You’ve got to hand it to celebrities who are keeping their birth announcements under wraps. Take Tommy Hilfiger for example. On the same day it was reported that he and his wife were expecting a baby, there came another news report that his wife had given birth to a baby boy. The initial news reports claimed that Dee Ocleppo was only three months pregnant.

A publicist for the designer had actually confirmed the news of the impending birth but declined to provide further details. No doubt many people were surprised by the second set of news reports which said the baby had arrived. The baby’s name is Sebastian Thomas and he weighed 9 lbs., 8 oz at birth on August 4, 2009. He already has a big family to love and nurture him. Tommy Hilfiger has four children from his first marriage.

Hilfiger’s marriage to his first wife Susie produced Alexandria (Ally), Richard, Elizabeth and Kathleen, whose ages range from 13 to 24. Ocleppo, who was previously married to Italian tennis star Gianni Ocleppo has two children. Hilfiger’s daughter Ally appeared on the aptly titled MTV reality show Rich Girls.

Of course the idea of blended families is certainly nothing new in Hollywood. Many well known figures have moved on to happy marriages with their children in tow.

It is not always easy to get used to stepparents let alone stepbrothers and stepsisters. The relationship between parents and their biological children is complicated enough. I think the entire family is probably already united over the birth of the new baby. Of course there is no reason to believe they were not already united.

I must commend Mr. Hilfiger and his publicist on that little bit of media sleight of hand. Pregnant celebrities should be allowed the space and worry free environment they are not usually given. In short, when the woman is pregnant, the paparazzi and the rest of the media should think about backing off for the sake of the baby.

At 58-years old Hilfiger is edging into the older celebrity daddies category. His wife reported to be around 41-years old is one of the growing list of advanced maternal age mothers. There is no challenge posed by this particular situation that can’t be overcome with love and patience. Congratulations to Hilfiger and his wife Dee Ocleppo on the birth of little Sebastian Thomas.

There are many older celebrity dads out there. Anthony Quinn, Chuck Norris, and Luciano Pavarotti are a few names that come quickly to mind. It’s not just women who are having children later in life, many men are also opting to do this, some for the first time.

Former Monthy Python star Terry Jones will soon be adding his name to that list. Jones is a popular figure in Britain. He was one of the founding members of the Monty Python comedy troupe. John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael are some of the other well known names of the group.

According to reports, the comedian is set to become a father again with his girlfriend Anna Soderstrom. Jones and his ex-wife Alison Telfer already have two adult children Sally and Bill. They were married in 1970. Soderstrom at 26, is 41 years younger than Jones. The baby will be Soderstrom’s first.

The couple met at a book signing at Oxford University where Soderstrom was an undergraduate. Some time after that, Jones and his wife got divorced. Not surprisingly, the children and ex-wife of Jones are not too pleased at the news of his pending fatherhood. A source was quoted in Britain’s Daily Telegraph as saying, “Alison and the kids are a different proposition. For them it’s devastating and humiliating. They’ll never speak about it because they’ve got far too much dignity for that.”

The same source offered the view that this might be partially a question of manhood for Jones. According to the source, “He doesn’t seem fazed by it, but everyone else is. If anything it’s a classic case of male pride taking over. Getting a young filly pregnant shows there’s life in the old dog yet.” I am sure that there are many who would agree with this assessment.

The new arrival is expected in autumn 2009. Hopefully all parties will be able to put any negative feelings aside after the baby is born as so often happens. Whatever happens, I hope that for the sake of the baby everyone will be able to move on although I know it will be difficult.

Hollywood star Kevin Costner and his wife Christine Baumgartner have just had another son. According to reports, they named the baby Hayes Logan Costner. He was born on Thursday, February 12, and weighed 8 lbs 15 oz. Costner’s representative Arnold Robinson was quoted as saying, “Both mother and son are doing well.” In a recent radio interview Costner revealed his plans to name the baby Hayes, saying it was a “great Western name.” Costner is known to be a fan of the Western genre.

Costner and Baumgartner already have another son, Cayden Wyatt, who was born in May 2007. The couple has been married since September 2004. Costner was previously married to Cindy Silva, who was his childhood sweetheart, however they divorced in 1994. That union produced three children, Joe, Annie and Lily. Costner is also father to Liam, who was born in 1996 during a short relationship with Bridget Rooney.

As far as Hollywood is concerned, Costner has certainly had his ups and downs. Once a hot property in the industry his box office appeal has waned, but he still has many fans. Early in his career he was known for hits such as The Untouchables, No Way Out and Field of Dreams. He had a blockbuster hit in 1992 when he teamed with singer Whitney Houston for The Bodyguard.

After the film Waterworld misfired, he lost some of his Hollywood luster, but he still kept on working. Some of his more notable recent movies are Mr. Brooks, Dragonfly and The Upside of Anger.

With six children Costner can now be seen as one of the busier celebrity parents, especially since he is still pretty much a working actor. At 54 he is also in the older dads group, something which should make this experience even more interesting for him. He was once quoted as saying about fatherhood, “I can’t say I really see much difference between my son and daughters except that my girls will occasionally make me a sandwich and my son won’t.” How’s that for perspective?

Congratulations to Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner on the birth of their second child. When he can take some time off from daddy duties, we look forward to seeing Costner on the screen again.