ESPN personality Pat McAfee and his wife Samantha welcomed their son, Midas Robert, after she underwent an emergency C-section on Friday night, he explained in a joint Instagram post.
McAfee said their son was a “dawg and a fighter” as he spent roughly 36 hours in the NICU — and Samantha “was recovering like a badass.”
Midas has since been released from the NICU.
“Please help @MrsMcAfeeShow, Mackenzie, and I welcome Midas Robert McAfee to our family.. Due to Samantha having a high risk pregnancy and severe preeclampsia, the decision was made to have an emergency C-Section on Friday night,” McAfee wrote, including photos of the couple and the newborn.
“Baby boy officially entered the world on May 22nd at 10:42PM as a 6lb 6oz screaming young legend… 10 Toes, 10 Fingers, full head of hair.”
The former NFL punter explained that Midas is doing much better after he was sent to the NICU “to develop his lungs a little bit more” since being born at 36 weeks.
“Literally in his first moments of life, Midas was working… He was able to get his O2 Levels high enough to be able to come hang with us in our room and because of that we got to do all of the immediate magical newborn moments.. Skin to skin, 10,000 kisses, tons of love, all of that.. inevitably, since he came into the world at 36 Weeks (40 is full term), he had to develop his lungs a little bit more, get some fluid out of him, and adjust a bit to life outside of Sam’s stomach.. So, he was sent to the NICU to help the transition from the womb to the world,” McAfee continued.
“As mom was recovering like a badass from the mind boggling C-Section surgery, little dude was DAHN the hall.. They put a CPAP on our guy, a feeding tube, and put him in a heated pod with a heating lamp to help him develop a bit more. There wasn’t much I could do other than bring positive vibes as I bounced back and forth between the 2.”
McAfee also shared the heartfelt meaning behind their son’s name.
“The name ‘Midas’ has been the name I’d hoped to name my baby boy, if I was to ever have kids, since my Freshman year of high school when Mrs Nonnenberg (RIP Legend) taught me about Greek Mythology,” McAfee wrote. “Like most, when you come from not a lot, the thought of everything you touch becoming gold was certainly an immediate draw for me but in this world that we live in, gold can only come from working your ass off, getting lucky, and having great folks around you.
“The name is perfect for the boy that Sam and I would like to raise. He will be an asset to society, he will treat folks right, and he will work his ass off to help his community achieve their own form of ‘gold.’
“‘Robert’ is a tribute to Samantha’s dad and best friend.. A man that we lost way too soon a couple of years back and will now live on forever thru Mighty Midas. Midas will know his grandfather thru our stories and pictures.. and we know Bob will be looking out for Midas for all of time.
McAfee said he and Samantha can’t wait for their three-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, to meet her brother this week.
The pair announced Samantha’s pregnancy in November after an IVF journey.
They tied the knot in August 2020.
