Hours later Carter tweeted a birth announcement, writing, “We are proud to announce that our baby has officially arrived.” The Backstreet Boy continued, “But as a parent knows all to very well, sometimes things don’t turn out the way you plan it. We have been experiencing some minor complications but things are looking a little better after the first night.”
Earlier this year Carter’s wife Lauren opened up to PEOPLE about the road to this pregnancy and the couple’s multiple miscarriages, “I was fully set on just having two children and I had prepared for that and made arrangements for that.” Lauren added, “We were going to have two children and it was a surprise. I didn’t find out I was pregnant till I was about five-and-a-half months pregnant. I didn’t have any symptoms; I didn’t have anything indicating that I was pregnant.”
The newest baby joins the couple’s five-year-old son Odin Reign and 18-month-old daughter Saoirse.
It’s all about the baby for pop star Meghan Trainor. Trainor and her husband Daryl Sabara welcomed a baby boy on Feb, 8.
The couple posted sweet newborn pics of their new son, Riley, on Instagram this past Valentine’s Day. Trainor shared that Riley’s original due date was the 14th—but the sweet little guy made his grand debut almost one full week early.
Trainor and Sabara announced the pregnancy back in October with an excited IG post that read, “You all know how long I’ve wanted this!!!!” Shortly after, the celeb singer made a world-wide baby gender reveal on Kelly Clarkson’s daytime talk show.
The new mama’s IG baby birth announcement features super-sweet pics of Riley and a special Valentine’s message to hubby Sabara, “Thank you @darylsabara for the best Valentine’s gift ever!” Sabara also gushed about his baby joy, and gave some love to his wife, in his IG announcement post, “You are my forever Valentine and I’m so beyond grateful for you bringing our son into the world.”
Congrats go out to the couple and their first son!
It may sound daunting to take your own family group photo, but with a bit of grit, a little gear and these three tips – you can totally do this! If you truly are feeling BLAH about appearing on camera, you can still take a beautiful close-up of your kids to use on the card! (If you’ve recently had a baby, take a gorgeous picture of their face and send out a double-purpose birth announcement/holiday card all-in-one!)
1. Trap the crew – Back your group up against a wall or fence outside, to eliminate little ones running away. Use a tripod to prep your phone, and engage the 10 second timer. Then, if your kids are young, distraction is key!
2. Be ridiculous – Sing songs, tickle the kids and make faces to get the real smile you’re looking for out of these sour faces. Offer ice cream for dinner! Use the Unicorn popper (be sure they’ve never seen it before!) to wow them and focus their attention on this taking-photos thing – now they know it’s going to be interesting!
3. Fire off at least fifty (that’s right, 50 photos) to get the right picture! You can take 50 pictures in less than five minutes. The more you take, the more likely you are to get a winner!
BONUS TIP – If it’s your partner that won’t smile, blurt out a hilarious joke or secret when the time is right, to get their smile to bloom! Ask the kids to look at your partner not at the camera, to disarm them and clear away any initial anxiety. Then yell, “”now look at the phone!”” and secure that real smile, plus eye contact!
1
PHOPIK Phone Tripod 55 inches
A simple, affordable tripod to enable your self-portraits!
$26
This affordable tripod has no bells and whistles, but it'll hold your phone at the perfect angle to take a photo for your holiday card WITH YOU IN IT! Bonus - it comes with a wireless remote trigger!
Upgrade Pick - This automatic phone stand does most of the work for you!
$199
I just got this fab little device and I'm obsessed with it! It will fire off tons of photos while following the action as your family moves and plays... nailing that authentic moment easily. So much fun!
Babies of all ages (and toddlers!) are drawn to this toy... it makes noise, it moves, it can grab their attention with its bright colors... I always have this on hand at photoshoots, and you should too!
If your card has room for more than one photo, you'll want one where everyone's smiling at the camera, and one that's more authentic and at ease... showing the kids at play and having fun. Nothing puts kids of all ages at ease more than bubbles! This machine is my favorite, works fast and lasts forever!
Even if you want your picture in a meadow somewhere, you'll need an easy way to get everyone's faces closer together for your group photo. Grab a couple of these and plunk them down anywhere, right across from your tripod!
Once you have all your adorable photos you can then make these adorable Chatbooks that make killer gifts for the family. Just download the Chatbooks app that automatically links with Instagram, Facebook, Google Photos and Tinybeans.
We have a photo wall in my house of black and white pictures from different important stages of our lives. I love the pictures, I love how the wall looks, and I stare at it often. Sometimes I take a moment to really look at it, not just fly by. I usually just look at the kids, but the other day I stared at my face in each picture.
