Welcoming William Torran

Our sweet little surprise gender baby shocked me completely when the midwives told me it was in fact, a boy. Not that I was disappointed by him being in fact, a him- in fact it was quite the opposite. I remember holding him for the first few minutes and looking at Aaron going "We have a son. We have a baby boy. Can you believe we have a SON?!" 

Born several days past his due date, much to my chagrin, Torran, as we're calling him, is an absolute dream of a baby. His birth was far faster and also more relaxed than Georgie's. I had spent most of the night before he was born on my exercise ball just breathing through surges. I had wanted to labor at home for as long as possible this time (I had an irrational fear of getting to the hospital and being sent back home to labor for longer so I put off going until my husband and mother-in-law forced me into a taxi. And since the midwife I talked to before we went in was confident that I was only in early labor, I sadly left our flat, thinking I had a long ways to go before we saw our baby.) But the midwife was very wrong and we got to meet our son 1.5 hours after we reached the hospital. (I used using hynobirthing for the pain management this time around, instead of an epidural, and I didn't feel baby was coming as quickly as he was! It was a wonderful surprise to be told that yes, baby would be here soon, and off to the labor ward we went!) We got not just that first golden hour after birth with him, but several hours of relaxing and skin to skin before they sent us to the CMU (Community Midwife Unit) until we were discharged later that night. 

I was far more prepared for his birth than I was for Georgie's and that made a world of difference. From practicing hypnobirthing to reading Ina May multiple times (one of those times was when I was in labor before we headed to the hospital) to writing Bible verses on my phone to remind me during the surges, I was actually looking forward to labor (and meeting this baby!) and I knew how to best cope with the pain. 

And his name? We love picking out names for our kids that are special and somewhat unique. William is after my grandfather who passed away before Georgie was born. And Torran is a group of Scottish islands off the coast of Mull that was referenced in Kidnapped by Robert Lewis Stevenson. Familial, Scottish, and literary all in one. 

So now we have this sweet, handsome, relaxed little guy who is completely doted upon and whom I loved the instant I saw his fuzzy blonde head. He was the best surprise ever and I'm so grateful he's part of our little family. Welcome to the family, wee man.