A 51-year-old mother just gave her daughter a major gift by giving birth to her baby. Julie Loving acted as the gestational surrogate for her daughter, Breanna Lockwood.
CBS News spoke to Loving and Lockwood last month, as the women prepared to welcome Lockwood’s daughter into the world.
After several rounds of IVF and suffering multiple miscarriages, Lockwood’s doctor asked if she would consider surrogacy as an option to have a baby. Her mother was enthusiastic about the option and even volunteered to be the surrogate.
“I just kept telling her no and kept turning her down pretty frequently, only because I didn’t think it was a possibility with my mom’s age, and my mom was actually menopausal,” Lockwood told CBS News. “So, as far as I knew about reproductive science, that didn’t add up, that wouldn’t work.”
After several tests and exams, doctors determined that Loving was fit to be her surrogate. Lockwood thought her mother was “crazy,” but Loving had no doubt she could carry the baby. She has carried two children of her own and said she is the healthiest she’s ever been.
Eventually, Lockwood came around to the idea and Loving became her daughter’s surrogate. Through the IVF process, the baby girl Loving was carrying is genetically Lockwood’s and her husband’s. The only biological connection she has to the baby — besides carrying her — is grandma.
Over the weekend, she posted a very exciting update on the Instagram page: Her mother had given birth to her daughter, a healthy baby girl named Briar Juliette Lockwood, on November 2.
“My mom was an absolute rockstar through a difficult delivery,” Lockwood wrote in the caption of the post, which included three photos of Briar. “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,” Lockwood said.
“Every move and decision I make for my daughter, I’m finding the answers through how my mom raised me,” the post continued. “The way she loves and the selflessness she exudes is pure, genuine and kind. ”
She said Loving and Briar, who was born at 7 lbs. 1 oz., are both “fantastic and healthy.” She also said there would be more to share on the birth experience but for now, she and her husband are “soaking up these newborn moments.”
