For those who identify as lesbians and aspire to start a family, the road can be filled with unique challenges and complexities.
However, two influencers have just proved that with love, you can overcome everything.
Norwegian TikTokers Julie and Camilla Lorentzen just welcomed their first child after documenting their difficult IVF journey
Highlights
- Norwegian TikTokers Julie and Camilla Lorentzen welcomed their first child after a difficult IVF journey.
- Julie and Camilla have a combined TikTok following of 6.6 million, documenting their relationship and pregnancy journey.
- Julie carried the baby, using Camilla's fertilized egg, and they underwent an IVF process involving both women.
- The couple shared their previous miscarriage experience and now celebrate their 'rainbow baby' arrival.
Image credits: julievlorentzen
Julie Lorentzen, 27, and Camilla Lorentzen, 34, have just welcomed their baby son after documenting their difficult pregnancy journey on their TikTok page, followed by 5.1 million people.
On Wednesday (November 1), Julie, who carried the infant, took to her Instagram account to share heartfelt photos of her natural water birth alongside her wife, Camilla, who also owns an individual fitness TikTok account followed by 1.5 million people.
Image credits: julievlorentzen
“Never felt a love like this,” Julie wrote.
She continued: “I cannot believe how lucky we are to be able to call ourselves your mummies. Birth story coming later this week, but everything went amazingly and it was the most empowering experience ever, our little boy.”
According to WebMD, a water birth means at least part of your labor, delivery, or both happens while you’re in a birth pool filled with warm water. It can take place in a hospital, a birthing center, or at home, and a doctor, nurse-midwife, or midwife helps you through it.
Julie and Camilla first married in May 2022 in Norway, before sharing their ceremony two months later in Thailand
Image credits: julievlorentzen
Julie and Camilla have been open about their relationship and life for at least two years, amassing millions of views on TikTok. When it comes to their pregnancy, the wedded couple revealed that they had used Camilla’s fertilized egg to be implanted in Julie.
The TikTokers underwent an IVF process, which consists of an egg being fertilized by injecting a single sperm into the egg or mixing the egg with sperm in a petri dish, the Mayo Clinic explains.
The fertilized egg, called an embryo, is then transferred into the uterus.
The wives have documented their IVF journey, which involved both Camilla and Julie individually trying for egg fertilization
Image credits: julievlorentzen
The couple had previously shared the sad news of Julie’s miscarriage last year, after seven weeks of pregnancy.
“We went to our ultrasound today, and unfortunately our embryo has stopped developing, and we will be going through a miscarriage,” the couple shared in a devastating TikTok on January 3.
In a separate TikTok, Julie opened up about their plans following the heartbreaking news: “It’s been three days since our miscarriage and we just got off the phone with the clinic and we’ve made a plan for what’s gonna happen going forward.
“Since we only have one embryo left and it isn’t of the quality we would’ve liked it to be, Camilla is going to go through another egg retrieval, and the clinic has decided to change her meds so that hopefully the embryos we get after the next retrieval will be of higher quality.”
Just under three months later, the moms gave a bittersweet update that they were expecting a “rainbow baby”.
Healthline stated that a rainbow baby is a name coined for a healthy baby born after losing a baby due to miscarriage, infant loss, stillbirth, or neonatal death.
In January, the couple shared the tragic news that Julie had miscarried
“We can’t wait to meet you”, Julie and Camilla wrote, along with the following caption: “Say hi to our lil fry”.
A 2002 study published in Fertility and Sterility showed that patients who experienced an early pregnancy loss had a greater chance of success during their next IVF cycle than patients who did not get a positive pregnancy test.
The new mothers have said they will keep their son’s name and face hidden for “privacy reasons”.
Following the miscarriage, Julie revealed that the couple was expecting a "rainbow baby"
Image credits: julievlorentzen
Image credits: julievlorentzen
The influencers first married in May 2022 in the Norwegian municipality of Tønsberg, before sharing their adventurous ceremony two months later in Thailand, surrounded by friends and family.
One of their wedding TikTok videos, showing the two women walking down the aisle on a dreamy Thai beach in a black and white dress respectively, amassed 25.6 million views.
Image credits: julievlorentzen
Julie and Camilla have both shared their distinctive IVF journeys, with the lovebirds initially revealing that Camilla had gone through the procedure of collecting eggs that had been fertilized with the intent of becoming “embabies”.
The couple had initially intended for Camilla to become pregnant with Julie’s eggs, but in August 2022, they revealed they had “switched” their plan and that Camilla wouldn’t be “pregnant anymore” as a result of her age and the decline in the quality of her eggs, in comparison to Julie’s younger age.
Subsequently, the now-mothers-of-one decided that Julie would first become pregnant with Camilla’s eggs, before potentially welcoming a sibling with Julie’s younger eggs that Camilla would carry in her own body.
Julie and Camilla posted on Wednesday (November 1) pictures of their at-home water birth
Image credits: julievlorentzen
Image credits: julievlorentzen
Julie was awarded the Year’s Best Influencer title at the 2022 Norwegian Vixen Awards, which is an awards ceremony honoring the most talented and popular bloggers and influencers of the Scandinavian country.
As a result of struggling with anxiety, Julie had shared that she didn’t partake in the awards ceremony, and let her wife step in instead.
Upon picking up her partner’s trophy, Camilla said: "Look at my wife, she’s very talented. Since I’m the one standing here, I think that I’m actually allowed to do something I never get to do at home, and that’s to brag about my wife."
Fans were ecstatic at the news and showered the couple with congratulating messages
