Welcome to the world, Edward Duke Rancic!
Bill and Giuliana Rancic were overjoyed Wednesday evening when their surrogate gave birth to their baby boy in Denver, Colo., and now new mom Giuliana is expressing their appreciation to the millions of fans who supported their journey to become first-time parents.
"THANK YOU for your love & prayers!" Giuliana, 37, happily tweeted Thursday, mere hours after her son was born. "Bill and I are blessed beyond words to welcome Edward into our lives," Giuliana also told E!. "Thank you so much to everyone who supported us along the way. We are so in love with the little guy already!"
Coaching their surrogate in the delivery room through her four-hour labor, Bill cut the baby's umbilical while his wife was the first to hold their son. They have also both fed him and gave him his first bath.
"G and I feel blessed beyond words," Bill, 41, tweeted after Edward Duke's arrival. "We did it!" The Rancics' baby joy comes after a tumultuous few years for the couple, who married in 2007.
Struggling to conceive for the last four years, Bill and Giuliana were forced to abandon their hopes for a baby when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2011. Discovering the cancer as she prepared to undergo another round of IVF, Giuliana opted to have a double mastectomy and is currently cancer-free.
"Technically this baby saved her life because had she not gone through IVF — the doctor made it mandatory that she get a mammogram — they would have never found what they found so we owe this little guy debt of gratitude and I'm sure he'll never let you forget it!" proud papa Bill told Us Weekly in June.