina's sister Alaina looks on. (Brandi Stafford photos) | ZOOM |

        “She likes to hold on to me.”

        Kamryn's older sister, Allison, was more independent as a baby. She liked exploring and crawling around, but Kamryn prefers the security of her mother's arms.

        She always has. Even in her first days of life. Even though Gina didn't give birth to Kamryn, her biological daughter.

        “I think about it every day, what a blessing she is and how lucky we are,” says Gina, 27, who lives with her husband, Don, and their family in Reading.

        A year ago, the Enquirer chronicled Kamryn's birth by a surrogate mother, Gina's sister, Alaina Bracher.

        Alaina volunteered after cervical cancer stole Gina's ability to carry more children and after two attempts at adoption failed.

        Through in vitro fertilization, Alaina became pregnant in June, 2000, with an embryo that was created with Gina's egg and Don's sperm.

5-year-old sister Allison plays with Kamryn | ZOOM |

        The sisters shared each milestone of the pregnancy, from doctor's appointments to a joint baby shower to the delivery.

        In a crowded birthing room at Christ Hospital, Gina and Don wept as the first strands of their baby's dark hair appeared. A few more pushes by Alaina and Kamryn Grace Alaina Vonderhaar was born at 1:55 a.m. Feb. 28, 2001.

        Four days later, Alaina was sipping a margarita, as promised. And Gina was waking every three hours to feed her new daughter. Alaina suffered through a few days of pain when her milk came in, while Gina coaxed the first few ounces of formula into Kamryn's mouth.

        During the first year, both women dealt with publicity from their story. Strangers talked to them in stores. Some people called Gina about infertility issues, while another surrogate mother contacted Alaina to talk about their unusual shared experience.

        The Montel Williams Show called — but Gina turned down the offer. Woman's World magazine featured the sisters in its Feb. 12, 2002, issue.

        But most of the time, the two say they don't discuss the surrogacy. They talk about career moves, the latest accomplishments of their children and plans for Kamryn's first birthday party. Bears are the theme.

        “I don't want to hurt Alaina, because what she did was incredible,” says Gina. “But I don't even think about how she (Kamryn) was born. It makes absolutely no difference to me.”

READ THE STORY

Read Richelle Thompson's original story on the miracle of Kamryn Vonderhaar's birth a year ago — “Born of a sister's love.”

        When she looks at her two daughters, Gina never distinguishes between the child she carried and the one she couldn't. There's no difference in how she relates to them. Or in how much she loves them.

        And Alaina wouldn't want it any other way.

        She shrugs off questions about her selfless act. The Mason woman is adamant she doesn't ache to have Kamryn as her own. And she doesn't expect to have any more say in how Gina and Don raise Kamryn than she does with the way they raise Allison.

        “I have my own kids,” says Alaina, mother of three. “I have no desire for more. I have no desire to be up in the middle of the night.”

        Sure, there's a special bond with Kamryn, admits Alaina, 33. But she also dotes on her other nieces and nephews.

        “There's no separation problems,” Alaina says. She's a part of Kamryn's life — but as an aunt, not the mother.

        When Kamryn cries, it's Gina's arms that comfort her. Alaina plays with Kamryn, coaxing her to take a few steps or clap her hands, but when the blue-eyed toddler gets scared, she turns to Mom.

        As a newborn, Kamryn resembled 5-year-old Allison, but her round cheeks come from Dad. Her nose wrinkles when she laughs, easy giggles of delight, and both Allison and Kamryn have the same ears — the right's a little bigger than the left.

        Kamryn already idolizes her big sister, following her around the house and smiling when Allison plays peek-a-boo.

        Gina always dreamed of having three children, but she knows how blessed she is with Allison and Kamryn. And Alaina has no plans to carry another baby.

        “I'm done,” she laughs. “I think I've done my duty.”

        Still, Alaina has no regrets — and no desire for lavish accolades or eternal gratitude. She gave the gift of life for a simple reason — because she loved her sister.

        In many ways, that's why Gina and Don wanted so badly to have another child. They hoped Allison could have the same experience, to know the love of a sister.
           

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