pregnancy

Breanna is 29. Her 51-year-old mother just gave birth to her baby.

Julie Loving has just given birth to her granddaughter. 

After watching her daughter Breanna Lockwood and son-in-law Aaron struggle with infertility for years, the 51-year-old was determined to "take away the pain".

The young couple had already had two miscarriages, one ectopic pregnancy and multiple rounds of IVF, and could feel their dream of becoming parents slipping away.

A tribute to the babies we've lost. Post continues after video.


Video via Mamamia.

When Breanna, 29, lost her twins the earth shattered. 

With her mum in the room beside her, she remembers screaming "don't touch me" as she sobbed and collapsed on the floor at the news.

"How could this happen? We just had made it to the 'safe zone'?" she remembers thinking.

"I felt like being consoled would mean it’s real. She [mum] sobbed with me, watching her child in despair. Feeling helpless, she began to dry heave from the stress," wrote Breanna on Instagram, where she's been sharing her family's journey with surrogacy. 

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The first few times her mum suggested she carry their baby, Breanna turned her down.

"I kept turning her down because I didn't think it was possible," Breanna told Mamamia.

"My mum had already been through menopause and I had never heard of a woman her age carrying a baby through surrogacy. When I researched it, everything online pointed to a no. [But] She was very persistent, and came to us multiple times. We finally started to consider it, when our fertility doctor started to get on board and consider it," she said.

"He only considered because she's in amazing shape and super into health and fitness," Breanna told Mamamia.

In June, Breanna shared their exciting news.

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"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," she wrote.






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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 was undoubtedly the hardest venture we have had to face in our lives. ⠀ ⠀ In short that included...⠀ ⠀ 1311 days⠀ 476 injections⠀ 64 blood draws⠀ 7 surgical procedures ⠀ 3 rounds of harvesting eggs⠀ 19 frozen embryos ⠀ 8 IVF frozen embryo transfers total⠀ 4 failed embryo transfers⠀ 1 singleton miscarriage⠀ 1 twin miscarriage ⠀ 1 ectopic pregnancy ⠀ Countless tears⠀ ⠀ Sharing this adventure with my mom has been the most unique and amazing experience. Surrogacy is truly the most selfless gift. She is the pure example of “you would do anything for your kids”, and if i can even be half of the mother she is, I know i’m doing something right...⠀ ⠀ I want to give a special thanks to Dr. Kaplan with @fertilitycentersofillinois for his compassion and care in this field.⠀ ⠀ Baby Lockwood we can’t wait to meet you...⠀ See you in November!

A post shared by  Breanna Lockwood (@ivf.surrogacy.diary) on

Julie breezed through every preliminary test the doctors put her through, to become one of only a handful of surrogates to carry her own grandchild.

"Sharing this adventure with my mum has been the most unique and amazing experience. Surrogacy is truly the most selfless gift. She is the pure example of 'you would do anything for your kids', and if I can even be half of the mother she is, I know I’m doing something right," wrote Breanna. 

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In the early days of her mum's pregnancy, Breanna remembers feeling shocked.

"I was very cautious. We both had been through so much it was hard to get excited too early," she told Mamamia.

But as the weeks turned into months, Breanna was able to relax and watched on in "awe" at her mum's growing belly.

"I feel like my mum is such a safe spot for my little one to grow and know how loved she is already," she said. 





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⁣ Post from my mama!⁣ ⁣ I am now at 34 weeks and 5days gestation. They do everything in weeks and not in months, this took some getting used to because everything was in months when I was pregnant with my kids. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It is all different nowadays. So I start my 35th week on Thursday which is the last week in month 8th, so I am getting there. ⁣ ⁣ I go to the Doctors once a week now to be checked. I am having stress tests on baby to make sure she is all good in there, they check my urine to make sure everything looks good with the placenta and of course my blood pressure and check for any swelling. Everything so far has been spot on. Her growth scans have been right on target right up to 32 weeks, and at 32 weeks, she was developmentally a week ahead. We shall see how much more she has grown at my upcoming 36wk growth scan. ⁣ ⁣ For me, I have just been uncomfortable, up every 2 hours in the night. I had to go on an antacid for heartburn, obviously one that is safe for me to take while pregnant. Wow! that was a game changer for me felt so much better, otherwise I am doing great and hanging in there. ⁣ ⁣ I have to give a big shout out to my husband Rick. He has been working tons of hours at work and still keeping up with the house chores and outside of the house stuff. I am so appreciative of him he has been a big support person for me through all of this. He’s invested in this just as much as I am but in different way. 💙⁣ ⁣ I still have no regrets in this whole process. Seeing my little girl happiness come back makes it all worth it. 💗

A post shared by  Breanna Lockwood (@ivf.surrogacy.diary) on

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Breanna spent years dreaming of "dressing up her own cute bump," but she was just as thrilled styling her mum, and living pregnancy through her. 

Speaking to Mamamia in October, just a month out from Julie's due date, Breanna said there hadn't been any hiccups or complications or arguments between them at all. 

"I trust my mum wholeheartedly," she shared.

At the time she admitted her heart would "skip a beat" every time her phone rang. 

"We are so close! I can't wait for our baby girl to enter the world," she said. 

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Brair Juliette Lockwood was born on November 2nd, 2020, with Breanna sharing on Instagram that her mum was an "absolute rockstar through a difficult delivery." 

"The sacrifices she took to bring this little slice of heaven into our world takes my breath away. Holding my daughter in my arms my heart is bursting. 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 mum did for me," she said.

Breanna says she will be raising her daughter just as her mum raised her, channeling the "way she loves and the selflessness she exudes".

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As for siblings, that's the next challenge. Breanna and Aaron would love to have more children if they can, and aren't ruling out asking Julie to go again for them. 

"We have some remaining embryos frozen. We really want another child with our embryos in the future. We will just have to see... that is a big hoop to jump through," she told Mamamia.

Feature image: Instagram @ivf.surrogacy.journey.