I have no idea what prompted me to do that (I hate looking at myself in general, let alone analyzing a photo of myself) but each face—my face—told a story.
In my wedding photo, I was ecstatic. It was hands down the best day of my life. The picture is of me with my husband during our first dance. I’m beaming with a smile ear to ear…I’m truly happy. We had no time to choreograph our dance, we were barely in the same city, let alone the same room before we got married. But I didn’t care how lame we looked just holding each other and swaying like teenagers—I was married to the love of my life and I was the happiest girl in the world.
The next photo is of my son, exactly seven days after he was born at his Bris (a religious ceremony—and probably the most stressful life event for a new Jewish mom). In the picture, my husband and I were holding him and kissing the top of his head. I looked terrified, my face a complete look of self doubt and uncertainty. Am I holding him too tight, too loose, is he okay, will he be okay, what happens if he cries, what happens if he doesn’t cry, is he too hot, too cold? I literally worried about everything and felt responsible for every single emotion of his—and I was certain I was going to mess it all up.
The next pictures were taken two weeks after my daughter was born. My son was 2 and-a-half years old. My husband and I had a house, a mortgage and two kids. I felt like a real grownup. We could actually afford a fancy studio photographer and fancy birth announcements. I now had two little people counting on me…and I was…exhausted.
In this particular picture of the four of us, I looked impatient. I looked like I had a fake smile and I remember thinking, please everyone just look at the freakin’ camera…just one decent picture. Hoping my naked baby does not poop on me. Hoping my son doesn’t tantrum and refuse to be in a picture, hoping we can get the perfect birth announcement… Thinking: just keep it together people!
Looking back at all these photos, I thought what I would tell my past self, knowing what I know now.
Dear Wedding Day Me,
Remember this day and this feeling forever! The love you have will literally carry you through some dark times. You will be challenged, beyond the point you think you can endure and you will doubt yourself…a lot. Some days will feel like it’s too hard to keep going.
You will walk through fire, sometimes alone, sometimes with your husband by your side, sometimes him holding you and sometimes you holding him. But you will come out the other side holding each other and completely in love! You are stronger than you think.
Dear New Mom Me,
You have so many doubts, everything in you is unsure and worried. That’s okay. Your son doesn’t see any of that. He doesn’t care if you nurse him or give him a bottle. He knows you love him with all your heart and he loves you right back.
You’re his rock, the one he comes to when things go wrong. Tou figure sh-t out and tell him it will be okay. And he believes you ’cause you’re mom. You got this, and…You are stronger than you think.
Dear Veteran Mom Me,
The next couple of years will be tough. You’ll feel like you will never have your stuff together…again…or ever! Your kids will get hurt and you will feel like the worst mom ever. Sh-t gets real. But things get better. They always get better. You’ll walk through fire again…and again…and again—but you get through it, stronger every time.
You will meet many guardian angels throughout the way, in many different forms: just be open to it, to all of it.
Life is messy and unpredictable and so hard for your Type A personality—but you gotta let it go girl! Just let it go and enjoy these fleeting moments. They don’t last. Be present and don’t worry about the perfect picture, because it’s the memory behind the picture that is so much sweeter and better.
And never forget: you will always be stronger then you think.
I'm a mom to 2 busy kids and a pediatrician. My blog is about all things mom, doctor and how the two come together. My goal is to help you find your voice while I find mine and help you become your best version while I become mine!
Cameron Diaz is a mom! The actress recently announced the birth of her daughter Raddix Madden, with husband Benji Madden, on Instagram.
Diaz and Madden shared their baby news in a picture-less IG post. Instead of the obligatory newborn photo, Diaz wrote, “We are so happy, blessed and grateful to begin this new decade by announcing the birth of our daughter Raddix Madden. She immediately captured our hearts and completed our family.”
If you’re looking for adorable infant photos or info on baby Raddix’s exact birth date—don’t. The actress also added a statement on why she and Madden won’t share specific deets on their brand-new bundle of joy, “While we are overjoyed to share this news, we also feel a strong instinct to protect our little one’s privacy. So we won’t be posting pictures or sharing any more details, other than the fact that she is really cute!!”
The new mama also added a cute play on her baby girl’s name, continuing, “Some would even say RAD.”
The notoriously private couple kept mum on the pregnancy, with Diaz’s IG post the first glimpse into their lives as parents.
Amy and Randy English’s youngest daughter Haley Jones just moved out. While this might leave many parents running for the Kleenex, the new empty nesters rejoiced—with an absolutely adorable photo shoot!
