Blue Bloods star Vanessa Ray revealed this week that she and her husband Landon Beard adopted their first child, a baby boy, late last year.
The actress, 42, said PEOPLE Thursday that their son Isaac Ray Beard was born on Nov. 7 and that the adoption was a “whirlwind” for the couple.
He said his co-star Peter Hermann “gently” helped them through the process, as he and his wife Mariska Hargitay have two adopted children.
After a year of finding a lawyer and preparing paperwork, Ray and Beard were matched with Isaac’s birth mother just four weeks before she gave birth.
“He came into our life, it was such a whirlwind,” she gushed.
Ray explained that she and Beard, who married in 2015, were initially “not totally sure if we were going to have kids” or if it made sense for them.
But that all changed when an “overwhelming sense of family” washed over her on the set of the CBS drama.
Blue Bloods star Vanessa Ray revealed this week that she and her husband Landon Beard adopted their first child, a baby boy, late last year; the couple seen in 2018
The actress, 42, told PEOPLE on Thursday that her son Isaac Ray Beard was born on Nov. 7 and that the adoption process was a “whirlwind” for the couple; Ray seen in 2022
“One day I was at work, honestly, I was about to have a family dinner and I had this overwhelming feeling of family and what I love about our life and all this stuff,” she recalled.
Then he called Beard crying and said, “I “I think we’re supposed to be parents and I think we’re supposed to adopt.”
Ray confided in his co-star Bridget Moynahan about his decision to adopt and that the actress told him to contact Hermann, who had a guest role on Blue Bloods.
Ray still had to work with Hermann, but that didn’t stop the actor from giving the couple some guidance.
Hermann and Hargitay adopted two of their three children.
The couple adopted their daughter Amaya, now 12, in April 2011 and their son Andrew, now 12, in October 2011. They also share a biological son, August, 17.
Ray recalled how Hermann “really took us by the hand and explained everything we needed to know about adoption.”
She recalled that he told the couple that adoption is like “pretty much a lot of first dates” and that there can be “a lot of heartbreak that goes along with it.”
But for Ray and Beard, the process was a “whirlwind” and concluded in just over a year.
After a year of finding a lawyer and preparing paperwork, Ray and Beard were matched with Isaac’s birth mother just four weeks before she gave birth.
He said his co-star Peter Hermann “gently” helped them through the process, as he and his wife Mariska Hargitay have two adopted children. The couple adopted daughter Amaya, now 12, in April 2011 and son Andrew, now 12, in October 2011. They also share a biological son, on August 17.
Ray explained that she and Beard, who married in 2015, were initially “not totally sure if we were going to have kids” or if it made sense for them. But all that changed when an ‘overwhelming sense of family’ washed over her on the set of the CBS drama.
He explained that it took them “about a year” to get their affairs in order and then they were able to apply to an adoption agency.
Just a few days later, Ray said they were flying out to meet a potential birth mother.
‘It was super fast. She said: “He’s due in four weeks, so we have to do this quickly.” “We were like, ‘Wow, okay,’” the actress recalled.
Ray revealed to PEOPLE that Isaac arrived a week early, on November 7.
She joked that she and her husband “credit Isaac (with) ending” the SAG-AFTRA strike because he arrived one day before it ended after 118 days.
‘It all happened in three weeks, really from zero to three weeks. Then we took it out and it was amazing,” she gushed.
Ray and Beard had the support of their friends, who helped them put together a ‘makeshift daycare’ in just one day after learning that Isaac would be theirs.
Ray said caring for three-month-old Isaac has been a breeze because “he loves to sleep and eat”; Ray seen in 2021
“We’re very focused on him right now,” Ray told PEOPLE. ‘And just shower him with love and try to soak up every moment we can of the little littleness of him, the little life of him’; the couple photographed in December 2023
‘I’m not kidding, within 24 hours we had an improvised nursery set up. A crib, pacifiers, bottles, Baby Brezza, everything. “We had everything we needed from our friends,” she said.
‘We didn’t have to buy anything. We didn’t really do it right away, at least for the first three months.
They chose the name ‘Isaac,’ which means ‘One who laughs or rejoices,’ after Beard reminded him that she expressed her liking for the name more than a decade ago while hiking together.
‘I guess that name has been with us for a long time. We never knew we would have to use it and here we are. He laughs a lot and rejoices a lot,” she gushed.
Ray said taking care of three-month-old Isaac has been very easy because “he loves to sleep and eat.”
“We’re very focused on him right now,” Ray told PEOPLE. “And just showering him with love and trying to soak up every moment we can of the littleness of him, the little life of him.”
Ray joined the cast of Blue Bloods in 2013 during its fourth season on CBS. The show is currently in its fourteenth season.