Yahoo Finance It's a Boy! Grey's Anatomy's Camilla Luddington and Matthew Alan Welcome Son Lucas Matthew
It's a Boy! Grey's Anatomy's Camilla Luddington and Matthew Alan Welcome Son Lucas Matthew
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Camilla Luddington has a family of four!
The Grey's Anatomy star, 36, has welcomed her second child with husband Matthew Alan, she announced Tuesday on Instagram, with a rep confirming to PEOPLE that the baby's full name is Lucas Matthew Alan.
"After what felt like a year long third trimester ... it finally happened!! Matt and I are SOOO happy to announce the birth of our sweet baby BOY Lucas, otherwise known as my little lion 🦁 (shoutout to Leo's!)," she captioned a photo of herself in the hospital with baby Lucas.
The couple's new addition joins 3-year-old big sister Hayden, whose birth Luddington announced in April 2017. And the new mom of two tells PEOPLE that "it feels amazing" to welcome their second child home.
"Our family has been isolating since March [amid the coronavirus pandemic], which has come with its own challenges, but the upside is that it gave us a lot of time to be able to prepare," she says. "Once I hit 37 weeks, I was willing him to come. Our bubble feels complete now that he's here."
Camilla Luddington
Luddington reveals that Lucas "was the only boys' name my husband and I ever really liked," and had in fact "topped our boys' name list back when I was pregnant with Hayden."
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Courtesy Camilla Luddington Camilla Luddington's newborn son Lucas
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"This time, we were also convinced I was having a girl again because my morning sickness was so bad, so we were already thinking of new girls' names," she adds. "When we found out we were having a boy, we knew instantly he would be Lucas! His middle name is my husband's [first name], Matthew."
Although she'd been pregnant before, it was "much more stressful" this time around considering the COVID-19 crisis. "I absolutely had more daily anxiety," Luddington tells PEOPLE. "Not only did I have concerns over contracting COVID and what that could potentially mean for my pregnancy, I was also worried about things like my husband not being able to be present with me during the birth."
"It changed a lot of the experience for me this time around. One example being Matt wasn't allowed to come to ultrasounds, so we missed out on sharing those moments together," she adds.
It also "never occurred" to Luddington that she'd "have to wear a mask in labor — it just wasn't something I had thought about and when I found out I would have to, I cried," she recalls. "I completely understood the importance of wearing one, I just dreaded it. Labor is so physically exhausting I couldn't imagine adding a mask."
For other moms having a similar fear, Luddington assures that she "honestly forgot" that she had the mask on during most of the experience. "I was in labor 15-plus hours and so much else was happening that my mind was elsewhere," she says. "I didn't feel like ripping it off but I was thankful they allowed us to remove them for a short time to capture some after-birth pictures without the masks on."
Courtesy Camilla Luddington Matthew Alan and Camilla Luddington
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As for how she handled stress during her pregnancy, "I managed by trying to make time for myself to decompress in the evenings," Luddington shares, "which usually meant taking a bath after Hayden went to bed and reading Untamed. If I'd had a bad day, it made it easier to shake off and reset."
The actress tells PEOPLE she was "frustrated" at first "for feeling overwhelmed so often" and "feeling so much anxiety" amid the pandemic, but she wants to advise other women "to be kind" to themselves: "It's okay to have bad days. It's not just okay — it's completely understandable!"
It helps that Alan has her back. "We have always had the attitude of, 'We're in this together' in all things we've done," she says. "This time was just another example of feeling like we could lean on each other and there was unwavering support. Sometimes it was as simple as him hugging me into him and saying, 'We got this.' "
Hayden couldn't be more excited to have a baby brother, too. Explains Luddington, "She would tickle my belly when I was pregnant and think she was tickling the baby. When he arrived, she was so giddy. She couldn't stop kissing his head and saying how cute he was."
"We were relieved, as you just never know with a toddler how they may react to things," she adds. "The day we brought him home will always be one of my favorite memories ever."
A post shared by Camilla Luddington (@camillaluddington) on Aug 25, 2020 at 10:01am PDT
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Luddington revealed that she and Alan, who's also an actor, would be adding another little one to their family this past March, leveraging a little Disney magic to help spill the big news.
"Me: 'I'm just gonna do a super casual pregnancy announcement,' " she wrote alongside a photo of herself at Disneyland with Cinderella. "Also me: 'I NEED PRINCESSES!!!!!!' 👑✨💫🌟👑✨🌟💫👑✨🌟💫👑."
"Okay so … Matt and I are so happy to fiiiiinally post after months of 'hiding' that I am pregnant! We are beyond excited to add to our little family and give Hayden a sibling," she continued. "And yes, I've been away a lot from social media the past few months because OMGGGG the exhaustion and OMGGGGGG the morning (read: alllllll day) sickness."
Luddington added, "Have I been 🤮 mid filming at work? Yep! Oh the glamor [sic] of growing new humans 🤣. But in all seriousness, we feel so lucky and I can't wait to bring you guys along for the remaining months of this baby #2 journey!! *Shout out to the one and only Cinderella for helping me with this pic yesterday."
A post shared by Camilla Luddington (@camillaluddington) on May 10, 2020 at 9:57am PDT
In January 2018, the couple announced that they were engaged. They tied the knot in August 2019 during an intimate California coastline ceremony in front of 70 of their closest friends and family (including Luddington's former Grey's costar Jessica Capshaw!).
Over the months since her pregnancy announcement, Luddington has shared numerous photos of her baby bump and given a glimpse into her life at home amid the pandemic.
In mid-July, the actress shared a glowing photo of herself showing off her baby bump while wearing a black ruffled bikini and stylish fedora. Luddington went for a refreshing dip in the pool while posing for the picture with one hand on her hip and the other above her head.
"Woohoo 🥳🥳🥳🥳 to the neverendingggggg third trimester ha!! 🤦♀️🤣🤣🤣❤️❤️❤️🙌🙌🙌," Luddington teased of the smiling shot, adding the hashtags, "#thirdtrimester," "#pregnantbelly" and "#sunsoutbellysout."
