Hannah Cree Photography
Michael Cliffordand Crystal Leigh are loving life as new parents!
“Georgia is Crystal’s home state. We wanted to move here, just for a few years to start our family,” Michael tells PEOPLE. “All of her cousins just had babies too, so it’s fun. Lua is a Georgia-born half-Australian Los Angeles resident.”
“It was such an intimate moment and we’re so glad we were able to have great people to help us through,” Crystal says. “I don’t think I could’ve done it without the help of our amazing nurse and midwife. They stayed past their shift for us and really went above and beyond in the ways they helped me through labor.”
Laughing, she adds, “Michael was also the most incredible partner, an ‘emotional support human’ of the highest caliber!”
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Michael Clifford and wife Crystal gazing at daughter Lua.Hannah Cree Photography
“Crystal labored for over 24 hours and I was doing everything I could to try and help, but she was such a trooper. She was cracking jokes and making friends the whole time,” Michael says. “It was really hard for me to watch her go through labor for so long, especially towards the end when we had a few complications. I felt so helpless but she stayed really strong.”
The new dad admits, “During the hard parts, I was crying and she wasn’t!”
“My only role in helping was feeding her ice chips, fanning her, spraying her with this water mister thing and holding her hand super tight. She called me the ice chip lord,” he laughs.
Michael Clifford’s daughter Lua.Hannah Cree Photography
Throughout her pregnancy, Crystal helped manage a “huge renovation” at the couple’s home, which was “challenging” but resulted in “a beautiful room and peaceful home” for Lua.
“We couldn’t have picked a better place to live for Lua’s beginning stages. Our home is now her sanctuary,” the new mom raves. “We had our future family in mind when we bought this house, but once she arrived, it felt like that’s when everything really clicked into place and made sense, like this has always been her house.”
The new arrival has also won over the hearts of the couple’s two dogs.
Michael Clifford and daughter Lua.Hannah Cree Photography
Now that they’re settling in, Michael and Crystal are soaking up all the joy of being newborn parents.
“She’s already growing out of her clothes, which makes me cry every time I go to put an outfit on her and it doesn’t fit. I can’t believe how fast she’s growing, no one prepares you for that!” Crystal says. “Every day I say to Michael, ‘She’ll never be this small again.'”
“Sometimes I hold her and just cry a little. I just can’t believe that I’m lucky enough to be a dad to such a sweet, funny, charming and beautiful girl,” he adds.
Michael Clifford and wife Crystal with daughter Lua and their two dogs.Hannah Cree Photography
The two are looking forward to introducing Lua to more family and friends and making memories as a family of three.
“I can’t wait to take her to L.A. so she can meet all of her friends. Most of our friends already have kids, so it will be so fun to introduce her to all of the other kids,” Crystal says, adding, “I am also really looking forward to taking her on a family vacation, and to Australia once she’s old enough to remember it.”
“I just can’t wait for everyone to meet this sweet girl. I think everyone is going to fall in love with her when they meet her,” the new dad says. “She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life.”
source: people.com
