NBC Sports' Maria Taylor Welcomes First Baby with Husband Jon Hemphill: 'Overwhelmed with Love' (Exclusive)

The journalist and her husband welcomed a baby boy on Dec. 24

Maria Taylor is a mom!

The NBC Sports journalist, 36, has welcomed her first baby — a boy named Roman Ryan Taylor Hemphill — with husband Jon Hemphill, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal.

Roman was born on Dec. 24 at 7:26 p.m., weighing 8 lbs. and 13 oz. The newborn was 21 inches long.

“My journey to motherhood has not been a straight line. It has been long and difficult, and there were several times I thought I would never become a mom," Taylor tells PEOPLE. "But when my son was placed on my chest, our hearts were overwhelmed with love and gratitude."

"I immediately knew I had given birth to my soulmate," the sportscaster, who previously worked for ESPN and the SEC Network, adds.

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Taylor first revealed her exciting pregnancy news through a post shared on Instagram in July. At the time, she shared images from a photoshoot with Hemphill, in which they posed with a sonogram outdoors.

"The last 3 years have been some of the most physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging years of my life," Taylor began the caption of her post, going on to detail how her journey to becoming a mom had "been diverted by surgeries, multiple egg retrievals, and failed IVF cycles."

"There were times when I felt like my body was betraying me, that God didn’t want me to become a mom and that I ultimately didn’t deserve to be a mom. There were times when all I could do was cry and ask 'Why?' " she continued. "There were times when I felt like giving up. But it was put on my heart to keep trying and never let the dream of becoming a mother go."

"For every setback my husband was there reminding me to keep the faith. My friends and family held my hand and held me up as I traveled cross country for appointments," Taylor added. "It’s still crazy to think that just a year ago I came into the NFL season with the news of a failed embryo transfer. Another hope dashed. And now this fall I come into a new season carrying the greatest gift of all. Our sweet Prince will be here soon and I can’t wait to be his mom! 💙."

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In the months to follow, Taylor shared various photographs and videos on Instagram, highlighting her growing baby bump.

"Baby’s 1st Renaissance 🐝," she captioned an image of herself cradling her stomach while attending Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour in Atlanta, Georgia, in August.

"Celebrating NFL Kickoff with my own Franchise player in the making 😊," Taylor then wrote alongside a photo of herself on an NFL field a month later.

In a second image, the then-mom-to-be documented how her baby was the size of a football when she was 23 weeks along.

A day before giving birth, Taylor shared a festive post that featured her posing with family members in matching white ensembles. "Happy Holidays from our family to yours ❤️✨," she wrote in her caption.

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Read the original article on People.