Jenna Bush Hager is a mom of three!
The Today show co-anchor, 37, and husband Henry Hager welcomed their third child and first son, Henry Harold “Hal” Hager, on Friday morning, August 2, at 9:02 a.m. Baby Hal arrived weighing 7 lbs. 5 oz. and measured 19.29 inches.
“We are overcome with joy to welcome Henry Harold ‘Hal’ Hager into this world!” the new mom tells PEOPLE.
“He is named Henry after many on his father’s side including his dear dad and his paternal grandfather. Harold comes from my maternal grandfather, Pa, who I loved dearly and was unable to keep a son long enough to name,” she says.
The newest addition to the Hager household joins big sisters Poppy Louise, who turns 4 on Aug. 13, and Margaret “Mila” Laura, 6.
“His sisters are thrilled to have a little brother and already nicknamed his nickname, exclaiming ‘welcome to the world Hal Pal!’ ” Bush Hager adds.
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Bush Hager revealed her surprise pregnancy news on-air in April, nearly a week after co-host Hoda Kotb announced she had adopted a second daughter, Hope Catherine.
“Yes, I’m pregnant!” the former first daughter revealed — leaving her Today costar Craig Melvin gasping. “I’m very pregnant. I don’t know how you missed this! I’ve needed seven or eight sports bras.”
Later that same day, Bush Hager shared that she and her husband of 11 years would be welcoming a baby boy to their household, explaining that the Easter Bunny had “told” their girls the news the previous day.
Her pregnancy came more than three years after Hollywood Medium star Tyler Henry predicted Bush Hager would one day have a son — to which she emotionally replied that she planned to name him after her late grandfather Harold Welch.
It has been a banner year for Bush Hager, who was named as Kotb’s new co-host for Today‘s fourth hour in February, taking over after the departure of Kathie Lee Gifford in April.
And while the timing of her pregnancy wasn’t “ideal” given the new gig, Bush Hager told PEOPLE in May that “There was no hesitation when I told anybody at work. It is a beautiful journey for you and your family. And I know they feel the same way for Hoda.”
She opened up in that same interview about the guilt she felt in getting pregnant again knowing her pal Kotb, 54, wanted a sibling for her 2-year-old daughter Haley Joy — an emotion she also felt the day she announced her happy news on-air, as it was the same day her co-star Dylan Dreyer (who was pregnant but didn’t know it at the time!) revealed her own struggle with miscarriage secondary infertility.
“Even if you knew I was doing this story today, I would never ever want to have that be the reason why you didn’t announce this today. This is so amazing! My sadness does not take away from your joy,” Dreyer, 38, told her.
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Kotb stepped out during her own maternity leave on July 30 to attend Bush Hager’s baby shower, where the friends and colleagues posed together for a number of snapshots together.
“Saw my girl @jennabhager today… celebrating her baby #3!” Kotb captioned the post. “Loved seeing her face … can’t wait to be reunited again on tv too! Swipe for some fun pix xoxo ❤️❤️ .”
Bush Hager responded to the Instagram post writing, “Love you. Love you. Love you!! 💕💕”
The following day, Bush Hager shared a sweet note Kotb gave her at the shower on air, getting emotional as she read it for the first time aloud: “Jenna, you represent everything I love. Your friends are lucky, your children luckier. Three good people in the world thanks to you and Hank. Maybe they will change the world.”
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More than three months after revealing her pregnancy, Bush Hager announced Aug. 2 on her show that she would be going on maternity leave.
“Today is my last day!” she said. “I want to thank all of you guys for the last four months. I can’t believe it’s been four months, but to share this joy with all of you, with you Willie [Geist], with everybody that’s filled in … all of you that have cheered us on as a show and cheered me on personally, it means the world. I feel so grateful to work in a place with people that lift me up every day.”
“To be able to do it with Hoda, to have this special moment together, to create this baby, our show, and then these babies, has been a really beautiful moment in our lives,” she continued. “We appreciate all of you who have supported us through it all.”
“I just feel overcome with gratitude that we get to expand our family. I’m obviously a little hormonal,” Bush Hager joked with a laugh, tearing up. “But it’s a beautiful time in my life, it’s a beautiful time in Hoda’s life.”
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