Emily Ratajkowski Welcomes Baby With Husband Sebastian Bear-McClard: See Her First Breastfeeding Photo

Model and actress Emily Ratajkowski has given birth to her first baby, with her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard. In a Thursday post on Instagram, she shared a photo of the newborn breastfeeding and wrote, “Sylvester Apollo Bear has joined us earth side.” She added, “Sly arrived 3/8/21 on the most surreal, beautiful, and love-filled morning of my life.”

Ratajkowski first revealed her pregnancy news back in October, debuting her baby bump on a digital cover of Vogue magazine. Along with her announcement, she penned an essay on gender stereotypes that surround pregnancy, challenging readers to rethink their perspective. “When my husband and I tell friends that I’m pregnant, their first question after ‘Congratulations’ is almost always ‘Do you know what you want?’ We like to respond that we won’t know the gender until our child is 18 and that they’ll let us know then,” she explained. “Everyone laughs at this. There is a truth to our line, though, one that hints at possibilities that are much more complex than whatever genitalia our child might be born with: the truth that we ultimately have no idea who—rather than what—is growing inside my belly.”

“I don’t like that we force gender-based preconceptions onto people, let alone babies. I want to be a parent who allows my child to show themself to me,” Ratajkowski also wrote. “And yet I realize that while I may hope my child can determine their own place in the world, they will, no matter what, be faced with the undeniable constraints and constructions of gender before they can speak or, hell, even be born.”

The new mom also spoke about how the new chapter of her life has forced her to accept the reality of sometimes being “helpless” in many situations and circumstances. “I used to use magical thinking whenever I wanted something to go a certain way,” she wrote. “Now, though, I don’t try to envision a pink or blue blanket in my arms. I’m too humbled to have any false notions of control.”

Ratajkowski continued, “I’m completely and undeniably helpless when it comes to almost everything surrounding my pregnancy: how my body will change, who my child will be. But I’m surprisingly unbothered. Instead of feeling afraid, I feel a new sense of peace. I’m already learning from this person inside my body. I’m full of wonder.”