Gymnast Dominique Moceanu Has a Baby Girl

FRIDAY DECEMBER 28, 2007 02:25 PM EST


Olympic gold-winning gymnast Dominique Moceanu and her husband, Dr. Michael Canales, welcomed their first child, daughter Carmen Noel Canales, on Christmas Day, the couple tell PEOPLE exclusively.

Born just after 3 p.m. on Dec. 25 at Cleveland's MacDonald Women's Hospital, the baby weighed 7 lbs., 7 oz. upon delivery and measured 18.5 inches.

Mother and baby are doing well and are now home.

"We are so excited," Moceanu said in a statement to PEOPLE. "Mike and I have talked about starting a family for so long – it's really a dream come true."

She added, "The miracle of baby Carmen being born on Christmas Day makes this wonderful time all the more special to us. This is the best Christmas present we could have ever received!"

The brand new parents have been married for 13 months.

Moceanu, 26, who won her medal at the 1996 summer Olympics as part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team dubbed the Magnificent Seven, and Canales, 30, a former nationally ranked collegiate gymnast who now practices podiatric surgery in Cleveland, started dating in 2001.