Teen Mom star Catelynn Baltierra paid tribute to her eldest daughter, Carly, in honor of her 14th birthday.
Catelynn and her husband, Tyler Baltierra, placed Carly – whose real name is Carolyn Elizabeth – for adoption shortly after her birth. The emotional event was filmed for an episode of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant.
Catelynn and Tyler were just 17 years old when they welcomed Carly, who has been raised by her adoptive parents, Brandon and Teresa Davis.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, May 18, Carly’s birthday, Catelynn commemorated her firstborn child.
Catelynn shared a photo of Carly dressed in a dance costume from several years back in the first slide.
In the second slide, Catelynn posted a throwback photo of her and Tyler’s daughter, Novalee (Nova), posing with Carly, and Carly held Nova in the third slide in a sweet sister shot.
Catelynn Baltierra commemorates daughter Carly on her 14th birthday
Catelynn captioned her carousel of photos, “14 years ago this amazing little girl was born! Gosh if she only knew how many people she has touched and changed ❤️ Happy Birthday Carly ?? we love you so much!!!”
Catelynn and Tyler are also parents to three other daughters; in addition to Nova, they share Vaeda and Rya. Carly’s adoption is open, meaning Catelynn and Tyler were promised regular contact, including in-person visits, with their biological daughter throughout her life.
In 2021, Catelynn spoke with E! News about the range of emotions she experienced after finding out she was pregnant with Carly.
Teen Mom star Catelynn says she was ‘anxious’ and ‘scared’ to discover she was pregnant with Carly at 17
“I just remember the initial anxiety and being very scared,” Catelynn shared. “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 and Tyler were the only couple from the Teen Mom franchise to place their child for adoption, making their story unique.
“When our episode first aired on MTV in 2009, it was the very first episode that really documented what adoption looks like,” Catelynn told the outlet.
During her interview, Catelynn revealed that the last time she and Tyler visited with Carly was in 2020. Their visits are not filmed, as requested by Carly’s parents, Brandon and Teresa.
In the Instagram post below from November 2021, Catelynn shared a clip of Tyler getting emotional after saying goodbye to Carly following their last visit.
“Saying see ya later to Carly is never easy.. ??,” Catelynn wrote in the caption.
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