Kimberly Van Der Beek is opening up about how her body is doing following the miscarriage she experienced in November. In a candid Instagram post, she got real about how her body has changed and how she's handling it.
Kimberly and husband James are parents to five children — 9-year-old Olivia, 7-year-old Joshua, 5-year-old Annabel, 3-year-old Emilia, and 1-year-old Gwendolyn. In early October, the couple revealed that they were expecting their sixth child after a number of miscarriages. In mid-November, the pregnancy ended. James announced the news on Dancing With the Stars, from which he was eliminated later that evening.
Kimberly and James have spoken further about their loss in the time since. In December, the couple let fans know that they were still in the process of healing. While experiencing such a loss in public is difficult, Kimberly and James have committed to their transparency in hopes of ending the stigma around discussing miscarriage.
Kimberly Van Der Beek is getting honest about her body's changes since her November miscarriage. In a recent Instagram post, the mom of five reflected on the last few months of her life. "Eccentric artists take selfies right?" she started the post's caption.
"With all the health effects of SO MUCH that has happened to my body in the last few months and the pregnancy (for clarification on the congrats I’m getting, the pregnancy ended in Nov), I am now 35lbs more than my normal range of what’s heavy to me," she continued.
"Guess what?! Love all your shapes en route to your best health! And love all of you en route to who you want to become, which is most certainly ever-changing anyhow. #2020yeartoshine #bethebreath #loveitall."
James and Kimberly first shared that they were expecting in early October. "I’m pregnant with a sixth child!" Kimberly wrote.
"We are ELATED! @vanderjames post talks about our journey with pregnancies and miscarriages and is worthy of a read. I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you. Thank you for all the warmth and love you’ve been sending. ."
In James' post, he explained why they went so public with this particular journey.
"We chose to have our first ultrasound on camera with our #DWTS crew capturing the result – something I NEVER thought we’d ever do… but @vanderkimberly and I have been through three of those first appointments to discover either no heartbeat, or no baby, and she wanted to share this moment," he explained. "Miscarriage (a word that needs a replacement – nobody failed to 'carry', these things sometimes just happen) is something that people rarely talk about, and often go through in secret."
"But there needs to be zero shame around it, or around giving yourself the time and space to grieve," he continued.
"We decided to put ourselves out there – not knowing what we’d find – in an effort to chip away at any senseless stigma around this experience and to encourage people who might be going through it to open themselves up to love & support from friends and family when they need it most. Happily, for us – this time- we walked out with tears of joy."
Unfortunately, the couple experienced a fourth miscarriage. James shared the news on his final evening on Dancing With the Stars. Later, he shared an emotional Instagram post about the experience.
"Wrecked. Devastated. In shock," James wrote. "That’s how we’re feeling right now after the soul we thought were going to welcome into our family in April… has taken a short cut to whatever lies beyond this life. We’ve been through this before, but never this late in the pregnancy, and never accompanied by such a scary, horrific threat to @vanderkimberly and her well-being."
"Grateful that she’s now recovering, but we’ve only just begun unpacking the layers of this one," he continued. "Thank you to all of our friends and co-workers (and dance partners) who have shown up for us so beautifully during this time. As many of you have said, 'There are no words…' and it’s true. Which is why in a time like this it’s enough to know that you’re there. Grieving AND counting our blessings today."
Shortly after James' announcement, Kimberly posted a brief Instagram Story to fans. "We lost our baby — boy, by the way — and I almost lost my life, which is not a story that has been told," she said. "But at some point, I can dig into the details with you guys about what happened in the emergency room."
Later in the month, Kimberly shared more information about the scary experience via her Instagram story. "Thank you so much for all the love. I'm so grateful for it. A lot of you have asked how I'm feeling physically. I'm healing. I'm definitely healing," she said.
"My biggest thing is my blood pressure," she revealed. "I just get very lightheaded very easily so I can’t really get up and walk around for more than a couple minutes right now. A lot of blood transfusion action this weekend, so I’m just taking it super easy trying to restore and build my blood."
Kimberly and James offered an update in December. "Still in repair," James shared on Instagram. "Discovering that healing happens at its own pace. Not the pace you’d like, and definitely not the pace at which the world keeps on moving… But it happens. And there’s beauty in allowing yourself to be exactly where you’re at. (Plus, it’s not like you really have a choice, anyway )."
The couple has endured a lot of heartbreak over the last year. Still, they have their five beautiful children to bring sunshine to their days. You can tell by every photo of them that the bond they share is truly special.
James even offered some sage parenting advice shortly after the new year. "Whether you’re on vacation in an RV or changing a diaper in a public restroom, celebrating a soccer goal or trying to calm them down when they’re crying or throwing up or hungry or angry or crazy or all of the above… if you look at the situation simply as the apparatus within which you get to forge a bond with your kid… you’ve won," James shared.
"Because you’ve created space for your own special brand of magic to kick in. No father is perfect – we’re all human and we all get overwhelmed at times – but if connection is your goal… you can’t really screw up. Even when you screw up. And you’ll probably find yourself happier than you ever have before."
