Harper Grae and Wife Welcome Daughter, Declan Monroe
She's here! Meet Declan!
Country singer-songwriter Harper Grae and wife Dawn Gates welcomed their newborn daughter, Declan Monroe Gates, on July 19. Their new daughter joins Gates’ 9-year-old daughter.
“My wife and I are overjoyed to announce the birth of our magical daughter, Declan Monroe,” Grae told People. “Labor was the most intense yet magical experience of my life. Declan has a mind of her own, and once she decided to be earthside, she was here.”
Grae went on to thank her doctor at Women’s OB in Nashville and the staff at St. Thomas Midtown hospital. “We had a few scary moments during delivery and they were by my side through it all,” she shared. Grae also explained how she chose Declan’s name, sharing that the name is meant to honor her wife, Dawn.
“Since I carried her, I wanted her name to share the initials of my wife: D.M.G,” she said. “Declan was chosen after one of my favorite saints, St. Declan of Ardmore, and Monroe was chosen after my love and admiration for Marilyn Monroe.”
Grae refers to Declan as her rainbow baby, as she was born years after Grae suffered a miscarriage. She spoke about her miscarriage and her journey to her second pregnancy in a letter she wrote to her unborn child in Sounds Like Nashville.
“There were daily shots and medications, ultrasounds, numerous doctor appointments (some which your mommy wasn’t allowed to attend due to CDC restrictions), poking and prodding, temperature checks to make sure me and your mommy didn’t have Covid-19, and multiple, not so comfy, IUI procedures, all while wearing masks and being socially distanced,” she wrote about the process of getting pregnant. “Let’s just say your mommy caught many of your mama’s tears during those four months. Then, on an October morning, we saw the two pink lines we had been praying so hard for.”
Grae also wrote to her daughter about her excitement for her to meet her older sister. She also told her unborn daughter about the baby she lost — her “angel big brother.” Grae released a song called “Still Your Mother,” which processes the feelings she had after losing her first child.
“This was my way of speaking to my experience about losing him,” she wrote of the song. “However, after many tears and conversations with your mommy, I now know I didn’t lose him, but I get to experience his soul in a different way, and you will too.”
Grae also posted photos of Declan on social media this week, writing, “She is pure magic and more than I ever could have imagined.”
