When a 51-year-old grandmother learned that her daughter was unable to carry a baby, she did the only thing she could think of – she offered to be a gestational carrier for her own grandchild. Now, Julie Loving, 51, has delivered baby girl, Briar, at an Illinois hospital on November 2, 2020 – amid great applause by her family. Although Loving was “over the hill,” she proved to be the perfect surrogate to bring her granddaughter into the world after her daughter, Breanna Lockwood, was discovered to be unable to do the deed.
“My mom was an absolute rock star through a difficult delivery,” Lockwood wrote in an Instagram post announcing the birth. “The sacrifices she took to bring this little slice of heaven into our world takes my breath away.”
In a conversation with Good Morning America, Lockwood confirmed that her mother and her daughter are both “fantastic and healthy.” The C-section was the first such procedure Loving had to go through in her life. Her two children were born vaginally.
Lockwood has been very vocal about the process. Both she and her mother have contributed updates on Instagram, where Lockwood has amassed a following of more than 129,000 people.
On June 5, Lockwood posted about the surrogacy. In the Instagram post, which was accompanied by an image of Loving with a baby bump, Lockwood wrote about the miraculous process and how it helped bring her family closer together.
“They say, “It takes a village to raise a child”, but for some, it can take a village to HAVE a child. We are happy to announce, finally, … BABY LOCKWOOD IS ON THE WAY! Made with a lot of love and a little bit of science. Baby Lockwood will be brought into this world via GESTATIONAL CARRIER, and this little miracle’s carrier is quite a special one. MY MOM. My mom will be carrying and delivering our baby!”
“The biggest supporter in my life is giving us our biggest blessing. My beautiful mama is carrying her first grandchild, Aaron, and my biological child, as a gestational carrier! Aaron and I had our reproductive DNA taken, fertilized, tested, and frozen via IVF, as my mom breezed through every preliminary test she took, to be able to give us this gift. Defying the odds at 51 years old, she’s pushing reproductive science out of the box, as ONE of only a handful of surrogates NATIONWIDE to deliver their grandchild via gestational surrogacy! The trials and tribulations of infertility were undoubtedly the hardest ventures we have had to face in our lives.”
With the help of science and a loving mother, Lockwood and her husband created a baby that was brought to term.
Now that Briar has entered the world, Lockwood’s life is forever changed. Even though she did not carry the child inside of her, she was there every step of the way and is ready to assume the role of Briar’s mom.
“Holding my daughter in my arms, my heart is bursting,” Lockwood writes. “The feeling of how I would do absolutely anything needed for this child is radiating through me when I look at her and reflects back on what my mom did for me.”
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