Jessa Duggar and husband Ben Seewald welcome baby number five: ‘We couldn’t be more grateful!’
Jessa Duggar received a special delivery!
The former reality star, 31, who announced her pregnancy in September, announced the birth of her fifth child on Instagram on Saturday.
“The baby is here and we couldn't be more grateful!” she wrote, sharing a photo of herself and the swaddled newborn in their hospital bed.
She shared a link to her birth story on YouTube.
The Just Counting veteran shares children Fern, Ivy, Spurgeon and Henry with her husband Ben Seewald, 28. The couple has been married since 2014.
Jessa Duggar recently received a special delivery. She gave birth to her fifth child, a boy, on December 19. “The baby is here and we couldn't be more grateful!” she wrote on Instagram on December 23
In the ten-minute YouTube video, Jessa spoke to the camera and revealed: 'Today is Monday December 18th, I woke up around 6am and felt my first contraction in the spot where I thought 'This feels like a real contraction, like a labor contraction.'
The night before she had said that she had been feeling what she thought were Braxton Hicks or false contractions for much of the day.
On Monday morning, she scheduled the contractions to be about 15 minutes apart and decided to “get proactive, pack the birth bag and throw in last-minute items.” She also unpacked the baby's new car seat.
To keep her labor going, the veteran mom stormed up the stairs of the newly renovated home she shares with her family in Arkansas.
She told Ben, who was recording her movements, that the contractions were about five minutes apart at the time, but they had slowed down and she wanted to “make sure they lasted.”
Jessa also suffered from 'nerve pain in my leg.'
The couple arrived at the hospital just before 4:30 p.m. and after a check-up she was admitted.
Jessa opted for an epidural to help manage the pain, but told her fans that it was “great on one side and a little spotty on the other,” and while not perfect, the pain relief made the experience “80 percent better” . '
Jessa woke up early in the morning on December 18 and revealed that she thought she was in labor after experiencing what she thought were Braxton Hicks contractions the day before.
After packing her bag, the veteran mom-to-be walked up and down the stairs to keep her labor going
She and husband Ben Seewald arrived at the hospital around 4:30 p.m. and were admitted. The birthing mother opted for an epidural to combat the pain
The doctor later told her that the baby was not in a good position for birth, so with the help of her midwife, Jessa adopted “a number of different birthing positions to help rotate the baby.”
Jessa's mother, Michelle, was by her side during this difficult time.
The epidural had been stopped so the laboring mother could change positions and Jessa admitted she was “mentally unprepared” for the return of pain for the three to four hours it took to move the fetus into position.
Once that was accomplished, she was able to have the pain relief administered again around 2:30 a.m. on December 19 and her water broke about 15 minutes later.
It happened quite quickly and after just three pushes the little one arrived and was placed in the arms of his crying mother.
After a check revealed that the baby was not in the birth position, the epidural was stopped and Jessa and her midwife worked for several hours to turn the fetus. Jessa said she was 'mentally unprepared' for the pain during the three to four hours it took to prepare for the birth
The baby, a boy, was born in the early morning hours of December 19 after just three pushes. 'It was the most beautiful moment when they lifted the baby and put it on me and just held him there. I think there were so many emotions at that moment,” Jessa said
Dad Ben carried the newborn to the scales where he weighed in at a whopping nine pounds
'It was the most beautiful moment when they lifted the baby and put it on me and just held him there. I think there were so many emotions at that moment,” she said.
“It's been a year since we lost our last baby… and it's just been a flood of emotions welcoming our little baby into this world.”
Dad Ben carried the newborn to the scales where he weighed in at a whopping nine pounds.
The couple has not yet revealed the baby's name, but teased more details in the following YouTube video.