Alaskan Bush People‘s Billy and Ami Brown were shocked to learn their youngest son, Noah Brown, was going to be a dad in Sunday’s Season 9 premiere of the Discovery show.
Bringing new wife Rhain Alisha onto the Brown family ranch wasn’t an easy move for Noah, who faced pushback from sister Snowbird in particular over the move due to conflict between herself and the newcomer. But things changed even more when he and Rhain met with Billy and Ami to reveal they were expecting the first Brown grandchild.
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Holding up a sign reading “Coming Next Spring” with a sonogram of their child, the parents-to-be were proud to break the big news to a shocked Ami and Billy.
“Are you serious?” Ami asked. “No way!”
“Noah brings great joy to my heart,” the soon-to-be-grandmother continued to the camera. “It’s amazing that the youngest of five boys, he was the first to get married and the first to have a child. It’s very wonderful.”
The news had an extra layer of meaning for Ami, who was given a small chance of surviving cancer after being diagnosed two years ago. Following intensive treatment that required her to move to Los Angeles temporarily, Ami was declared “cancer-free” by doctors.
“I thank God that he let me live to see [the new baby],” Ami said.
Noah admitted he was “very excited” to announce the news to his parents, if a little nervous to be expanding the Brown family.
“The look on my mom’s and dad’s face when they realized they were going to be grandparents, for my mom it’s a dream come true,” he confessed. “More than anything, they’re excited. But my siblings, I’m nervous about it. [Sister Snowbird], I’m not sure how she will react. The fact that we’re pregnant isn’t something that can be changed by popular opinion.”
While the rest of the Brown children were thrilled to find out they would be aunts and uncles soon enough, Snowbird predictably did have mixed feelings about the news.
“You know, I’m definitely happy for Noah and his girl,” she told the camera. “He’s always wanted to be a dad and a husband. I mean I admit I have a lot of mixed emotions, but I’m trying to let past problems be past problems.”
She continued, “Mom and dad, mom especially, have wanted a grandkid for so long. I don’t wanna miss out on being an aunt to Noah’s kid.”
The couple announced their big news publicly in November with a sweet video, saying that a spring due date was everything they could have hoped for when adding a new member to the family.
“Spring is when the birds have their babies, and the deer have their babies, and the bears and the cougars, so we’re gonna have our baby too,” Noah said at the time. “We just fit right in with the animals.”
On Feb. 26, the couple welcomed the little one—a son named Elijah Connor Brown—to their family, who weighed in at 7 lbs., 5 oz., and measured 20 inches long.
“Rhain and I are thrilled to announce the arrival of our son Elijah Connor Brown. Mom and son are healthy and happy — he’s already working on his howl!” Noah told PEOPLE in a statement. “Rhain is a wonderful mother already, I am truly in awe of her and we are both very grateful and excited to welcome him to our family.”
According to Rhain, baby Elijah is “happy, healthy, and just perfect.”
Welcoming their first grandchild, Ami and Billy added that they were “over the moon and we all feel so blessed.”
“We can’t wait to meet the handsome young man and have them all back on the mountain soon,” they added.
Alaskan Bush People airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on Discovery.
Photo credit: Discovery
