Jenna Bush Hager has given birth to her third child – a baby son named Henry Harold ‘Hal’ Hager after his father and Jenna’s maternal grandfather.
The 37-year-old and her husband Henry welcomed their newborn boy via C-section on August 2, with Jenna taking to social media on Monday morning to share the happy news – before phoning into the Today show in order to celebrate with her co-hosts.
‘Welcome to the world my darling Henry Harold “Hal” Hager!’ she wrote on Instagram while sharing images from the hospital – including several of her parents, former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura, with their new grandson.
Celebration: Jenna Bush Hager gave birth to her third child on August 2, a baby boy named Henry Harold ‘Hal’ Hager after his father
Joy: The 37-year-old shared the happy news on Instagram on Monday morning and shortly after she called into the Today show to celebrate with her colleagues
Family affair: Jenna’s daughters, Mila, six, and Poppy, three, visited their newborn baby brother alongside her parents, George and Laura
‘Hal come into the world Friday, August 2, 2019 at 9:02am and our life has never been sweeter.’
Shortly after sharing the first post, Jenna added another to her account, this time capturing the sweet moment that her daughters, Mila, six, and Poppy, three, met their newborn baby brother, writing alongside the photos: ‘And our world made even sweeter when our girls met their baby brother.’
Having taken the time to celebrate with her family over the weekend, Jenna couldn’t wait to share the joyful news with her Today colleagues, making a teary appearance on the show on Monday morning when she called in to celebrate her newest arrival with them.
‘I have a new baby boy! Henry and I met our little boy on Friday morning, so maternity leave happened at the perfect time’ she told Dylan Dreyer, Sheinelle Jones, Savannah Guthrie, Willie Geist, and Natalie Morales, before revealing the sentimental meaning behind her newborn son’s name.
‘His name is Henry Harold named after my [maternal] grandpa, and Henry, of course, my husband, and we call him Hal’ she explained.
The new mother-of-three admitted that she wasn’t totally sold on her son’s nickname initially however, and actually had to be convinced by her daughters, who came up with an adorable rhyme for it.
‘We weren’t exactly sure about the name, but then his big sisters arrived and they called him Hal Pal, and we thought this is just perfect.’
Gang’s all here! The new mother-of-three’s twin sister Barbara also joined the group, along with her husband Craig Coyne, with Jenna revealing they brought donuts for her to enjoy
Touching: Jenna said that Mila and Poppy actually helped her and Henry to come around to the name Hal after calling their baby brother Hal Pal
Uh oh: ‘My dad was a little mad that the name wasn’t George,’ Jenna joked, before adding that he later said he thinks Hal is a ‘cool name’
Handsome chap: ‘He’s a beautiful little man,’ Jenna said of her newborn baby
However not everyone was thrilled about the name – with Jenna admitting that her father, former President George W. Bush, was a little bit upset that his first grandson wasn’t named after him.
‘My dad was a little mad that the name wasn’t George,’ she confessed. ‘[But] he said it was a cool name!’
That didn’t stop the family from having fun celebrating together however, with Jenna explaining that she had multiple visitors after the birth, while revealing that she had welcomed her third child via a C-section.
‘My whole family came, my sister came the first day with donuts, which I don’t think you’re supposed to eat right after a C-section, but I went for it,’ she shared. ‘Then Mila and Poppy came and picked him [up from] the nursery. And they’re just crazy about him.
‘The girls are just so thrilled they have a little baby brother all their own.’
Speaking about the moment that her daughters met and held their younger sibling for the first time, Jenna said: ‘It was so beautiful. Poppy told him that she loved him, and then asked when we could bring him home. And I think that was the question that everyone wants to know, “When is he coming back to be with us?”
‘They’re crazy about him.’
Jenna, who is known for succumbing to tears on-air in a matter of seconds, got choked up as she spoke about the significance of her newborn son’s birth, describing how it felt to give birth to a baby in the wake of several very negative news stories.
‘I feel good, I feel happy,’ she told her Today colleagues. ‘I think when you’re holed up in a hospital room with a newborn and you see the joy and the light in his eyes, you realize this is what life is for, and to make life better for our little babes.
‘And even though the news outside these walls isn’t so great, you see the joy in their eyes and know that’s what we’re here to do, to make their lives safe. And he’s a beautiful, funny little man.’
Jenna’s Today co-host Willie then joked about the fact that she must have ‘walked from the set to the hospital’ after the two of them appeared on air on Friday’s show – which took place just one hour after Jenna gave birth to her son, prompting the duo to confess that the seemingly-live segment was actually a pre-tape.
Jenna was moved to tears on the Today show on Wednesday when she read aloud for the first time the heartwarming note that Hoda Kotb wrote her at her baby shower.
During the morning show, Jenna opened up about the party her colleagues threw her at Taco Dumbo in New York City the day before.
