Joe Nichols and his wife, Heather, are the proud parents of a daughter, Dylan River Nichols, born April 17. This is the first child for the couple, who married in 2007. Mother and child are doing fine, according to Dad.

“Our prayers have been answered,” Heather says in a statement posted on Joe's website. “We went through years of loss and heartbreak to get to this point and now our little baby girl is here. I want to thank everyone for their well wishes, thoughts and prayers and our doctors and nurses who have walked along side us in this process. I know that we are going to love this little girl, and I am so thankful that she is ours.”

Joe, also in a statement, agrees. "We have been trying to have a baby together for many years, and this gift is not something we take for granted. We are going to try to be the best parents possible.”

Dylan entered the world at 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 21¼ inches long.

It's the first child for Joe and Heather and the second for Joe, who has a daughter, Ashelyn, from a previous relationship.