"Never held a baby before" - Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon narrates touching experience of holding daughter Willow for the first time

New York Yankees ace Carlos Rodon and his wife, Ashley, struggled with pregnancy, culminating in two miscarriages before they conceived naturally and became parents to daughter Willow in 2019. The couple understands the difficulty associated with trying to conceive and founded two charities, the Nest Egg Foundation and the Carlos Rodon Foundation, which help aspiring parents with finances when trying to conceive through in-vitro fertilization.

On Sunday, Rodon had a sit-down interview with his charity and recalled the time when he held his daughter Willow for the first time.

"The whole pregnancy I was worried because of, you know, the past or what we had gone through," Rodon said. "I was 26, so I'd never held a newborn ever in my life. I've never held a baby, period, in my life. I was too scared to. Willow was the first child I'd ever held.

"You know, worried about, you know, my wife's pregnancy going well the whole time and then the baby comes and then that's a whole new worry. Willow being the first child I ever held, it was amazing. I mean, I'd never held a baby before. Now I can't get enough of it."

Two years later, in 2021, the couple became parents to their second child, Bo. In April 2023, they welcomed a son and named him Silo.

On Sept. 30, the Carlos Rodon Foundation will host the Willow Gala at Delamar Greenwich Harbor in support of the Willow Grant.

Carlos Rodon and Ashley's Willow Grant initiative helps aspiring parents

When Ashley Rodon was unable to conceive, the couple explored various fertility options, and the one that came across as best for them was IVF. Ashley had already booked an appointment, but only two weeks before that did she learn that she was pregnant with Willow.

It was a relieving moment for the couple, but one that was the stepping stone to introducing Willow Grant. Through this grant, parents who meet the criteria receive financial assistance of $10,000 from the foundation to help them undergo expensive IVF therapy and become parents.

“The Willow Grant is something that my wife and I wanted to do for a few years. A lot of people struggle with infertility, and it’s not spoken about much. So we kind of want to bring light to it,” Carlos Rodon said via Daily Mail.

According to Dr. Mark P. Leondires, one of the founding members of Nest Egg, the Willow Grant, which functions as a credit with fertility clinics, can be used to cover a cycle of IVF therapy, advanced embryo testing, a surrogate and related operations, therapies and medications.