A woman who wanted to start a family had no idea her own mother would be in the room both when she conceived and when she gave birth.
Adele Haywood, 38, found herself in the unusual position when she decided to become a solo-mum-by-choice in 2020, after years of waiting around for Mr Right.
She paid £23,000 in total for IVF treatment and fell pregnant using donor egg and sperm.
And her mum Angela, 63, was there every step of the way, standing by her side as the embryo was transferred.
Nine months later in May 2022, Adele, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, welcomed baby Harriet and once again mum Angela was proudly beside her.
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Adele said: "My mum was with me in the room when they did the embryo transfer, and she turned to me and said: 'Well, not many mothers can say they were in the same room as their daughter when she got knocked up', and we both burst out laughing.
"Now she tells me, you didn't marry a w****r, you just paid for one! She's been so supportive, and I'm so glad she's been there for me.
"Now she's loving being a 'nanan' to Harriet."
Adele, a weddings and babies photographer who runs Blue Lights Photography, had wanted to be married with children by the time she was 30.
But in 2012, aged 28 she found herself single when a long-term relationship came to an end.
She wasted no time in joining the dating scene, and was upfront about her broodiness with anyone who showed an interest.
The following year, Adele was at a funeral when a family member said she ought to think about settling down.
She added: "I told her I was going to use a sperm donor and do it myself. It was an off-the-cuff remark to shut them up. But a few weeks later, I thought 'why not?'."
Over the next few years, Adele had a few romances, but nothing that went the distance.
Then, aged 35 in 2020, she saw an advert for a fertility show and told her mum, who urged: "If you don't try this, you're going to regret it."
Adele said: "I was an only child. My grandma had struggled to have my mum, who had struggled to have me, so she knew the sooner I started treatment, the better my chances were of having a baby."
As a single woman, Adele wasn't eligible for funding on the NHS, so she dipped into her savings and spent £12,000 on two rounds of IVF with Leeds Fertility Clinic.
By July 2020, she'd chosen her sperm donor. Neither of the rounds resulted in a baby but Adele wanted to keep trying.
Her consultant said it could be wise to use an egg donor due to the diminished quality of hers.
She transferred to Manchester Fertility Clinic as there was less of a waiting list and paid £11,000 - thanks to help from her mum and dad Colin, for two rounds of double donor IVF.
Adele said: "The clinic helped me choose the egg donor. I didn't want her to be really tall, as I'm 5ft 6', and I wanted her to have blonde or brown hair with blue eyes. She was a nurse and liked similar things to me. I could see her being one of my friends.
"It was important that my baby look like me, and for them not to stand out.
"For the sperm donor, there was one whose profile really stood out. He was into architecture, geography and true crime - all things I loved.
"What sealed the deal was that he was open to his future child contacting him when they turned 18. And in a letter to them, he'd written: 'A day can change everything and anything is possible. Believe in yourself and always be the better person.'
"He sounded like the male version of me, he was perfect!"
On September 12, 2021, Adele's mum came with her to the clinic for the egg transfer.
She busied herself with work as a photographer for the next two weeks, and resisted the temptation to do an early pregnancy test.
Adele said: "I had an inkling that I might be pregnant, as I felt exhausted and nauseous, but also told myself it could be PMT.
"When the day came, I was awake stupidly early. I peed on two sticks in the toilet, and left them in my bedroom, and went into the kitchen for five minutes.
"I came back into the room to two pink lines on each test. I'm pregnant! I called my mum and told her I wanted to take her to B&M, one of her favourite shops, as a ruse.
"In the car, I handed her a mug that said 'Nana', and told her I was pregnant. We both squealed with excitement, then said: 'So are we going to B&M?' And we both giggled."
Adele did about 30 tests up to her 12-week scan "just to be sure!" and then at her 16-week scan, she found out she was having a girl.
She had also started to document her journey on Instagram under @solomumoverload.
Her pregnancy went well up until 35 weeks, when she started to notice swelling, and her face "looked like a hamster".
She started to panic and drove to Barnsley hospital, where after tests she was diagnosed with preeclampsia and was kept in for two nights.
Adele was sent home but told to go back every two days for checks.
On the first day she went back, they kept her in, starting her induction at 35 weeks and five days on May 1 - even though she wasn't due until the end of the month. Adele had to have steroids for her baby's lungs just in case they weren't strong enough as she was coming early.
But the induction didn't work, so on May 4, 2022, she was wheeled down to theatre for a cesarean section.
Adele said: "I managed to remain calm, telling myself I was in the best place, with people who would look after my baby. Mum was there, but she had to wait outside.
"However, the anaesthetist couldn't get the spinal block in, so the operation was performed under general anaesthetic.
"I came round to see my tiny daughter lying in a cot next to my bed - I felt like I'd gone to sleep and had a baby!"
Adele's mum was there when she came round, and she got to hold Harriet who was born weighing 5lbs 4oz.
"My mum said 'Well, we got to see her going in, but we didn't see her coming out', which was true!" Adele said.
Adele brought Harriet home two nights later and her mum stayed with her to make sure everything was OK.
Adele said: "I adored being in the baby bubble, and motherhood was everything I'd dreamed - although juggling a baby with work is hard!
"'Nanan' and grandad love spending time with Harriet, and take her on days out - I don't think I could have done any of this without their support.
"We're open about how she came into the world, and I'll tell her everything as she's growing up - and I'll happily support her if she wants to find her genetic parents too.
"Mum and I took Harriet out shopping, and an older lady remarked on whether she looked like her dad.
"'She doesn't have one!' I blurted out, as my mum burst out laughing. 'Well, it's true!'
"There are times when I think life would be easier to bring up a baby with someone else.
"Then one of my friends will tell me how she wants to kill her husband because he's not doing anything around the house.
"This was the right way for us."
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