Former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) and wife Rachel Campos-Duffy welcomed their ninth child into the world last week. Valentina StellaMaris Duffy was born Oct. 1 and is doing “really good,” Campos-Duffy told Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt in an on-air video call Tuesday morning.
As Faithwire reported, Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) announced in August that he would be leaving his post in Congress to prepare for his daughter’s arrival. Duffy’s decision came after learning his ninth child had a heart condition and would require “even more love, time, and attention due to complications.”
His last day as a U.S. representative was Sept. 23.
In a Facebook post announcing Valentina’s birth, Campos-Duffy shared that their daughter was born with “a heart defect (2 holes in the heart and valves that need to be fixed)” and will need “surgery in 3-4 months.”
“As we suspected, Valentina was also born with an extra chromosome, which means she also has [Down] Syndrome,” she continued. “That extra chromosome certainly made her EXTRA cute. Life is wonderful!”
“She is doing great, though still in the NICU until she learns to eat on her own,” she shared. “I’m home now, trying to recover from my first C-section (hats off to all the c-section moms out there — I had no idea!) and working hard with my breast pump to keep up with her growing appetite.”
Campos-Duffy, 47, added that when her family visits the hospital, “the kids fight over who can hold her.”
“I don’t blame them!” she wrote. “She’s the sweetest, most perfect angel we have ever seen.”
Campos-Duffy announced her pregnancy back in May via an Instagram video showing a sonogram.
“Buckingham Palace isn’t the only one with big baby news … we found out God isn’t done with our family yet,” Campos-Duffy captioned the clip. “Baby #9 coming this fall!”
“Don’t tell us we’re crazy,” she added. “We prefer brave and full of hope for America’s future!”
During a July interview with National Review, Campos-Duffy said she and her husband have “taken each [child] as a blessing sent to me by God.” After sharing that her latest pregnancy “was kind of a surprise,” she went on to describe the “big role” faith plays in their family life, noting that it’s kept her marriage “strong and given us a sense of direction and purpose.”
“I think the family is only as strong as the marital unit,” Campos-Duffy explained. “I think that’s been really good for us in terms of sharing the most important and lasting values.”
“We pray together; we go to Mass together,” she said. “It’s not always perfect by any stretch, but I think we all have a general direction and sense of what’s important in life. And both Sean and I come from families where family is really important.”
In her Facebook post announcing Valentina’s arrival, Campos-Duffy, a Fox News contributor, thanked all who prayed for their daughter over the past several months.
“… your prayers were never felt more than in the crazy hours before her emergency birth,” she wrote, thanking the team of doctors and nurses who cared for her and Valentina throughout her pregnancy.
“They are a reminder that America is still home to the best and most caring medical professionals in the world!” she wrote, noting that her daughter, Paloma, wants to be a NICU nurse after witnessing the care her baby sister has received. “What a noble profession!”