It's a wonderful, happy time for actor James Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly. They've just welcomed their sixth child. James took to Instagram to share the exciting news.
“Humbled and overjoyed to announce the safe, happy arrival of Jeremiah Van Der Beek. (We’ve been calling him Remi, btw),” he wrote. James and Kimberly were already the parents to Olivia, 11; Joshua, 9; Annabel, 6; Emilia, 4; and Gwendolyn, 3.
The baby's safe arrival had to have brought so much happiness, as well as relief, to the family. “After experiencing late-term #pregnancyloss twice in a row (both at 17+ weeks), we kept this one quiet. Truthfully, I was terrified when I found out,” James shared.
James' nerves were certainly warranted. He and Kimberly went through so much on their way to Jeremiah joining their family. The actor and his wife have never shied away from sharing those experiences with the world, however.
Now that their baby has arrived and is healthy, James stayed true to form, sharing what they learned through their devastating losses: "But we found a doctor here in Texas who diagnosed the last two as having been caused by an: 'incompetent cervix' (I asked him what kind of misogynistic old dude invented that term and he laughed – which made me like him even more. Now it’s called a #WeakenedCervix).
"A simple surgical cerclage was done, removed at full-term, @vanderkimberly gave birth naturally on the ranch… and here we are. The medical books say to only look at a cerclage as an option after three late-term losses. Our doctor recommends considering it after one. Spread the word."
Through the struggles James and Kimberly have gone through while in the public eye, they've become pretty incredible voices when it comes to advocating for yourself (or your expectant partner) throughout pregnancy. Not only have they opened up about pregnancy loss, but they have also shared their home birth stories. Now we're learning about how they moved through their grief, sought out a supportive professional, and eventually welcomed their sixth baby.
James seems to really embrace parenting with everything that he has, and he always talks about the "lessons" that come with it.
His sweet birth announcement post said, “Each child brings their own energy, their own manifestation of consciousness, their own lessons. The ones we lost each gifted us with different pieces of the puzzle… leaving us that much more grateful for the ongoing master class we get to enjoy with this sweet, wise little one."
We've seriously learned so much from this family already. But there's no doubt that James sharing the story of this child's birth — and educating us about what an "incompetent cervix" means — will help someone else going through the exact same struggle. He knows how important his words are, and for that reason, he never holds back.
The journey had to have been heartbreaking. Millions of Americans watched as James revealed, after a public ultrasound on Dancing With the Stars, that he and Kimberly had lost their baby back in 2019. But watching the couple so gracefully navigate through struggles, and never lose hope, has been truly inspirational.
Congrats to the happy family on the arrival of their perfect new baby.
