MacKenzie Porter and her husband, singer-songwriter Jake Etheridge, are officially parents. The couple welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Bowen, on Thursday (March 14).
People confirms the news, reporting that Bowen (Bowie) James Porter Etheridge was born at 7:21AM on March 14, weighing 7 lbs. and measuring 17.5 in. long. The magazine also shared the first photos of baby Bowie, who sported dark hair, a white bow and a green-and-white patterned outfit for the photo shoot.
“Our daughter took her first breath and she is now forever the reason we breathe,” the couple says in a statement. “Life just got so much sweeter, snugglier and and sleepier all in a matter of minutes. Mommy and Daddy love you so so so much little Bowie girl.”
Bowie is Porter and Etheridge’s first child. The couple explained that the first few days of her life were filled with “endless cuddles, 800 Google searches of ‘is ____ normal for a newborn,’ a few tears of stress but many more tears of joy.
“There is an endless loop of monitor footage of us checking to make sure she’s still breathing, or just standing over her bassinet to stare at her perfect little squishy face,” they continue. “My body is healing and my heart is now whole. We had imagined this kind of love but what we dreamt could never even touch the real thing.”
Porter first announced her pregnancy last November, posting a series of maternity shots on social media. Leading up to her delivery date, the singer shared with followers that she planned to deliver via C-section, since her baby was in a breech position during the final weeks of her pregnancy.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, in a breech pregnancy, the baby is positioned head up inside the uterus instead of head down. Most babies assume a “head down” position, which is considered the safest for delivery, by the 36th week of pregnancy; those who are breech are often born via C-section.
During her pregnancy, Porter explained to Taste of Country that she plans to take “about a full month” to rest, stay home and focus on acclimating to life as a family of three.
Her new album, Nobody’s Born With a Broken Heart, is due to arrive on Apr. 26, and she’s planning to resume touring — her new family in tow — this summer.
“We’ll probably all jump on a bus — me and her and my husband and my mom or somebody — and we’ll go. Yeah, [we’ll have] a little bus baby,” she says. “And then I’ll do, like, 10-15 shows this summer, and really pick up in the fall.”
