A military wife recently surprised her husband with her week-old baby because he was hundreds of miles away in boot camp training.
Ashley Rodriguez Paez of Pensacola, Florida, told FOX News Digital that she gave birth to her daughter, Laila Hadassah, on February 1st.
At the time, her husband was training at Naval Recruit Depot in Great Lakes, Illinois.
Her husband, Roger Rodríguez Paez, a native of Venezuela, officially became a U.S. citizen on the very day little Laila was born.
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He also graduated from boot camp last Thursday.
Talk about major milestones in your life. In the space of a week, Roger Rodriguez Paez became a father, an American citizen, and a sailor in the Navy.
After Ashley Rodriguez Paes graduated from boot camp, she surprised her husband with their one-week-old daughter. (Ashley Rodriguez Paes)
Ashley Rodriguez Paez explained that both she and her husband were hoping for a baby girl.
The couple decided to do things the old-fashioned way and waited until the big day to find out the baby’s gender.
“We didn’t know if it was going to be a boy or a girl, but we both really wanted a girl,” she said.
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The first-time mother had a difficult delivery, but ultimately gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Ashley Rodriguez-Paes, who works as her labor and delivery nurse, decided to check with her medical professional first and then go see her husband.
She said the baby’s pediatrician and another doctor planned the trip and both approved the trip.
“We were both like, ‘Yeah, okay. Just keep covering her. Don’t let people come and touch her,'” she said.
Roger Rodriguez Paez and his newborn daughter met for the first time after the Navy sailor graduated from boot camp. (Ashley Rodriguez Paes)
The two met at the Chicago airport the day Roger Rodriguez Paez graduated.
The heartwarming video showed the couple hugging each other before the new father held his daughter for the first time.
“When he saw us, he ran through the airport and hugged me,” Ashley Rodriguez Paez said. “And I gave him Lyra…It was like magic in his eyes.”
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“I know it’s a very cheesy story, but he was very moved,” she said.
New moms were told that they love their spouses even more when they see them as parents. In an interview with Fox News Digital, she said she can confirm that this idea is actually true for her.
Ashley Rodriguez-Paes gave birth to her daughter, Laila Hadassah, on February 1st while her husband was at Naval Recruit Depot. (Ashley Rodriguez Paes)
“For me, it was like the first time I saw him with her…because in a way, it felt like I was a single parent,” she said.
“So when we finally got them together and he was finally able to meet her and then we were able to have a moment together as a family, it was so heartening.”
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She emphasized that her husband’s absence at the birth was as difficult for him as it was for her.
“It’s a huge sacrifice for him to be gone,” she said.
Venezuelan-born Roger Rodriguez Paez became a father, an American citizen, and a sailor in the Navy in the same week. (Ashley Rodriguez Paes)
“He’s not alone. You know, when he graduated, there were other men in his division who were going through the same thing…These Navy sailors and other military personnel were there for their families. It’s really amazing what they’re doing.”
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Roger Rodriguez Paez will now attend Great Lakes Technical School. Ashley Rodriguez Paez told FOX News Digital that the couple plans to move from there to San Diego with their young girl.
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