Jessa Duggar Seewald, 24, became a mom of two on the June 26 episode of Counting On. And while her first birthing experience, when son Spurgeon, 1, was born, lasted for over two days and ended with a blood transfusion, baby Henry Wilberforce‘s birth went 100 times smoother. In fact, Jessa’s sister Jana Duggar, 27, even called it a “perfect birth.” For starters, with her husband Ben Seewald, 22, by her side, Jessa was only in labor for five hours, which she did not expect. “It couldn’t have gone any better,” Jana said.
In the episode, Jessa was shown going into labor at 11 pm. Just like when she had Spurgeon, the young mom opted for a home birth. “We’ll begin labor at home and see what happens,” she had said earlier. When Ben told the cameras that Jessa’s water had broke he added, “at that moment, everything changed.” After four and a half hours of labor, at 3:30 am, Jessa’s mom Michelle Duggar, 50, came over along with Jana. Jessa’s other sister Jill Duggar Dillard, 26, arrived right before them.
Jill was on a mission trip in Central America for Spurgeon’s birth, which made Henry’s birth just that more special to both she and Jessa. “When we came over, it sounded like she was going to give birth soon,” Jill said. “I was like, ‘I hope my mom and Jana make it!'” Luckily, they did! And aside from intense labor pain, Jessa’s delivery was as smooth as could be. Jessa explained that she was really uncomfortable and couldn’t sleep. “I’m having bad contractions,” she explained, describing what it felt like. “They were awful.”
When the baby finally started to appear, Jessa remembered being completely shocked by how quick the whole thing went. “I was relieved, I couldn’t believe it,” she gushed. As soon as the new mom had Henry in her arms, she burst into tears and Ben whispered in her ear, “You did it, babe!” Aw! “Ben was crying too,” Jessa recalled. “You look at that little miracle in your arms and there’s nothing like it.” Henry, who was named three days after his Feb. 6 birthdate, was born at “around” 4:30 am and weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz., a whole pound lighter than his big brother! Spurgeon got to meet his new sibling just hours later at 7:30 am. Congrats again to the newly-expanded fam!
Tell us, HollywoodLifers — are you surprised Jessa wanted to do a home birth again?