Forget about birth announcement, gender reveals and baby’s first-year milestones. Empty nesting is the new cool when it comes to posting pics!
When 22-year-old Jones, who recently started her own photography business, moved from her parents’ home to a new apartment she celebrated the event by snapping these super-sweet shots. And the internet totally appreciates all of the empty nesting awesomeness.
So who had the idea for this genius photo shoot? Jones recently told HuffPost, “I had been wanting to take their pictures and Mama was joking about how they’re going to be empty nesters.” The daughter/photographer went on to say, “And then boom. This was the result.”
And if you already couldn’t tell that the Englishes are super-ready for their next life phase, Jones also added, “they’re excited to have some alone time and quality time to spend with one another without any kids around.”
You know you’ve brought your kid up right when they ask for a Target-themed kids birthday party! Event planner Chelsea Flint was able to make a lucky six-year-old’s dream come true recently when she curated a birthday party that would make the retailer proud.
The red-themed party had all the makings of a Target run: a real shopping cart, plenty of splurge-worthy products, a checkout lane and yes mamas––even a Starbucks. No detail was left untouched in this super fun soiree.
Guests felt right at home when it came to getting the party started. They could get to shopping, scanning and buying with pint-sized accessories, and of course, take a break for a coffee when needed! Flint used cupcakes to mimic the iconic frappucino and we gotta say––it looks delicious!
Perhaps the pièce de résistance was the real live shopping cart. Flint tells Romper that she had to visit five different Target locations before a manager graciously let her borrow one and we’re pretty sure the birthday girl was a happy one.
While this definitely isn’t a new idea––Emily Kern’s 3-year-old daughter held her own bullseye bash several years ago––it’s no less a great one. And let’s also not forget the proud mama who loved the retailer so much she made her own Target birth announcement.
After nine long months of swelling, illness after illness and plenty of pregnancy drama, Jessica Simpson gave birth to daughter Birdie Mae! Congrats to the now-mama of three.
Simpson’s pregnancy wasn’t the easiest three trimesters. Fans who followed the celeb on Instagram saw Simpson’s pregnancy progress from a barely-there bump to feet so swollen the singer asked her social media followers for help—pronto.
Judging by her recent birth announcement IG post, everything Simpson endured has finally paid off and in the best way possible. Daughter Birdie Mae Johnson made her grand debut on Mar. 19, weighing in at 10 pounds, 13 ounces. (Whoa.)
Congrats to Simpson on her daughter’s birth and for delivering an almost 11-pound baby like a champ! We can’t wait for all those baby snuggle photos we know will be all over her IG feed—and we hope this mama bear gets some much-deserved rest first!
When New Jersey mom Sarah had her second baby, she knew she had to tell the world in style. The mom of two, who already announced her pregnancy with a homemade video, sent out a Target-themed birth announcement and don’t be surprised if this becomes a trend!
The adorable snapshot was sent out in December as a holiday card and birth announcement combo, and we love everything about it. From the perfectly coordinated onesie to the iconic red shopping basket, the simple card makes us swoon and crave a Target run at the same time!
Sarah’s love of Target also inspired her pregnancy announcement video (which was filmed at the bullseye retailer), so it was more than fitting that the new mom of two combine her love with the festive and fun birth announcement. You can follow Sarah on her own Instagram account, Diapers and Donuts, where you’ll find more photos of this fun photo shoot.
After a long journey, Gabrielle Union is finally a mom. The actress welcomed a daughter on Nov. 7 with her husband Dwayne Wade. Her birth announcement is so moving, especially given her fraught journey to parenthood.
Union has spoken openly about her fertility struggles. The new mom, now 46, suffered multiple miscarriages on her road to becoming a mommy. While appearing on Dr. Oz, she revealed that she’s had eight or nine miscarriages, but has “lost track” of the total number.
The rocky road to parenting didn’t end there. In her book We’re Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True, the actress candidly wrote about the miscarriages as well as her failed IVF attempts.
The now-new mama told People in 2017, “For so many women, and not just women in the spotlight, people feel very entitled to know, ‘Do you want kids?'” She went on to add, “A lot of people, especially people that have fertility issues, just say ‘no’ because that’s a lot easier than being honest about whatever is actually going on. People mean so well, but they have no idea the harm or frustration it can cause.”
After more than their fair share of disappointments Union and Wade tried surrogacy—and clearly it was a success! In her sweet IG announcement Union writes, “We are sleepless and delirious but so excited to share that our miracle baby arrived last night via surrogate and 11/7 will forever be etched in our hearts as the most loveliest of all the lovely days.”
