Adrienne Bailon‘s baby dreams have finally come to fruition – the 38 year old describes the birth of her son as an “absolute miracle.”
Source: Michael Kovac / Getty
The former co-host of “The Real” has been extremely forthcoming about her difficulties conceiving a child with her husband, Israel Houghton. On the show, she would often share how she desperately wanted to birth a child and begin raising a family with her hubs.
According to People, her route to motherhood has been trying to say the least – she attempted IVF eight times and suffered one miscarriage. The couple was down to one last viable embryo so, they decided not to gamble with it and hired a surrogate to carry their child to term. Their doc felt this was their best option as well. The Houghtons were ecstatic to learn that their surrogate was pregnant on Dec. 11, 2021.
The “Cheetah girl” decided she would keep things on the low and not inform the public of her decision. She only informed six people about her decision – keeping the public in the dark until her baby boy’s birth on August 16th.
Adrienne told People that, “Everyone was shocked.”
She said, “Even my sister, who watched The Real throughout the whole last season, literally said to me, ‘Adrienne, I am impressed.’ She’s like, ‘I am so proud of you. You are really holding this.’ I did that because it was really sacred to me.”
The former 3LW group member believes keeping the pregnancy a secret allowed her and her family to navigate the process with ease and kept her stress at a minimum.
“It was important to me for my own mental well-being and for my family,” Adrienne said.
Sharing her pregnancy journey hasn’t been easy. Initially it was information she readily gave but after so many failed IVF attempts, it became heartbreaking to share that she still had not yet reached her happy ending.
“I was just like, ‘I’m just not going to say anything.’ It was actually very peaceful that way. You didn’t have other people’s opinions.”
She added, “I got to be honest, even the process of surrogacy can be quite nerve-wracking. Somebody else has your child with them. We call it extreme babysitting for nine months. It can cause you to be really anxious. You’re just thinking, ‘Oh, is everything going okay? What’s happening?’ I feel like having people ask me, ‘How’s everything going?’ That was going to make me that much more anxious, so I just wanted to have peace and have a little joy that I could hold for myself every day and something to look forward to.”
According to People, Ever James, whose name was inspired by the new parents’ wedding hashtag, #happilyeverhoughton, was born during a home birth in Lake Tahoe, California with their families by their side – it was exactly what Adrienne had always envisioned.
“The birthing experience was incredible. We had multiple doulas. I had a doula for me. She had a doula for her that looked after her for aftercare. Same for me, someone that was there for me emotionally, anything that I needed physically. It was a family affair and absolutely beautiful.”
To Adrienne’s surprise, doctors later informed her that she actually has five healthy embryos left. She says that she will try her hand at birthing a child naturally again when the time is right.
“That’s the ultimate dream for me,” Bailon says. “I’m not giving up on that dream. Maybe I will carry one day and I can’t wait for that. I’m still hoping for that.”
I believe the “Church Girl” and the contemporary Christian vocalist will undoubtedly have their prayers answered.