Important milestone! Teenage mother star Catelyn Baltierra (née Lowell) shared a rare birthday tribute to her daughter Carly after she gave her up for adoption.
“14 years ago this amazing girl was born!” Catelynn, 31, captioned a series of throwback photos via Instagram on Thursday, May 18. “God, if she only knew how many people she has touched and changed. Happy birthday Carl. We love you so much!!!”
the mtv The star shares Carly and daughters Novalee, 8, Vaeda, 4, and Rya, 20 months, with her husband, tyler baltierra. The high school sweethearts tied the knot in 2015.
Fans first met Catelynn and Tyler, 31, when they starred in an episode of 16 and pregnant in 2009. At the time, the teens were expecting Carly and planning to put her up for adoption.
After her firstborn was adopted by Brandon Davis and Theresa Davisviewers watched Catelynn and Tyler navigate their lives and grow their relationship after Carly was placed up for open adoption on Teenage mother.
Over the years, both Catelynn and Tyler have been open about their complex emotions regarding adoption.
“I just remember the initial anxiety and being so scared,” said the mother of four. AND! News in November 2021. “At the time, I didn’t even have a cell phone. I didn’t even have my driver’s license yet. I didn’t have a car. My mom and Tyler’s dad were also kind of bad at addiction during that time period.”
Catelynn went on to note that she’s happy to be able to share her story on such a popular platform. “When our episode first aired on MTV in 2009, it was the first episode that really documented what adoption looks like,” she explained. “I really think it opened a lot of people’s eyes to see how actual adoption works and the struggles that birth parents and adoptive parents go through.”
While Catelynn and Tyler have kept in touch with Carly, Brandon and Teresa, the Michigan natives have discussed struggling with relationship boundaries.
Catelynn also admitted that she hopes Carly will have a strong bond with her younger daughters, even though she knows it can be more difficult than a normal sibling relationship. “It’s part of the sacrifice of adoption,” she told the outlet at the time. “You know, we sacrificed a lot for this girl to have the life that she has.”
