Teen Mom OG star Catelynn Baltierra opened up about the joys and struggles of placing her firstborn daughter Carly for adoption.
Catelynn was just 17 years old when she and her now-husband Tyler Baltierra discovered she was pregnant.
After coming to the conclusion that they wouldn’t be able to provide a good enough life for Carly, they decided to place her for adoption just days after her birth in 2009.
Teen Mom OG star Catelynn Baltierra talks pregnancy with Carly, adoption
Now, Catelynn has divulged details about the range of emotions she felt during her pregnancy and after Carly’s adoption.
Catelynn talked to E! News about the moment she found out she and Tyler were expecting their first child at just 17 years old.
“I just remember the initial anxiety and being very scared,” Catelynn said. “The [fear] is me thinking that I don’t have anything. At that 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.”
Catelynn also talked about her mom, April, and Tyler’s dad, Butch, who both were addicts at the time.
“My mom and Tyler’s dad were kind of bad in addiction during that period of time also,” Catelynn revealed.
Catelynn explained her first thoughts, “The initial thing was just [I felt] very scared and [had] anxiety. Lots of fear of, ‘what am I going to do?'”
Catelynn and Tyler’s story was a unique one on Teen Mom’s 16 + Pregnant, and in general. The topic of teen pregnancy was heavy enough, but adding adoption on top of that was a lot to swallow, both for the couple and viewers.
Catelynn and Tyler Baliterra’s adoption story raised awareness about struggles
“When our episode first aired on MTV in 2009, it was the very first episode that really documented what adoption looks like,” Catelynn explained.
“I really do think that it opened the eyes for lots of people to really see how real adoption works and the struggles that birth parents go through and adoptive parents go through,” added the 29-year-old mom of four.
And Catelynn reminded people that her and Tyler’s experience wasn’t scripted; it was real. “It’s not a Lifetime movie. It’s authentic,” Catelynn stated.
These days, Carly is a preteen living with her adoptive parents, Brandon and Teresa Davis. Before Carly was born, the families agreed to an open adoption, meaning Catelynn and Tyler would be able to visit with Carly.
As of now, Catelynn said she and Tyler get to visit with Carly usually every two to three years, for two to three days.
Catelynn, who looked amazing at the filming of the Teen Mom OG reunion, explained how she and Tyler keep in touch with Carly, Brandon, and Teresa.
“We text back and forth. We send pictures, I send pictures of my girls [Nova, Vaeda, and Rya Rose] to them and they send pictures of Carly to us and updates on what they are doing and vice versa.”
Catelynn said she last saw Carly during the summer of 2020 and although their visits haven’t yet been filmed, (at the request of the Davis’s) Catelynn recounted their last meet-up.
“The last visit we had last summer, Carly just wanted to be with her sisters all the time and play with them. I’ve gotten to the point now where I tell everybody I don’t care about anybody else,” Catelynn said.
Last month, Catelynn teased that the visit would be aired on an episode of Teen Mom OG this season.
She added, “I don’t even care about myself anymore. As long as our girls can have a relationship and a bond for a lifetime, that’s all that matters to me.”
Teen Mom OG airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on MTV.