Yahoo Finance Country Artist Chris Colston and Wife Peyton Welcome Baby Girl Emersyn Ruth
Hannah Neely
Chris Colston is not only a hunter, a fisherman and a rising country artist, but he is also now a dad!
The Texas native and his wife Peyton welcomed their daughter Emersyn Ruth Colston on Friday, May 20, at 12:30 a.m., arriving one month early.
"To be honest with you, it really didn't hit me until I woke up this morning and saw her little face," Colston, 26, says in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE hours after Emersyn's arrival. "[Emersyn] stayed in the room with us last night and pretty much slept all night. So, when I woke up this morning and the sun was coming through the blinds, I looked up and she was in her little baby carriage, and she was just peaceful at sleep. That's when it hit me."
It has certainly been quite a pregnancy journey for the pair that started off when Peyton found out she was pregnant when Colston was out of town, meaning that she would need to keep the news secret until he arrived back home from Nashville the following week.
"I just couldn't believe it," remembers Colston, who first met his now-wife in college seven years ago and tied the knot in April 2021. "I was just so excited, and I was just like, 'Wow, we're going to be parents!' "
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
RELATED GALLERY: Celebrity Babies Born in 2022
However, as that precious fact began to sink in, Peyton started experiencing several pregnancy complications resulting in kidney issues that ultimately landed her on bedrest back in January.
"She had to have several different stint placement surgeries," Colston recalls. "The doctors ultimately decided that once they could get her to 36 weeks, they were comfortable with going ahead and taking [Emersyn] out because they didn't want Peyton to go under the knife again for a third stint placement because the stints only lasted six weeks."
He draws in a deep breath.
"My wife has really been through the wringer," he says, adding that Peyton is scheduled to have one more surgery next week, but should be on the road to recovery once that is complete.
Luckily, there was a silver lining to the whole ordeal. Because while Peyton was supposed to have a scheduled cesarean section at 36 weeks, little Emersyn decided to come out naturally. With a middle name coming from her late great-grandmother, Emersyn Ruth arrived weighing 5 lbs., 11 oz. and measuring 18.5 inches at birth.
"When she came out, she was so tiny," says Colston, who has already written a song for his wife and their brand-new daughter titled "Boy Like Me."
"She still is tiny, but she's got perfect features of both of us. She's got a perfect little face and she's the spitting image of the both of us. It's an amazing feeling."
And luckily, Colston will now be able to truly bask in that feeling for a little while, as the country artist will enjoy some time off the road as he gets used to his new role.
"I had already cleared my schedule for June, so this actually works out perfect," says Colston, who will also release his new single "Livin' Like This" on June 3, a down to earth proclamation of a song written by songwriting powerhouses Michael Carter, Ben Hayslip and Jameson Rodgers.
"And then in the fall, we'll kick things back up and get back on the road and get back to work. But right now, we're all just going to enjoy the time together. There's a lot of blessings coming all at once right now and we're just ready to take them wave by wave."
