BREAKING: Scotty McCreery And Wife Gabi Welcome Their First Child, Merrick Avery McCreery

Country star Scotty McCreery and his wife Gabi are officially parents!

The couple took to social media to announce that their first son, Merrick Avery McCreery, was welcomed into the world on Tuesday, October 24. 

The proud dad posted a carousel of photos documenting the exciting day. He also took a moment to share a few words of gratitude and revealed that his family is doing well.

“Never known a love like this🥹 Merrick Avery McCreery joined us 11 days early on October 24th at 4:34am! 7 lbs 13oz of nothin but love💙 Thank yall for all of your prayers during this exciting season of life! Healthy baby and a healthy mama! Praise God🙌🏼🙏🏼 ,” McCreery wrote in his caption.

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A post shared by Scotty McCreery (@scottymccreery)

“Next to his mother, he is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” McCreery gushed about the new addition to his family in a recent release. “We have been waiting and preparing all year, and now we are so excited to have our little man here with us. We have begun a grand new adventure that will continue for the rest of our lives.”

McCreery continued, praising his wife for being a “total rock star” during the birth.

“I could not be more proud of her,” he added. “She has already taken to motherhood like a champ. Part of my joy as his Dad is watching Gabi already crush it as his Mom.”

The country star first revealed the news of Gabi’s pregnancy exclusively with PEOPLE on Tuesday (June 21). At the same time, they also announced their baby’s gender and how that added to his anticipation. 

“We got a little man on the way,” the North Carolina native shared. 

“I was the only boy on both sides of my family, the last McCreery boy out there,” he explained. “Gabi’s from two sisters in her family, so I just figured it would be a girl. But we got a surprise of a boy.”

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Now that his son is officially here, the singer/songwriter was also excited to share that the family name has now extended into the next generation. “I’m no longer the last male McCreery. It’s up to Avery now,” he said with a laugh.

The lovebirds first met each other in kindergarten and in June of 2018, they finally got married and added their dog, Moose, to their family the next year. 

McCreery also told PEOPLE that he and Gabi have “always talked about” having children together and that dream is about to become reality. 

“We always knew we wanted kids, but we always knew we wanted the first few years to travel and have time on the road, to see things and experience life,” he shared. “We’ve gotten to live a lot of life and do some cool things, so it seems like now’s a good time to settle down a little and expand the family.

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A post shared by Gabi Dugal McCreery (@gabimccreery)

When it comes to parenting, McCreery told Country Now that in a way, he plans to follow in his parents’ footsteps by instilling some of the same core values in his “little man” that his parents’ taught him growing up.

“You know, nothing come easy. No matter what it was for me growing up, whether it be grades, schoolwork, baseball or being Conrad Birdie in By By Birdie at the school play, they were like, ‘Hey, you know, this is what you gotta focus on, that it’s hard work. It’s not just gonna come easy to you.’ So, I think that’s gonna be some of the values I’m hoping to instill in little man and just helping others as well,” he shared before adding, “I mean, impacting people in a positive way is something my parents taught me well before I was doing country music for a living. That was kind of my mission as a kid growing up and it still is today.”

Scotty McCreery is currently on “paternity-leave” so that he can enjoy time at home with his wife and new son. He will return to the stage on November 30 for a show in Las Vegas, NV at the Downtown Hoedown on Fremont Street.