Kailyn Lowry is a 5-time boy mom! The Teen Mom 2 star confirmed on the October 13 edition of her Barely Famous podcast that she welcomed her fifth child, a son named Rio, with boyfriend Elijah Scott. Kailyn’s baby confirmation comes after months of speculation.
The 31-year-old explained that baby Rio arrived unexpectedly, and she didn’t “have time with him” before he was taken to the NICU. “I mean, I literally got to hold him for maybe 3 seconds before they took him to the NICU,” Kailyn revealed. She admitted that she was “so upset” in the moment.
The Teen Mom 2 alum noticed that Elijah wasn’t crying, and he told her that he was putting her needs first because she was so upset. “I’m like, ‘He almost died.’ And Elijah’s like, ‘No, Kail, he went to the NICU.’ To me, I’m like, ‘That’s near death.’ It was traumatizing for me.” The podcast host said that she wanted to dedicate an entire episode to baby Rio’s birth story in the future.
Kailyn also addressed rumors about why she’s waited until now to confirm the news about her fifth child. “It’s never been true that he wasn’t allowing me to post anything,” Kailyn said about Elijah. She added, “Every single time I’ve wanted to announce this by myself, on my own, on my own terms, that has been taken away from me.”
In an interview with PEOPLE, the reality star admitted that she “wanted to be able to tell my own story on my own terms and kind of share what information I wanted to share instead of being within a contractual obligation or storyline.” Kailyn and Elijah kept the news about their baby private and only told their close friends and family.
However, news about Rio’s arrival leaked from the hospital after Kailyn gave birth. She revealed that the violation is being handled “internally.” Kailyn admitted, “That was definitely one of the sadder moments.” Rio was a “pleasant surprise” for Kailyn and Elijah, and she gushed that the little one has “really been a joy for all of us.”