‘Big Brother’ Alum Christmas Abbott Welcomes Son Loyal Atticus

The Big Brother family just grew by one more! Season 19 alum Christmas Abbott welcomed her first child, son Loyal Atticus Abbott on Monday, she confirmed to Entertainment Tonight.

The little boy was born just before 11:30 p.m. in South Carolina, weighing in at 8 lbs., 15 oz. and measuring 22.5 inches long.

Monday, the CBS personality shared a photo of herself cradling her nude pregnant baby bump with an update on her labor.

“I’ve just arrived to the hospital to deliver my sweet son. I don’t know exactly what’s in store but I know I am overwhelmed with love and excitement to finally meet him!” she captioned the photo. “This journey has been unlike anything I have ever experienced and completely unlike anything I expected. It’s been hard, really really hard, challenging, painful, chaotic at times, and overwhelming but for all the uphill battles I have fought since the beginning there’s one thing that is for certain, it is is all worth it.”

Heading into the end of her first pregnancy, Abbott was grateful for the experience, despite the pain and discomfort that comes with becoming a mom. “Regardless how hard times have been, this has absolutely been the best times of my life to date and wouldn’t trade any of the one hard days,” she said. “I’m grateful for this blessing and humbled by this experience.”

She concluded: “Thank you ALL for your love and support!!! I hope to keep you updated when possible but I plan to have some private time with my son after delivery.”

To ET, the bodybuilder explained her son’s unusual name came from her hopes for his future. “My family has a history of strong and unique names so I wanted to follow suit. I chose his first name Loyal because I believe it will guide him to have strong integrity through his life,” she said. “It’s a reminder that family comes first, which is why it is his first name.”

“I chose his second name Atticus from the Greek educator and philosopher to embrace balance and fairness through understanding,” she added. “Neither is a family name, but I hope he will embrace his name as his own and follow the greatness he can bring to this world through love, understanding and fair action.”

It could have been something totally different up until the last moment, however.

“I had a short list of names and actually had a different second name picked that I felt VERY confident in it up until the moment he was born. To a point of certainty,” Abbott explained. “However, when I sat with him after the chaos and reflected on our journey together to this point and who he could become in his life, it was switched.”

“The name, which was not my first choice until this moment, stayed stuck on my tongue as I watched him in this new world,” she continued. “My heart sang and I knew he was special and needed a strong, unique name to remind him of what he can contribute to this world.”

Congratulations to the new mom!

Photo Credit: Instagram / Christmas Abbott