One of the highlights from the shower was getting to see her beloved co-host Hoda, who has been on maternity leave since she adopted her second child, Hope Catherine, in April.
While fêting their dear friend, the guests all wrote Jenna notes on the back of their individual place settings, and she waited until the next day to read the one Hoda, 54, had penned.
Special delivery! Jenna’s daughters arrived at the hospital and then fetched their baby brother from the nursery together
Party of five! The family kept the news of the little boy’s arrival a secret over the weekend so they could take the time to celebrate in private
Happy as can be: Jenna explained on the Today show that Henry is a traditional name in her husband’s family, while Harold was her maternal grandfather’s name
Bouncing baby boy: The Today anchor phoned into the show on Monday morning to share other details about the birth, including the weight and size of her baby boy
The soon-to-be mother of three knew she was going to get emotional and asked her co-star Willie Geist to wish her luck before she got started.
‘Jenna, you represent everything I love,’ she read aloud, immediately getting choked up by Hoda’s words. ‘Your friends are lucky, your children luckier. Three good people in the world thanks to you and Hank. Maybe they will change the world.’
As soon as she was done, Willie leaned over to give her a hug while calling for their stage assistant Jerry to lower down a box of tissues.
‘I’m going to miss you, Jerry,’ Jenna cried. ‘Jerry where’s my note?’
The expectant mom has had numerous baby showers so far, but she explained on the show that the most recent one was hosted by Meghan Stackhouse, the vice president of public relations at the Today show.
Jenna said many of her ‘work wives’ were in attendance, including host Sheinelle Jones, social media contributor Donna Farizan, and executive producer Libby Leist.
The guest of honor took to Instagram to share photos from the party, including pictures of her with Hoda.
Moved to tears: Jenna Bush Hager, 37, got emotional on the Today show on Wednesday while reading the heartfelt note her co-star Hoda Kotb wrote her at her baby shower the day before
Lots of love: Hoda was just one of Jenna’s many colleagues who attended her shower at Taco Dumbo in New York City on Tuesday
Gifts: They all chipped in and got her UPPAbaby’s $400 ‘Minu’ stroller (left) as well as a cake (right)
‘Tearing up—because I felt so much love from all of these awesome women who lift me up every day, celebrate me, and make me laugh,’ she wrote. ‘Sharing this magical, motherhood moment with this mama @hodakotb is one great gift.
‘And to you all who have encouraged, laughed along, and supported me, my gratitude is endless. Can’t wait to meet this babe and yes, be reunited with my Hoda on @hodaandjenna.’
Hoda also shared snapshots from their reunion, writing: ‘Saw my girl @jennabhager today… celebrating her baby #3! Loved seeing her face.. can’t wait to be reunited again on tv too!’
Jenna revealed on the Today show Wednesday that she is actually crying in one of the photos because she was so happy to see Hoda.
Expectant moms: Daphne Oz (left) and Jenna (right) showed off their growing baby bumps on the Today show on Tuesday, just hours before her baby shower
‘Just to hug somebody that you love so much, who has the joy of motherhood all over her . . . You could feel it, and I’m about to have a baby,’ she explained. ‘She is so happy, and to see somebody you love so happy, there’s really no better feeling.’
The host shared that her colleagues chipped in and got her UPPAbaby’s $400 ‘Minu’ stroller. She also received alphabet cards by LouLou Baker at the bash.
‘I really did leave full of tacos, which is one of my favorite feelings, but also full of such gratitude,’ she said, ‘because I don’t think everybody gets to work at a place and feel as good as I do.’
Jenna admitted that after the stroller was brought into her dressing room the day before, she was practicing with the car seat when the Fab Five of Netflix’s Queer Eye walked by.
‘They were like, ‘What is going on here?”‘ she recalled. ‘I’m like, “Well, I’m just about to give birth.”‘
Daphne Oz, 33, was also a guest on Tuesday’s show, Jenna bonded with her over being heavily pregnant as they are both due to give birth this summer.
Her latest shower was just one of many; she was surprised with a cowboy-themed baby shower that was attended by three of her closest friends on the Today show earlier this month.
The Texan’s pals Molly, Laird, and Betsy all dressed in their best western wear to shower the host in Studio 1A, which was filled with country-western decor, Tex-Mex treats, and southern-inspired desserts.
Jenna, who is just a few weeks away from the arrival of her third child, was stunned when she walked on stage to see her pals on the show and was almost rendered speechless.
‘Wait, what? That’s so . . . I did see . . . Y’all are so cute for being here!’ she gushed.
In June, two of her close friends threw her a surprise shower that was attended by many of her colleagues, including Hoda, Savannah Guthrie, and Carson Daly’s wife Siri.
The guest of honor’s daughters Mila, six, and Poppy, three, stopped by, and she even got a visit from her husband, Henry Hager, who showed up a little too late.
‘He’s like, “Where is everyone?” I’m like, “Well, the party was over 15 minutes ago,”‘ she recalled on the Today show last month.