Gabrielle Union and husband Dwyane Wade welcomed their baby daughter Kaavia James into the world with a bang — and a band.
On Sunday, the actress, 46, and basketball player, 36, threw an elaborate tailgate-themed baby shower to celebrate Kaavia’s arrival on Nov. 7. It was an especially happy occasion for the mom of one, who struggled to conceive for years. (Baby Kaavia was eventually born via surrogate).
Friends of the family posted videos and photos of the epic gathering on social media. Some standout attractions included a marching band and baton twirlers, a puppy pit complete with golden retrievers dressed in red jerseys, beer pong, kegs and a photo booth.
A particularly celebratory moment showed the Bring It On alum attempting to do a keg stand and needing a napkin right after. “I don’t remember it being that way!” she told the camera.
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In additional footage, Union, who was dressed in a customized jersey, beanie and black sneakers, also appeared to rule the beer pong table.
Multiple attendees called out Union and Wade’s unparalleled ability to throw a party. One wrote “Gab Union and Dwyane Wade have done it again!” Added another, “Omg this f—ing party!” tagging the couple’s Instagram accounts. “Best children’s party I’ve ever been to,” read a third post. “Only Gab Union and Dwyane Wade would have this at Kaavia’s welcome party,” commented another guest about the marching band.
Before all the craziness of Sunday’s festivities, the NBA star shared a sweet moment with his newborn, which Union posted about on her Instagram story. In the photo, Wade is feeding little Kaavia with a baby bottle while wearing a grey robe and staring meaningfully into her eyes.
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Kaavia is the first child for Union, while the Miami Heat player is dad to sons Xavier Zechariah, 5, Zion Malachi Airamis, 11, and Zaire Blessing Dwyane, 16. He also raises nephew Dahveon Morris, 17.
Wade and Union have been making headlines regularly since Kaavia’s birth — including when critics questioned Union’s decision to wear a hospital gown while holding her daughter right after she was born. Some accused the new mom of pretending to give birth, but Wade clarified in an interview with Oprah Winfrey a few weeks later that they chose to do it to facilitate skin-to-skin bonding with their little one.
“I try to tell my wife, ‘Don’t look at that stuff,’ ” he explained to Winfrey before pivoting to discuss the hospital photos.
“For me, the most hurtful thing was once we had our baby and everybody started talking about, ‘Why is she in the bed holding the baby? Why she got a gown on? Why is she acting like she just had a baby?’ ” he recalled. “Once again, people are uneducated on the process and why we decided to go skin-to-skin as soon as our baby came out.”
In another clip of the interview, Union, who has suffered eight or nine pregnancy losses, got emotional about not being able to carry the child herself.
“I’m already getting choked up. It’s still hard to let go,” she said, with tears in her eyes.
RELATED VIDEO: Gabrielle Union Tells Oprah She’s ‘Blessed’ to Be a Mom After Suffering Multiple Miscarriages
The new mom previously opened up about her struggles with infertility in her 2017 memoir, We’re Going to Need More Wine.
“For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant — I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle or coming out of an IVF cycle,” wrote Union, who also revealed she was diagnosed with adenomyosis, a type of endometriosis that only occurs in the uterus.
After realizing how much joy she felt raising the boys with Wade, Union first discovered that having a baby was something she wanted. “I never wanted kids. Then I became a stepmom, and there was no place I’d rather be than with them,” she told PEOPLE in September 2017.
“So then I thought, ‘Well maybe I might be good at this, and maybe this is something I want to explore,’ ” she continued. “And I’m madly in love with this dude, so [having a baby] is something we could look into.”
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