Adrienne Bailon helped her surrogate deliver newborn son in home birth: 'I actually got a chance to pull him out'
Adrienne Bailon is opening up about how she played a hands-on role in the birth of her son, Ever, whom she welcomed via surrogate in August.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the former Cheetah Girl, 38, explained that she and her husband Israel Houghton and their surrogate agreed on a home birth, which not only gave the couple the freedom to have their loved ones present, but to take part in the birthing process.
“I actually got a chance to pull him out. We did skin-to-skin and right on me," she said, later describing the moment as "an out-of-body experience."
"I literally was just saying over and over again, 'I love you so much, I love you so much, I love you so much,’” she said. “Literally, my mom was there, my sister was there, and literally tucked in a room right behind us was my niece, his daughter, so, they met him within minutes of being born."
Ever is Bailon's first child with Houghton, who has four other children from past relationships. The Real alum said that she and Houghton made it a priority for their surrogate to feel safe during the whole process.
For Bailon, who “dreamed” of being pregnant since she was little, the decision to use a surrogate to carry Ever wasn’t an easy one. After going through eight rounds of IVF, and suffering from multiple miscarriages, The Real alum says part of making the choice was understanding that it was hers alone to make.
"I hope that that message also encourages somebody not to give up and more so … to be open to different versions of your dream," she shared. "I have to say, this journey obviously with surrogacy is not what I initially thought my journey to motherhood would be like at all. I imagined beautiful maternity photos, and what it would look like being pregnant, and I dreamed of that, and I still dream of that, and I’m hoping that that doesn't mean that that's not gonna happen for me in the future. But I remember literally telling my sister maybe two days after Ever was born, and just being like, 'I would not change a thing.'"
The couple now has five embryos left, and fully plans on trying to get pregnant again in the future.
"My dream would be that I will carry one day and the thing is, when you only have one embryo left, you can't test your body if it's never been proven to carry full term," she said. "And now that I've got five, there's more opportunities to try, so that's my hope. That's the goal and I've not given up on that dream."
Bailon had already given her fans a glimpse into Ever’s birth last month, when she announced that he’d arrived.
“Our baby boy is here & we are so in love!” the new mom gushed in an Aug. 16 Instagram post, alongside a photo of her and Houghton holding baby Ever. “If you have followed our love story… you know that our journey to baby has been very challenging - But God is true to His word and His promises.”
The post continued: “We have quietly prayed while sitting on this most magnificent secret for the last 9 months. He is worth every tear, every disappointment, every delayed prayer, every IVF cycle, every miscarriage. Everything. All we feel is joy and overwhelming love & gratitude. Grateful to God, to our angel surrogate and to all of our friends and family who have stood with us for over 5 years on this journey. He’s here and we have never been happier to lose sleep!”
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