Surfer Bethany Hamilton Is Pregnant With Her Second Child

Instagram/Bethany Hamilton

Professional surfer and motivational speaker Bethany Hamilton made a big announcement this week: She’s expecting another baby!

The 27-year-old posted an adorable pregnancy announcement video to her social media accounts featuring her son, Tobias, and her husband, former youth minister Adam Dirks.

“Where’s baby?” Dirks asks 2-year-old Tobias, and he runs over to Hamilton to give his mom’s belly a kiss.

“Baby on the way!” Dirks says, and Hamilton responds with “Baby in there!”

You can watch the cute video announcement here:

Baby No. 2 Expected In March

The mama-to-be shared on her website that she’s due in March 2018, and she convinced her husband to keep the gender a surprise until birth.

“Adam and I are so so sooo excited!!!” she wrote. “Becoming parents to Tobias has been such a beautiful journey. We love the joy and also the challenges he brings to our life and he is sure ready for a sibling.”

Hamilton noted that Tobias gives the baby kisses every day and wrote that she’s “thankful my pregnancy has been mellow and manageable.”

Hamilton’s Life-Changing Surf Session

The surfer—born and bred in Hawaii—inspired people around the world with her strength and perseverance after surviving an attack by a 14-foot tiger shark when she was just 13-years-old. She lost 60 percent of her blood on account of the attack, in addition to her left arm, and still managed to survive.

Here she is throwing out the first pitch at an Oakland A’s game in 2004 after her accident:

Getty Images

Though she lost her arm, Hamilton didn’t give up on her dream and relearned how to surf. One month after the attack, Bethany returned to the water and within two years had won a national title.

Hamilton has also written about her story and how her Christian faith has helped her overcome her life’s challenges. In 2004, she wrote a New York Times-bestselling autobiography called “Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board.”

Her story was made into the movie “Soul Surfer,” starring Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt and AnnaSophia Robb as Hamilton, in 2011.

Getty Images

“For me soul surfing is just being passionate about the ocean and surfing,” Hamilton says. “That’s what I am. I’m passionate about being out there and enjoying God’s creation.”

bethany hamilton surf photo
Getty Images | Neilson Barnard

She’s Still Got It

Hamilton’s surfing skills continue to impress. She recently surfed a manmade wave made by the Kelly Slater Wave Company. In a video shared from her visit, Slater—perhaps the world’s best-known surfer—calls her skills “incredible.”

Even with all her success on and off the board, Hamilton says her “greatest joy is being a wife and mother.”

Congrats to the growing family!

Celebrities, Family & Parenting, Good News
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About the Author
Haley Otman
Haley Otman is a news and features writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she roots for the University of Michigan Wolverines. A former broadcast news producer, Haley has 10 years of writing experience and has worked in both journalism and public relations.

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