Blue Jays pitcher holds newborn son for the first time: 'Grateful and blessed'

Blue Jays reliever Jay Jackson had "one of the best moments" of his life last week — with his newborn son.

Jackson's youngest of three children, JR, was born 15 weeks premature on July 6. He is still in a neonatal intensive care unit at a local hospital, and has been intubated — until recently.

On Saturday, Jackson's partner Sam Bautista, shared "amazing updates" to X (aka Twitter) about a special moment with their son.

"JR self-extubated last night and the doctors thought, let's see how he'll do without the tube for awhile," Bautista wrote, adding that meant they could finally hold him "skin-to-skin." It also meant the baby would have a lesser chance of a lung infection, she said.

"This also means Jay got to hold his 44 day old son for the first time. God is good."

She paired the caption with a photo of Jackson laying on a hospital bed, with his son pressed against his chest under a blanket.

The proud father quoted the tweet, saying, "One of the best moments of my life! Grateful and blessed to say the least."

The couple's followers and Blue Jays fans were relieved to hear the good news.

"Sam, Jay, [thank you] for sharing your journey [and] private life [with] us. We are all rooting for JR," one person shared.

"Jay holding his son for the first time is a memory that he will never forget. It's precious and heart-warming. I'm not crying. You're crying," they added.

"Best news ever! Continued love and prayers! He's already got the strength of his two incredible parents," another person wrote.

"This is so wonderful. Wishing continued health and happiness to your family," someone added.

Jackson and Bautista recently celebrated JR's first month being born.

On Aug. 6 Bautista shared a photo of Jackson holding up a children's book next to JR in hospital.

"Today JR is one month old. We’re so proud of him and blessed for how far he’s come along and eternally grateful for the nurses, NPs, doctors for their continued work with our son," Bautista wrote on X.

In a separate tweet, the mom admitted it had been an emotional day for the parents.

"Today was more emotional than I expected. While I'm extremely grateful, it still nags my heart when I have to leave him in the hospital each night," Bautista shared.

"But we’re still on pace to hit his goals and we’re still smiling. I’m so grateful for our strong little boy and for my kids," she added.

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