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Jamie Otis, who appeared on the first season of Married at First Sight, has given birth to a healthy baby boy three weeks after a distressing test for COVID-19.
Jamie, and her MAFS husband, Doug, announced the news on Instagram with emotional photos from the birth — which they decided to have at home due to the coronavirus pandemic — alongside equally emotional captions.
"He's HERE!" Jamie wrote to her 600,000 followers. "I want to thank YOU from the bottom of my heart for all the prayers, positive vibes, and sticky baby dust you sent me throughout my pregnancy."
"All of your love and support hasn’t gone unnoticed," she continued. "And all that positive energy sprinkled out into the universe WORKED! He's snuggling on my chest perfectly calm and content as I write this caption to you!"
In the comments of Jamie's post, Doug left a message revealing that their son — whom they've named Hayes — weighed a whopping 9 pounds, 4 ounces.
And Doug went on to praise Jamie for being "brave" and "determined" throughout the birth of their son in the caption of his own post.
"So proud of @jamienotis for how unbelievably brave, amazing, determined, and loving she was today!" he wrote. "It was an intense but somewhat magical day of bringing Hayes Douglas Hehner into the world, less than 6 ft from our bed."
Doug added that while the prospect of a home birth was initially daunting, the experience had ended up being "one of the most memorable and happiest days" of his life.
Jamie went on to tell People that the couple and their daughter, Henley Grace, were all thrilled with the new addition to their family.
The safe arrival of Hayes is especially meaningful for Jamie and Doug after the death of their first son, Jonathan, at 17 weeks, and the two miscarriages they've endured since.
And after dealing with multiple losses, the final stages of this pregnancy were also marred by the coronavirus pandemic.
Not only did Jamie have to make the tough decision to change her birth plan to avoid hospital at the last minute, but she also underwent an extremely emotional test for COVID-19 right before her due date.
Minutes after being tested, Jamie broke down in tears on Instagram as she told followers about her anxiety over giving birth at home in the midst of a pandemic.
"I feel really, really ridiculous," Jamie said as she sobbed in the car after having the test. "I'm crying all the time these days. I'm genuinely just so nervous."
"I don't know how to reset my brain so I can just chill the F out," she went on. "This is not how I want to behave or how I want to feel going into delivering my baby. Gosh, this is a nightmare."
