“Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker and her husband, John Hughes, are expecting their second child together in the coming weeks with the help of a surrogate.
The little boy will join big sister Margot, who will be 3 years old on June 12.
“Margot told all her classmates that her parents would give her a little brother for her birthday!” Welker, 47, tells TODAY.com.
While Welker and Hughes are still working on a name – “We have our best suitors” – Margot has decided she wants her brother to be named Lolo.
“That’s why we call her Lolo in our household,” Welker says with a laugh.
Welker, who is unable to carry a child, welcomed Margot via surrogacy in 2021, after struggling with infertility for two years.
“The gratitude that I feel for her every day and that I felt for her the moment Margot was born is indescribable,” Welker told TODAY co-anchor Hoda Kotb that year.
Welker and Hughes are working with a different surrogate this time because Margot’s surrogate just had her second child.
“She is still a part of our lives and has even reached out to our new surrogate Angelica,” Welker says. “We became like this little family.
Angelica is a “literal angel on earth,” according to Welker.
Recently, Welker spoke to Margot about her “incredibly special journey on this earth.”
“I explained to Margot that most moms carry their baby in their belly, but mom has a boo-boo, so she has a special friend who carried you and is now carrying your little brother,” Welker says.
Welker and Hughes were determined to give Margot a sibling and began “working on a second baby” in 2022.
“We had setbacks – there were more heartbreaks – there were days when I asked myself, ‘Why is this so hard for us?’ but we kept moving forward,” she reveals. “We lost another embryo in the process, and we had to deal with that loss and the setback by asking ourselves again: Was this going to work for us?
“What I’m proud of is that John and I didn’t give up,” Welker says. “He has always been my rock and I thank our love for getting us through these difficult times.”
In March, Welker and sportscaster Erin Andrews spoke about their surrogacy journey to TODAY. During the segment, Andrews surprised a couple struggling with infertility by offering a $20,000 grant to help them pursue their dream of having a child.
“Surrogacy and fertility treatments are out of reach for many people in this country,” Welker says. “I’ve really tried to focus my energy on both highlighting these services and making them more accessible to people. »
“I want to pay it forward,” she adds.
