How Many Kids Does Vanessa Lachey Have? The Mother of 3 Says She Is Open to Having 4th Child with Husband Nick

Nick Lachey's wife had worries about her spouse and future daughter before the couple welcomed their children. Now, they have three beautiful children and could be open to having another.

98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey and actress Vanessa Lachey, who portrays Jane Tennant on "NCIS: Hawai'i," have three gorgeous children, Camden, Brooklyn, and Phoenix.

However, their road to parenthood was not easy. For starters, Vanessa was filled with self-doubt before welcoming their first child together and was "terrified" that their first might be a girl.

During a 2021 interview with People Magazine, Vanessa reflected on the beginning of parenthood. She revealed most of her anxieties about being a mother stemmed from emotional wounds from her childhood.

Her most significant anxiety was the thought of having a daughter first, as she was terrified that she would mess her up. She also had reservations about her husband as she told the outlet:

"I was like, "If this is a little girl, and it's everything he's ever wanted, what if he loves her more than me?" "

Fortunately, Vanessa and Lachey first welcomed a boy, their son Camden John, in 2012, after the couple married on Sir Richard Branson's 74-acre private island in the British Virgin Islands.

Therefore when the "Love Is Blind" hosts welcomed their daughter Brooklyn three years later in 2015, Vanessa was ready to face her reservations about having a daughter and accept her daughter with her arms wide open.

Vanessa realized that she did not fall into the parenting patterns she was worried about from her parents, as she explained it is possible to change your thinking and not fall into those patterns.

Vanessa's past worries are entirely behind her as she and Brooklyn have an incredible bond. The "Wipeout" host gushed about her daughter and said of Brooklyn's personality:

"She's super intuitive, very smart, and very sweet. To see my little girl, I couldn't be more grateful and thankful that I was given her and that I get to be her mommy."

She also loves watching Nick and Brooklyn's relationship as she described being proud of their thick-as-thieves relationship and that Brooklyn's relationship with her father would shape and define her as a woman.

Another hill the couple had to climb during their parenting journey was the traumatic birth of their second son, Phoenix. He was born ten weeks premature and spent six weeks in the NICU.

An umbilical cord prolapse caused the couple's youngest son's premature birth, and he had to spend time in the hospital because he experienced a respiratory syncytial virus.

Both parents have spoken candidly about Phoenix's birth. Vanessa admitted that it was the most challenging part of her life and marriage. She also noted that the couple never got over it:

"Nick actually mentioned the other day, "I don’t know if we’ve ever gotten over that." We’ve never really talked about it... We’ve still kind of just been playing catch-up since then."

Two and a half years after the birth, Nick reflected on the difficult moment on his Instagram for Father's Day 2019. Alongside a photo of him cuddling newborn Pheonix, Nick wrote fatherhood was the best job in the world, but it was not the easiest.

Each day, Nick tells his children that his job as a parent is to protect them. However, when Pheonix arrived on Christmas eve, ten weeks early, he felt "helpless and unable to do [his] job."

He felt vulnerability and fear he had never known as he sat in the NICU with the tiny baby on his chest, hoping the skin-to-skin contact would provide Pheonix with a bit of comfort. At the time, Vanessa was not able to hold him.

Although the next six weeks were extremely tough, it was also a wonderful time. Nick explained that although dads feel it is essential to be their children's pillar of strength, Pheonix had taught him another sign of strength:

"As Dads, I think we often feel a pressure to be this impenetrable pillar of strength. Phoenix reminded me that the ultimate show of strength is love. The world needs more of it..."

Fortunately, Pheonix and his parents made it through his traumatic birth. Vanessa and Nick regularly show off their little ones online and discuss parenthood during interviews.

Although they love being parents, it seems three is the perfect number for them. During a 2020 interview with Tamron Hall, Vanessa remarked that there would be no more children as "the shop is closed."

Feeling the need to explain herself, the "Cat Me Kat" actress said she would never disregard the blessing and intensity of falling pregnant, but they would not have any more children.

She also remarked that she and Nick were lucky and blessed to have three healthy children because she understood that it could be challenging for people to have children or even try to adopt children without difficulty.

Although Nick and Vanessa seemed pretty adamant that Pheonix would be their last child, Vanessa hinted that she might have changed her mind a few months later.

In August 2020, while exclusively talking to Us Weekly to promote her Rice Krispies Treats partnership, Vanessa admitted that anything was possible because they both still like each other.

Although the Lachey's seem to be in love with each other, their children, and their lives, they have been open about the harsh realities that come with having three young children.

Vanessa admitted that dating each other can be difficult because having children does not allow spontaneity. Instead, they have to plan a date properly and ensure their children's routines are not affected.

But they have made it work, as Nick once stressed that it was good to balance their marriage and make sure there was time to visit friends, go on date nights, and do important things to you outside of the family.