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James Van Der Beek has revealed his sixth child was a "surprise".
The former 'Dawson's Creek' star and his wife Kimberly welcomed a son named Jeremiah into the world in October 2021.
The couple - who also have Olivia, 11, Joshua, 10, Annabel, eight, Emilia, six, and three-year-old Gwendolyn - decided to keep the pregnancy private as in 2019 and 2020, she tragically miscarried while 17 weeks along and so they were "terrified" of something going wrong again.
Now, the 45-year-old actor has revealed he and his spouse were not trying for a baby and are counting their blessings for the surprise.
Alongside a series of photographs of James holding the tot with the sunrise in the background, including one of him sweetly kissing his head, he wrote on Instagram: "Thank god for the surprises. For the detours. For those times the universe heard my plans and said: 'Yeah, that’s cute… try THIS'.
"We weren’t trying for more kids. We were done. But fortunately, this chunky little angel knew better.
"And when I hold him, I’m reminded of the benevolent forces out there likely laughing at my agenda and waiting for me to toss my “clarity” for an upgraded reality."
He concluded: "Thank god for surprises… and thank god we SUCK at not getting pregnant."
Announcing Jeremiah's arrival into the world five weeks after his birth, he wrote: "Humbled and overjoyed to announce the safe, happy arrival of Jeremiah Van Der Beek [heart emoji] (We've been calling him Remi, btw - not "dinosaur").
"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. (sic)"
James explained they had consulted a doctor who was able to find a cause for Kimberly's past miscarriages, an incompetent cervix, and so she had a stitch inserted and removed at the end of her pregnancy.
He continued: "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.(sic)"
And the 'Pose' star admitted the tragic losses have made the family "much more grateful" for baby Remi.
He concluded: "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.
"(ps - To everyone in our community - both local and extended - who knew about our journey and honored our desire for privacy… thank you. May that respect and karma come back to y’all 1000-fold [prayer emoji])
"Life is beautiful [heart emoji] (sic)"