An aunt is mum to her own niece’s baby…after volunteering to be her surrogate.
Loving aunt Bethan Williams stepped in when niece Shelley Badea, 33, was desperate to become a mum but could not carry her own child.
And Bethan, 38, helped make her dreams of a baby come true – by giving birth to her own great-niece.
Mum-of-two Bethan has now given birth to little Joanie Alina Badea after seven years of IVF treatment.
Proud grandmother Lynne Casey, of Caernarfon, North Wales, has now thanked her sister Bethan for her “selfless” act.
She said: “I can’t thank my sister enough for what she has done.
“It’s hard to put it into words but we are just overjoyed. There’s not enough words to thank her really.”
Shelley dreamed of being a mum but could not carry a child after battling kidney disease.
Shelley and husband Mario welcomed their daughter on February 13 – but Shelley will not be legally recognised as Joanie’s mother until she is six weeks old.
Lynne said: “They used Shelley’s egg and Mario’s sample so it’s their baby but Bethan carried it for them.
“It has been so heartbreaking because they’ve been doing IVF for seven years and we started to think it wasn’t going to work.
“But then on the last go it worked, it was their last chance.”
Lynne says the auntie and niece duo are more like sister and their close bond help them – including when Bethan struggled with severe morning sickness.
Lynne added: “I’ve told her I’m proud of her but I want her to know how much this means to all of us.
“Our mother died four years ago, so sadly won’t get to meet Joanie
“I would like Bethan to know that she is a very special person and sister, auntie, the smile that she has put on all of our faces.
“She’s just given us all a happy ending and I can’t thank her enough.”