LIFE & CULTURE

James Van Der Beek Keeps It Real With Photo of Daughter’s Home Birth

Complete with ‘placenta in a mixing bowl’

James Van Der Beek and his wife Kimberly, welcomed their fifth child last week, a baby girl named Gwendolyn. 

The former Dawson’s Creek star took to Instagram to share a photo from the home birth, and the new dad is keeping it real with his photo. Really, real.

“The category is: Home-Birth Realness (Word of caution, if you’re squeamish, just double-tap and move on 👍)” he captioned the post which shows him doing skin to skin with his newborn daughter while son Joshua, 6, looks on in Spider-Man pajamas. 

“Messy bed ✔️ Plastic sheeting underneath old sheets ✔️Old towel crumpled on the floor ✔️ Vomit bag (unused) ✔️ Inflatable birthing tub (also unused 😬)✔️ Shirtless Dad ✔️Boy in Spider-Man pajamas ✔️Happy, healthy baby ✔️ Happy, healthy Mom in her own shower right after giving birth ✔️ Water bottle ✔️And… placenta in a mixing bowl ✔️ (I warned you 😬)”.

The newest arrival was born at the couple’s home on June 15th, with a doctor on-hand just like three of their other children (eldest daughter Olivia was born in hospital), reports People.  

The proud dad announced the arrival on Instagram.

“Thrilled to announce we welcomed a brand new baby girl into the world Friday morning… These last few days, as I’ve enjoyed the privilege of making smoothies I know my older kids will like, making my wife red raspberry leaf tea to ease her uterine contractions, spending “boy time” with my son and getting my two year-old down for a nap in the way only I know how… “

Baby Gwendolyn joins siblings Emilia, 2, Annabel Leah, 4 Joshua, 6 and Olivia, 7.

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