Actress Essence Atkins and husband Jamie Mendez welcomed a baby boy into the world on Sunday, December 25, 2011. The little bundle of joy arrived just in time for the holidays. Atkins tweeted, “Our 1st baby, a beautiful healthy boy, was born on Christmas Day!#blessing.” Essence and Jamie named the child Varro, meaning “durable and strong.”
PHOTOS: See Archived Pictures Of Essence And Her Baby Bump
Essence discussed her pregnancy with Essence magazine in October 2011. Atkins said, “It’s funny, we weren’t trying, I just looked in the mirror one morning at my body and it looked different. My breasts were bigger, I stood in front of my husband and said, ‘Honey, I think I’m pregnant.’ I didn’t have any morning sickness, everything has been extremely well. The only thing I changed was that I stopped working out. All of our friends are like, ‘You guys are just getting started while our [kids] are off to college,’ but it’s like I lived my life, I’ve taken trips to Paris for just 30 hours and came back, I’ve popped bottles, I’ve done it all, now I’m just ready and looking forward to being a mom.”
