Beyonce and Jay-Z post first images of baby Blue online

New parents Beyonce and Jay-Z have introduced baby Blue Ivy to the world by sharing personal photos of the newborn online.

The hip-hop supercouple became first-time parents to the little girl on 7 January (12) and now the stars have posted five pictures of the tot on a specially-dedicated Tumblr.com page.

The images show Blue Ivy with a full head of hair as she is cradled in one photo by a smiling Beyonce and held lovingly in another by her proud dad.

A note displayed in Beyonce's handwriting at the top of the blog reads: "We welcome you to share in our joy. Thank you for respecting our privacy during this Beautiful time in our lives. The Carter Family."

And the Crazy In Love hitmaker's sister Solange Knowles has already directed fans to check out her new niece, tweeting, "THE PROUDEST AUNT IN THE WORLD....OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD! HelloBlue :)))"

Beyonce made her first appearance since giving birth to Blue Ivy on Monday (06Feb12) as she stepped out to support Jay-Z at the first of two benefit concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall. She enjoyed another night out on Tuesday (07Feb12) as the rapper performed his second show at the iconic venue.