The couple also shared the first pics of their newborn!
Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson have welcomed their first child!
Nickson announced the happy news on Graf's podcast, Now What?!, earlier this week, excitedly sharing that their daughter, Maverick Nickson, entered the world on St. Patrick's Day. Nickson has a 7-year-old daughter, Paisley, from a previous relationship.
Maverick's entrance to the world wasn't completely smooth sailing, in fact, Graf had to have an emergency cesarean section after suffering from extremely high blood pressure.
The couple was having fun with Nickson's family on St. Patrick's Day when Graf started "not feeling too well" and lacked energy, was sluggish, lethargic and "didn't want to do anything." While tiredness is certainly common in the final months of pregnancy -- Graf's due date was April 11 -- Nickson was concerned because she "just felt off" and was "extremely swollen."
Nickson and Graf decided to take her blood pressure with an at home test and "her blood pressure read at a level that just, it didn't seem possible."
After confirming the machine worked by testing his own blood pressure, the Big Brother alums went to a grocery store to test Graf once more, and discovered that her reading was "off the chart abnormal" at 135/118.
"Once it starts getting that high or even higher, there's the possibility of stroke, seizure, whatever," Nickson explained. "It's really bad, especially in that situation. If Jessica were to experience anything like that, especially with the baby, blood flow, just wouldn't be conducive for the baby or her."
On the advice of her doctor, the couple went to the hospital, where Graf's blood pressure got up to 200/100 and her vision started blurring, head started pounding and stomach began hurting "really bad."
"They went full-on into, like, rushing her into the emergency room," Nickson said of the hospital staff. "... [The] doctor comes in and says, 'You're having an emergency C-section and this baby's coming in, like, 15 minutes.'"
Just minutes after the scary situation, the couple welcomed their "little bundle of joy."
"We had our baby! We had a baby girl, and fortunately, the surgery went great," Nickson said, before revealing that Graf is "doing pretty well" in her recovery. "They just have her on a few meds, they're trying to get her blood pressure down still," he said. "But for the most part, she's doing really good."
"So yeah, on March 17, St. Patrick's Day, 18.5 inches, 6 pounds, 7 ounces, Maverick Nickson was born," Graf proudly said. "And we couldn't be happier, and thank you for all the thoughts and prayers out there. We've received so much support, and we couldn't be any happier."
"We already can't wait until the next one comes... Jessica said she can wait," he quipped. "But yeah, Maverick Nickson."
On Wednesday, the couple took to Instagram to share the first photos of little Maverick, with Graf sharing that Nickson recorded their podcast announcement from her hospital bed.
Nickson shared a shot kissing Graf's head as she holds their daughter, while Maverick's own Instagram account shared a black-and-white photo of the newborn, declaring, "Hi world!"
When ET caught up with the couple back in January, Graf said she was "so excited" to become a mom.
“I'm excited to meet her, I'm excited to see what she looks like, and her personality and if she's got [Cody’s] eyes and my lips, or whatever it is," she said at the time. "I'm just excited to hold her.”
“And then after this one, I’m ready for the next one, and the next one, and the one after that!” Nickson exclaimed, admitting he initially wanted 10 kids, but Jessica talked him down to four.
“I just hope that I encourage her to be outspoken and take charge and [to be] a leader,” Graf added. “Those are the qualities I want her to be, happy and smart and [to] formulate her own opinions as opposed to following the masses.”
“She’s gonna be a strong woman,” Nickson promised.
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