Dylan Dreyer Reveals Emotional 'Family Connection' of Baby Russell James' Name Plus a Sweet Nickname

Today co-host Dylan Dreyer and husband Brian Fichera welcomed their third baby boy on Wednesday morning

Published on September 30, 2021 01:20 PM

Baby time came early for Dylan Dreyer.

The Today co-host and husband Brian Fichera welcomed their third son, baby Russell James, early Wednesday morning, and on Thursday, she gave an update during a virtual appearance with her 3rd Hour of Today co-hosts.

"He's in such good hands up in the NICU, which actually takes a lot of pressure off of me. He's doing wonderful, he's gaining weight, he's breathing on his own, and he's doing awesome," said Dreyer. "He just was in such a rush. I thought he could at least wait until today because today officially is 34 weeks. I guess that's just a huge milestone in baby world."

Joking about her baby arriving six weeks early, Dreyer added, "There are no clothes clean, there's no crib in the house, nothing was planned. It's wild. I can't believe he's here."

The pair also share sons Oliver George, 20 months, and Calvin Bradley, 4½. She explained on 3rd Hour of Today that her new addition's first name is Fichera's dad's name, and his middle name is her own father's name — and they got emotional when they told them about the namesakes.

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"We finally worked in a family connection. Both our dads started crying when we told them," she shared. "It's just been really special. I can't believe I was going to have to wait until November to meet him, and he's here and healthy."

Of the first photos she shared during the broadcast, one listed her baby boy's name as Rusty, debuting the sweet nickname.

Dreyer announced she was pregnant with her third child in May. She previously opened up about her journey to motherhood in a 2019 interview with PEOPLE, when she was pregnant with Oliver.

Dreyer, who suffered a miscarriage before welcoming Oliver, opened up about preparing to use in vitro fertilization after struggling with infertility, only to find that she was already pregnant and would not need to begin the IVF process.

"I was just waiting for the phone call from Dr. Reichman, to tell me how much of each drug to use," she said at the time. "Instead, when he called, he said, 'Well, you can't start IVF because you're already pregnant!' We were in complete shock. We couldn't believe it!"

Dreyer added, "By putting my story out there, I feel like the thousands of prayers and good wishes we received really made a difference. I knew it was in God's hands, and this is certainly an answered prayer."