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Candiace Dillard-Bassett and her husband, Chris Bassett, have welcomed their first child together.
Over one month ago, on Thursday, October 3, the 37-year-old Real Housewives of Potomac alum gave birth to son Jett Maxwell Lee Bassett, who joins Owen, 22, Mateo, 14, and Naya, 10, Chris’ older children from past relationships. And on Friday, November 8, she and Chris, 46, posed for a series of photos with their baby boy.
“He is just the cutest little thing,” Candiace told PEOPLE in its latest issue. “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!”
According to Candiace, the meaning behind Jett’s name, which is Hebrew for excellence and abundance, was “really important” to her.
“There were a lot of names I liked that had meanings I did not like, so that just automatically tossed them out,” Candiace recalled. “But as soon as I read the meaning of his name, I was like, ‘This is it. This is his name.’”
As for his two middle names, one, Lee, comes from the name of Candiace’s dad.
“Naming him took longer than I thought,” she admitted. “I had been throwing names out to Chris the entire pregnancy and most of the ones I liked he was like, ‘Those sound like nepo baby names.’ And I was like, ‘Why are you just trying to kill my vibe?’ But Chris agreed with Jett. He was like, ‘Jett’s a cool name, he’s going to be a cool kid. They can call him J.B.’”
After marrying Chris in August 2018, Candiace was back and forth about whether becoming a mom would be in her future. Then, when she decided she did want to welcome a child of her own, she endured many months of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Once pregnant, it wasn’t long before Candiace walked away from RHOP.
Since Jett’s arrival last month, Candiace has started doubting her decision to wait to have kids.
“I wish I started sooner, because I already want more,” she shared. “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.”
Even though Jett is only six weeks old, Candiace feels like “he’s so big already.”
“When he was born, he was 5 lbs. 11 ozs. — just this teeny little thing I was afraid to break because he was so tiny,” she recalled. “And as of [Thursday, Nov. 7], he was already up to 8 lbs.! So he’s thriving and growing. I mean, he’s starting to just be this big loaf of bread! He’s getting all these rolls! Rolls under his neck, rolls on his legs, rolls on his tummy… I can’t believe how big he is!”
She also can’t get over how similar Jett looks to her.
“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 proclaimed. “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. Right now, it’s just sitting on his head. Chris is always like, ‘Oh, look at his goose hairs. He has goose hairs!’”
While Jett looks more like his mother, Candiace shared that his behavior is more like that of her spouse.
“I will say that his disposition is very calm, so he definitely takes after his dad in that regard,” she stated. “He sleeps well at night and when he’s awake, he’s super cool. He just chills. He hangs out. And he’s super smiley and loves to laugh, except when he gets all fussy and then I’m like, ‘Now why are you turning up right now? Are you hungry or want this pacifier?’ Like, sir, you need to tell me!”
“As you can see, he’s very spoiled,” she added. “And look, so far, he’s really just all about eating and sleeping and pooping, so the personality is still forming. He just loves to be held and rocked to sleep.”
Candiace Dillard-Bassett was featured full-time on The Real Housewives of Potomac seasons three through eight.
