Tara Lipinski welcomes a baby girl after 5 years of infertility struggles

Tara Lipinksi is a mom! The Olympic figure skater sat down with Today and shared the news.

Lipinski and her husband, Todd Kapostasy, welcomed their baby girl, named Georgie Winter, via a surrogate. “I have really incredible news to share!” Lipinski, 41, tells Today. “Todd and I have a baby girl, Georgie Winter, that arrived into our arms by the most beautiful surrogate.”

Lipinski was in the delivery room when her daughter was born. “My doctor had me playing my favorite song and I’m bawling because I think there was just so much relief of, ‘Is this five-year journey over?'” she says.

“And then immediately, the baby is out, screaming, and on my chest and we’re doing skin-to-skin and it was one of those moments like, ‘How did my life just change so quickly and is this a dream? Because it feels like it.'”

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Lipinski has been very open about her infertility struggles in the past. She and her husband host a podcast called, “Tara Lipinski: Unexpecting,” where they discuss their battles with infertility. Their journey has taken them through IVF, four miscarriages and a diagnosis of endometriosis.

She says they didn’t plan for surrogacy initially because she wanted to “experience pregnancy.”

“The five years were just so grueling and to be quite honest, in the beginning, surrogacy wasn’t something that I wanted,” Lipinski says. “We hit obstacle after obstacle. At a certain point, the fourth miscarriage was really traumatizing. And I think I finally gave in to the idea of surrogacy.”

Now, she calls her surrogate “family” and says, “I feel so much gratitude—it just didn’t happen for so long—and we’re just very, very lucky that this happened for us.”

The Olympic skater also mentioned that she hasn’t forgotten about all of the people still dealing with infertility. “I deal with this feeling of, a little guilt for all the people still in that wait, still hearing this news and thinking what I thought for those five years of, ‘When is it going to be my time?’ (and) ‘Why me?'” she says.

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As for her daughter, she has a special message for her: “”I just want her to know that she was so wanted. That Todd and I thought about her for five years and that we can’t wait to hopefully be the best parents to her and give her a beautiful life.”

Georgie Winter Lipinski Kapostasy, or “Gigi” as they’re already calling her, also has a pair of ice skates waiting for her.

“I already have a gift of little knit ice skates which are the cutest thing ever,” Lipinski says. “We’ll go skating whenever she wants. There’s no pressure but I feel like at some point, I have to take her out there and show her what Mommy did for a very long time.”

Congrats to the new parents!