‘The Vampire Diaries’ star Claire Holt gives birth to her second child, baby girl, Elle

Congratulations are in order for TVD actress Claire Holt and her husband, Andrew Joblon! The happy couple welcomed their second child, a baby girl, over the weekend. On Sunday, Sept. 13, The Originals actress shared the joyous news on Instagram, even revealing their newborn daughter’s name.

“She’s here,” her post began. “Our sweet girl, Elle. After 27.5 hours of labor, she flew into the world and expanded our hearts. We are so grateful for our healthy baby and cannot wait for her to meet her big brother,” Holt announced.

“All the women out there, you guys are the superior gender and it’s not even close!!”

Claire’s husband, Andrew Joblon, who is a real estate executive, also took to Instagram in a heartfelt appreciation post for his wife. Praising her for being so tough during a long labor, amid already challenging times.

“Baby Elle has finally made her appearance after 27.5 hours of labor,” wrote the new dad. “@claireholt again proved to me she is my hero and a true warrior. I love you with all my heart. Thank you so much for birthing this sweet little girl in a challenging year. All the women out there, no debate from me, you guys are the superior gender and it’s not even close!! 9.12.2020 – my heart is full ❤️,” he wrote on his instagram page.

The 32 year old actress and her husband are also proud parents to their son, James Holt Joblon, whom they welcomed on March 28, 2019. Holt and Joblon got married in August 2018, eight months after their engagement. Claire was previously married to film producer Matthew Kaplan, who filed for divorce in April 2017, a day before their one-year anniversary.

Pregnancy Announcement and Gender Reveal

Holt’s second pregnancy announcement came shortly after her son’s birthday. The actress took to social media, sharing an adorable family photo of the three. Wearing a gorgeous blue dress, the positively glowing actress is seen cradling her baby bump with one hand while her other rests on Joblon, who was holding little James.

“Grateful for this little ray of sunshine in an uncertain time ❤️,” the actress captioned her pregnancy reveal, referencing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Two weeks later, the then-mom-to-be shared their adorable gender reveal with her followers. The slow-motion video shows her popping a big black balloon that explodes to reveal pink confetti. The parents look clearly excited as they happily hug each other with little James in their arms.

“Exhausted, in pain, feeling defeated”

Holt has been quite open about her hardships with motherhood and the hurdles she has crossed since welcoming James. The actress even opened up in an emotional post about the miscarriage she suffered before her son, his difficult birth and even some of her postpartum challenges.

“This was me yesterday after struggling through a tough feed,” she wrote alongside an April 2019 photo that showed her eyes visibly filled with tears as her then-newborn baby boy seemed to be sleeping soundly on her shoulder. “Exhausted, in pain, feeling defeated. I’ve had many moments like this since my son arrived. My only concern is making sure his needs are met, yet I often feel that I’m falling short. I just have to do my best and take it one hour at a time,” Holt continued at the time. “Thankfully, this little guy is worth every second of struggle.”

“I still felt overwhelmed, embarrassed, guilty that I was struggling”

This past August, The Mean Girls 2 alum bared her baby bump on Instagram, while she was 35 weeks into her pregnancy. Posing for a mirror selfie in her Los Angeles home, the actress asked fans for their postpartum advice ‘the second time’ around. She admitted her mixed emotions about having a baby in the middle of a pandemic and feeling stressed about how she will cope mentally.

She began, “35 WEEKS. I’m excited to meet this little girl but I’m SO anxious about losing it again. The recovery, sleep deprivation, feedings, two kids 17 months apart, a pandemic… It’s a lot.”

The actress even revealed that she’s ‘always had help’ and is ‘completely in awe’ of women who do it all on their own. “I know how lucky I am and I know each stage is temporary, but I’m still feeling stressed about how I’ll cope mentally,” she admitted.

The star wrote how she thought it was “important to share” that she has “always had help” at home, insisting that she “never want(s) to pretend that I do it on my own (I am completely in awe of women who do).”

Referring to her first pregnancy with 18-month-old son James, Claire said she still felt ‘overwhelmed’ despite having had help. “I still felt overwhelmed, embarrassed, guilty that I was struggling, and not at all like myself after I gave birth. Did anyone have a totally different postpartum experience the second time? Tips?” she concluded her post.