Nikkole Paulun welcomes baby girl, posts stunning birth photo

Former 16 and Pregnant star Nikkole Paulun welcomed her daughter Ellie Jade earlier today, and, soon after, she posted this STUNNING photo of Ellie: just as she was born, crying, with her umbilical cord still attached!

The photo was captioned simply “SHE’S HERE!” with a big red heart.

Not long after the photo above was posted, Nikkole shared another picture of her holding Ellie, along with Ellie’s dad Ryan Rice:

“We love her so much already!” Nikkole wrote.

(I need a moment – that photo at the top still has me in awe.)

The social media-savvy Nikkole was updating fans throughout her pregnancy, and the last couple days were no exception. Here is a timeline of what happened from her various social media accounts:

in just 2 days I get to kiss this little face pic.twitter.com/d8h8IlZYBN

— Nikkole Paulun (@nikkoleMTV) July 3, 2015

She’s trying to break free! One more day baby girl!

A video posted by Nikkole Paulun (@nikkolemtv) on Jul 3, 2015 at 8:44pm PDT

Happy 4th of July everyone! We are enjoying our last Ellie-less holiday! I’m getting induced TOMORROW morning at 6 am! #12HOURSTILLINDUCTION #holyshit

A photo posted by Nikkole Paulun (@nikkolemtv) on Jul 4, 2015 at 3:01pm PDT

Bags are all packed! Lyle can NOT wait for his little sister to be here! #8hourstillinduction #elliejade

A photo posted by Nikkole Paulun (@nikkolemtv) on Jul 4, 2015 at 7:24pm PDT

And from Facebook:

July 4 at 7:20PM – “Less than 12 hours until I’m induced! I’m so nervous/excited all at the same time. Praying I have a quick & safe delivery!”

July 5 before 6AM – “It’s baby day! Wish me luck! — at ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital.”

UPDATE: Was contracting already when I came to the hospital at 6. I was given Cyotec to soften my cervix and the contractions definitely picked up. I am dilated to a 2 and just had my water broken! Waiting an hour to see if I need pitocin or not, they say I won’t need much if any! Follow me on snapchat for more updates: nikkolemtv

A photo posted by Nikkole Paulun (@nikkolemtv) on Jul 5, 2015 at 7:56am PDT

Also from Facebook:

July 5 around noon – Water is broken & I’m dilated to a 3 🙂 Walking & bouncing to get to a 4 so I can get the epidural! My contractions are 2 1/2 mins apart and are giving me no mercy 🙁

She’s here!!!

A photo posted by Nikkole Paulun (@nikkolemtv) on Jul 5, 2015 at 3:57pm PDT

We love her so much already! ❤

A photo posted by Nikkole Paulun (@nikkolemtv) on Jul 5, 2015 at 5:28pm PDT

Congratulations to Nikkole! And a huge thanks to her for sharing so much, especially given all of the negativity she has received online since announcing her pregnancy.

UPDATE – More from Nikkole:

I went completely ape sh!t while pushing. I could feel everything. The video is scary lol

— Nikkole Paulun (@nikkoleMTV) July 6, 2015

Thank you for all the congratulations! I’ve been so overwhelmed all day that I’ve hardly had time to even check my phone. Me & Ellie are doing amazing! I’ll post all her stats and photos tomorrow after we’ve recovered some more 🙂

Ellie Jade Paulun. Born 7/5/15 at 6:34 PM. Weighing 7 lbs 6 oz and 21 in. long! Absolutely perfect

A photo posted by Nikkole Paulun (@nikkolemtv) on Jul 6, 2015 at 1:57pm PDT