Former pro soccer player Carli Lloyd and her husband, Brian Hollins, have welcomed their first child, a baby girl.
“Harper Anne Hollins October 18, 2024,” Lloyd, 42, captioned photos of her adorable newborn via Instagram on Wednesday, October 23.”So very grateful for this amazing blessing in our lives. By far the hardest thing I have ever endured but the best thing I’ve ever done!”
Lloyd — who went on to thank the “amazing team” who helped deliver her daughter — continued: “We just can’t get enough of this little peanut. We love love you so much and will do our best to give you the tools necessary in life to be a good human being!”
Lloyd’s Instagram slideshow featured snaps of baby Harper sporting a “Hello World” onesie, as well as hospital pics of herself and Hollins, 40, enjoying their first moments as parents.
The former United States women’s national soccer team player announced her pregnancy via Instagram in May. “Baby Hollins coming in October 2024!” Lloyd wrote at the time. “It has been a rollercoaster of a journey to get to this point. We are beyond excited to be parents! I couldn’t have gotten through this without my amazing husband, Brian. He truly kept me going.”
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Lloyd added that the couple, who tied the knot in November 2016, were “so grateful” for the “support” from their family and friends. She also shared that her doctor’s office “will always hold a special place” in their hearts.
“My story is currently a happy one, but I know there are other women who are facing challenges in their pregnancy journey,” she continued. “I see you and I understand your pain. My hope is that more women will speak up about this topic because their stories helped me.”
Lloyd shared her “wish for more resources, funding and education around fertility treatments,” concluding, “There is much to be done, and I hope I can play a role in helping!”
At the time, Lloyd elaborated on her fertility journey in a Women’s Health article. “I was very naïve to think that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant,” she explained. “And so it began. The casual whatever happens, happens turned into disappointment month after month. I was starting to feel like this was a race against the clock — my 40-year-old biological clock.”
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Lloyd confessed that she initially felt “ashamed” and “embarrassed” to undergo in vitro fertilization after struggling to conceive.
“But as time went on, I realized that we’re all human and many women are going through similar struggles,” she noted. “There’s a stigma that comes with needing help or needing to go through fertility treatments.”
After two rounds of IVF, Lloyd approached her third time with a “totally different” mindset. Once she learned she was pregnant, she and Hollins felt “for the first time, in a long time” at “peace.”
Lloyd acknowledged that it was “not an easy journey,” but she realized “that’s true of most things in life that are worthwhile.”
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“I have been told that nothing I have accomplished or faced in my soccer life will ever be as great as being a mom,” she concluded. “I know this will change me forever, and I am so excited for the journey.”
Lloyd previously won gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and was a FIFA Women’s World Cup champion in 2015 and 2019. She announced her retirement from the national team after the 2020 Olympics, playing her last international match with the USWNT in October 2021 and her final professional soccer game with the NJ/NY Gotham FC team in November 2021.
