James Van Der Beek Opens Up About His Surprise Sixth Child

James Van Der Beek may be most well-known for his role as Dawson Leery in "Dawson's Creek," but a lot has changed since the show aired. All these years later, Van Der Beek plays plenty of roles outside of film and television, including that of a husband. Van Der Beek found the Joey to his Dawson when he and wife Kimberly Van Der Beek tied the knot in 2010. And guess what? The pair has been going strong ever since. 

Another role that Van Der Beek takes very seriously is being a father. And with a brood of children, it's easy to see that he knows a thing or two about parenthood. He's the proud father of six kiddos — Gwendolyn, Emelia, Annabel, Joshua, Olivia, and Jeremiah, and the star hasn't been shy about expressing what he's learned about parenthood on several occasions. Unlike acting, being a dad doesn't have a script to follow. "I think fatherhood changes you from the inside out," he told People. "It's not this thing where you think, 'Oh, I have to be responsible, I have to take more on.' You just want to, almost automatically." 

He also reflected on fatherhood on his 44th birthday. "With my forties has come the recognition that I'm a better father, better husband, better human when I open my heart to that creative spark and invite it into everything I do," he said in an Instagram post. Keeping along with the parenthood theme, Van Der Beek opened up about the incredible birth of his sixth child.

James Van Der Beek couldn't be more proud about his double rainbow baby, even if he was a surprise. The actor is the proud father of six, giving Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin a run for their money. And while every child is undoubtedly a blessing, the "Dawson's Creek" star admits that his sixth child, son Jeremiah, wasn't exactly planned. The actor took to Instagram to share photos of himself holding the adorable chubby-faced baby. Van Der Beek added a sweet caption to explain how Jeremiah came to be. "We weren't trying for more kids. We were done. But fortunately, this chunky little angel knew better," he wrote. "Thank god for surprises... and thank god we SUCK at not getting pregnant," he added. 

Fans made sure to shower Van Der Beek's post with love and comment on how cute his son is, because duh, he's a cherub. "That chunky little angel looks like you," one fan wrote. "You and your wife have a beautiful family!!" But perhaps what makes the birth of Jeremiah even more special is the fact that he came after two pregnancy losses for Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly. "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," Van Der Beek told fans on Instagram in Jeremiah's birth announcement. 

The star also shares plenty of photos of his other children on Instagram, and the family is just too cute for words.