MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace welcomes baby at 51

Baby News! MSNBC’s very own Nicolle Wallace has welcomed a girl.

On Nov. 21, the “Deadline: White House” anchor tuned in to her show from home to share that she and her husband, Michael S. Schmidt, welcomed their first child together.

The couple recently welcomed a girl, Isabella Sloane Schmidt, via surrogate.

Wallace became a mother for the first time in 2012 to son Liam with her former husband, Mark Wallace.

Alicia Menendez has been filling in for the anchor during her absence.

“Viewers of the program have probably noticed that Nicolle has been missing from this chair the past week,” Menendez said at the top of the segment before welcoming Wallace back for a brief return.

Wallace acknowledged that some fans had debunked the possibility that she was absent because she was having a baby.

“I understand why the truth was ruled out by so many people that Mike and I had a baby, “I have not looked at my phone in a week and am amazed at the theories out there,” Wallace, who is 51, said.

“Mike and Liam and I are smitten with her,” Wallace continued. “Our dogs are still rendering judgment. But we were able to keep it secret, obviously, because I wasn’t pregnant, but I never meant to keep it secret from our beloved viewers. I am so happy to share our happy news today.”

When prompted by Menendez to share what it is like to be a second-time mom, Wallace shared that “there are pros and cons to being a mom again 51.”

“You are tired. I was up all night last night, and I was, like, ‘wow, yeah, this is what 3:45 a.m. looks like,’” she said. “I don’t see it a lot anymore. But it’s a blessing to be, you know, focused again on what has always grounded me, and that’s my beautiful family.”

“My son Liam is 11 and was in the hospital and scooped her up in his arms and was calmer than we were at the beginning,” Wallace said.

Despite being a preteen, Wallace shared that Liam has a “knack” for taking care of his little sister.

“He just has a knack for the sway and the ‘shh,’ you know, all the things that you do no matter where you are when you have a baby,” she explained.

It’s uncertain when Wallace will return to her show, but for now, it seems she missed her viewers, whom she says she considers family.

“You know, this show is my other family, and I would never leave,” Wallace said. “I certainly would never leave in a moment this dire. I have watched your whole program today. You (Menendez) were exquisite in that chair. I am so lucky and so grateful that you are there helming these hours while I take a couple of months to hang out with Izzy.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com