A man who thought he was never going to have a family, has been given the surprise of a lifetime when his wife told him she was five months pregnant - by literally putting buns in the oven.

Dinwiddie County, Virginia, residents Dana Griffin-Graves and her husband Arkell Graves had been trying to have kids ever since they got married 17 years ago. But after four miscarriages and a stillborn baby, the couple had given up on expanding their family.

'We had everything planned,' Dana told Buzzfeed. 'It just didn’t work out, so we kind of gave up.'

The build up: After discovering she was pregnant, Dana Griffin-Graves filmed her husband Arkell Graves being surprised with the news in their Dinwiddie County, Virginia, home

The epiphany: Arkell grins like a little boy on Christmas morning when he realizes he is going to be a dad

As the years went by, the expectations vanished and the pain over their loss had slowly lessened.

But then, earlier this year, Dana had started going walking with her friends for a bit of exercise. To her confusion, everyone else started losing weight except for her.

Seeking the cause of the problem, Dana went to see a doctor, and was giving a shocking diagnosis. Not only was she pregnant, but she was nearly at the five-month mark.

'I was ecstatic,' she said. 'We hadn’t planned anything, we weren’t trying.'

When it came to the task of finding out just how to tell Arkell, crafty Dana came up with a plan involving some buns, an oven and a strategically placed sonogram accompanied by a card reading: 'Baby's first picture'. With everything in place, she got the camera running.

Buttering up: Dana put actual buns in the oven alongside a sonogram and asked her husband to look inside

A jig and a jaw-drop: Arkell dances with joy, and is left speechless when Dana tells him she is nearly five months along in the pregnancy

'Come here': Arkell lifts up his arms to look for a hug from his wife, but she has another surprise coming

In the video, Dana asks her husband to take a look in the oven, and his reaction is simply perfect.

He is seen looking long and hard at the scene that had been set in the oven, before whirling around to face his wife with wide eyes. 'You're pregnant!' he exclaims, his face suddenly spreading into a huge grin.

'That's why I couldn't lose weight,' Dana explains.

'You're pregnant!' the smiling dad-to-be exclaims again, this time swinging his arms in excitement.

And then, when she tells him how far along she is - 19 weeks - his eyes widen and his jaw drops open; and when she reveals the baby is due on February 16th, he lifts his arms and says to his wife: 'come here'. But she isn't finished.

'And it's a boy.'

'And it's a boy': Upon learning he is having a son, Arkell loses his composure and bursts into tears, pulling his shirt over his head to muffle his sobbing

A long road: The couple, who have been married for 17 years, had suffered four miscarriages and a still birth before giving up on their dream of having a family

Something different: Dana went to the doctor after she found herself struggling to lose weight

Video courtesy of WRIC

At that, Arkell loses his composure entirely, bursting into tears, stumbling a few steps before lifting his T-shirt over his face to cover several increasingly loud sobs.

After celebrating the news with her husband, Dana posted his sweet reaction to YouTube on Friday, September 25, for friends and family. But since then, it has gained nearly 50,000 views.

'After four miscarriages and one stillborn birth, we had given up on the idea of having babies of our own, especially at our age...But God!' excited Dana wrote in the caption.

Dozens of viewers were moved to tears by the couple's touching news and Arkell's infectious enthusiasm, with one fan writing: 'I love when he says "come here," so much love. I wish you both the absolute best.'

Another wrote: 'Got me crying over here! I had a stillborn as well and now you guys gave me hope! God Bless and congrats. I'm so happy!!'