Congratulations! Candiace Dillard Bassett Welcomes Her ‘Drive Back’ Baby, Jett Maxwell Lee, Shares First Photos

Congrats are in order for Candiace Dillard Bassett and her hubby Chris!

The couple welcomed their first child, Jett Maxwell Lee Bassett, on October 3. The Bassetts broke the news in an exclusive chat with PEOPLE, and Candiace can’t stop gushing over her little “Drive Back” baby boy.

“He’s just the cutest little thing,” said Candiace before admitting she’s totally in love with the new “joy” in her life. “Chris and I couldn’t be happier. It’s so cliché to say, but he’s brought such joy to our lives in ways I never would have been able to describe before. It’s pure love!”

The mom who said she gave her son two middle names because she’s “extra” continued,

“I just look at him and envision all the adventures we’re going to have. Throughout my pregnancy, when I would talk to him in my stomach, I would say, ‘I can’t wait to see who you’re going to be.’ And that’s been the joy in my heart that’s continued after his birth,” she adedd. “It’s exciting to think about. I’m so ready for a lifetime of being on the sidelines, cheering him on.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Candiace revealed that baby Jett whose name means “excellence and abundance” has Chris’ chill personality but her looks. According to the proud mom, he also has “goose hairs” because his coif is three different textures.

“They say the baby comes out looking like the dad because it helps with the bonding process since the dad didn’t carry the baby, but he looks like me!” she told PEOPLE. “I was not expecting that!

“He has this cute little grin. And the hair on his head is thriving! I’m still trying to figure out what to do with it because it’s like, three It’s like, three different textures — it’s curly when it’s dry, wavy when it’s wet… it’s all over the place,” Candiace added. “Right now, it’s just sitting on his head. Chris is always like, ‘Oh, look at his goose hairs. He has goose hairs!’ “

As previously reported Jett joins Chris’s three kids from previous relationships—Owen, 22, Mateo, 14, and Naya, 10—and while Candiace has been a “bonus mom” for years, she says this new experience has been beyond anything she expected.

After a long IVF journey and some doubts she shared on #RHOP which she’s currently on hiatus from, she says all her fears melted once Jett arrived.

“Oh, I wish I started sooner, because I already want more,” said Candiace to PEOPLE. “And that’s a shocking feeling to admit because I hesitated and was afraid and doubted myself for so long. All of those circumstances around becoming a mom, like being pregnant, raising a child, etc.? It really scared me. But it’s been everything and more. I love it.”

“I wish I hadn’t waited so long,” she added. “But I also don’t regret that this is where I am now and that things worked out the way they did. And in a way, that’s comforting to recognize I don’t regret it, you know? Like, I’ve really welcomed every part of this journey with open arms, as it’s happened.”

Congrats to Candiace!