NBC's Kristen Welker Welcomes First Baby, Daughter Margot Lane, via Surrogate: 'Love of Our Lives'

Kristen Welker is officially a mom!

On Saturday, June 12, the Weekend Today co-host and chief White House correspondent for NBC News, 44, welcomed her first child via surrogate, a daughter named Margot Lane Welker Hughes, with husband John Hughes.

Welker shared the news via the Today show on Monday, revealing that her newborn arrived at 2:12 a.m., weighing 8 lbs., 6 oz.

Welker, who struggled for years with infertility, told Today that her daughter's first name was chosen in honor or her grandmother, Margaret, who was a big influence in her life, while Lane is a family name on Hughes' side.

"[We and our surrogate] stayed in rooms next to each other and visited throughout so that we and little Margot could thank her for bringing Margot into the world," Welker recalled. "Also, Margot is truly the love of our lives. Seeing her precious face and looking into her eyes had made every minute of our journey worth it."

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Courtesy Kristen Welker

Courtesy Kristen Welker

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Welker first announced during Infertility Awareness Week in April that she and her husband of four years were expecting their first child together.

Detailing to Today that she and her husband "immediately started to try to have a baby" after they married in March 2017, Welker said, "It didn't work immediately. So we thought, 'Let's just go to a doctor as a precaution.' "

After her fertility specialist said she should try to conceive through IVF - or in vitro fertilization - Welker said that she then learned that the lining of her uterus was too thin to carry a child.

"And I thought, 'Okay, well, let's fix it. There has to be something that we can do to fix this,' " she said.

But after an array of various tests and appointments over the timespan of two years, Welker then accepted that she would not be able to carry a child on her own. "And it was probably the lowest moment and realization that I've ever had," she said.

Welker and Hughes refused to settle and give up on their hopes to become parents and the pair decided to expand their family through surrogacy.

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"Being matched with a surrogate is one of the most extraordinary experiences I have ever had," Welker said as Hughes echoed her sentiments, noting, "Our surrogate has been amazing."

"I can't explain just how wonderful she's been," Hughes added. "For her this was about giving something to us that she felt a deep connection to."

Welker also penned a sweet letter to her unborn daughter, in which she opened up about her and her husband's journey to parenthood.

Writing that she "cannot wait until the moment I hold you for the very first time - it is all I have dreamed about for years," Welker wrote that her daughter's journey "is one that your daddy and I will always be proud of and celebrate. It is a reminder of how much we cherish you."

"Our special helper and hero is a young mom who says being a helper is her purpose," Welker continued in her touching piece. " ... The moment that we found out was the happiest of our lives."

She concluded, "My sweet baby girl, your daddy and I haven't met you yet, but we have loved you forever."