When my cousin Leah found out her due date was March 20th, she said, “Oh, I hope the baby is born on St. Patrick’s Day!” We all agreed that would be cool but unlikely – when do babies ever come on the day you want?
On the morning of March 16th I got an early text from Leah that said, “I think my water broke, calling my doctor.” I said to Mike, “Oh my God, she did it. She broke her own water so she could have a St. Patrick’s Day baby.” Mike pointed out that Leah had to make it through almost the entirety of March 16, but I had faith. I knew she’d keep that baby in until midnight.
A few weeks earlier, Leah and her husband Ted had invited my mom and I to be in the room with them for the birth. We arrived at the hospital around 5:30, after she’d been in labor for about 13 hours. Leah was powering through the contractions with Ted by her side. They made a great team, right from the start.
Unfortunately, after 13 hours of labor, she was only dilated to 2cm. She got an epidural and we settled in for a lonnng night. We started joking that maybe Leah’s attempts to hold the baby in until the 17th would backfire and she wouldn’t have the baby until the 18th. Around 10pm, the nurse came in, gave Leah an oxygen mask, and examined her. “You’re at seven!” she exclaimed. We were all stunned, but excited.
We spent the next few hours keeping Leah comfortable and helping her mentally prepare. The time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to push. The Labor and Delivery staff at the hospital was absolutely amazing.
But no one was more amazing than Ted, the dad-to-be. He was so focused on Leah and helping her through every push and contraction. I was in awe.
But he was also just so in awe of Leah, and their baby, that I couldn’t keep from crying.
I am also COMPLETELY amazed and proud of Leah, who pushed out a beautiful, GIANT baby!
And then came the moment that baby and mommy met face to face:
I can’t believe that photo isn’t blurry because I was totally crying. Seeing that powerful moment when a mom meets her baby for the first time…I felt so lucky that I got to witness it.
This is Liam John, and he is already SO adored. Especially by his parents.
I am just bursting!
“Little” Liam is eight pounds, 13 ounces of delicious, chewy baby:
I can’t wait to shower this little boy with the same love and attention that Leah and Ted have given to my kids. I also can’t wait to give him really annoying toys (payback)!!!
Leah and Ted, thank you for letting me be there to witness the birth of this special little boy. I love you both so much, and I know you are going to be the most amazing parents, because you’re the best aunt and uncle to my kids.
He already owns a piece of my heart and I’ve already planned his first birthday party.
Happy birthday and happy St. Patrick’s Day, little laddie Liam! We all love you and your big cousins cannot WAIT to meet you.
Jeanie says:
This was awesome! What a beautiful baby boy!! Thank you, Leah and Ted, for letting Heather photograph the event and post it for all the world to see.
Jerilynn says:
He is beautiful! Congratulations, Auntie Heather and to the proud parents, of course. She did amazing and the pics you got are awesome. Thank you for sharing.
KimAZ says:
BAYBEES!!! YAY FOR BAYBEES AND THEIR AWESOME FAMILIES!!! Welcome, not-so-wee Liam. You’ve got so many arms just dying to cuddle you.
Damita says:
Amazing!! Congratulations Leah and Ted! He’s gorgeous!! Can’t wait to hear about Annie meeting him for the first time. I know she’s over the moon.
Jeanne P says:
Bravo to Leah! I tried to have a St Patrick’s Day baby but she decided to wait until 3am on the 18th.
It was payback the year she turned 21 and couldn’t legally drink until after midnight!
She’ll be 28 tomorrow.
Liam is beautiful.
samatwitch says:
Congratulations to Leah & Ted and welcome, Liam. You are a very lucky baby to be surrounded by so much love.
Lenora says:
Yay!! Congratulations, Leah and Ted and the rest of the family! Top o’ the morning to you, Liam!!
Timolyn says:
Heather I am so grateful you shared this! It made me cry!! I so very much wanted to be there and reading this definitly helped!
Jana says:
I am literally crying right now. Your pictures caught some amazing moments that they will cherish forever. Thank you for sharing and thank the new parents for sharing as well. Simply beautiful.
Jolene says:
I can’t believe this isn’t blurry too because I’m totally crying! And I don’t even know any of you personally! Well, I feel like I do. I am in awe too. You captured his birth so beautifully. And to have you and your mom in the room and not their own parents is such an honor. He is perfect. Happy birthday to Liam and happy birthing day to Leah and Ted!
connie says:
this is just so so nice. what a lovely post. congrats!
Steph says:
Thanks for letting us share in the joy! Congratulations to Leah &Ted on the arrival of their precious son Liam. Much love and sleep to all.
Peggy says:
Congratulations! He is absolutely perfect! Love his name!
AuntieMip says:
I am unaccustomed to crying at photos of complete strangers. However, the photo of Leah and Ted and Little Liam holding each of their fingers is a breathtaking moment of pure bliss and joy. I found myself laughing out loud through these happy tears. What a beautiful capture. What a lovely little lad of a boy!
Leslie says:
Amazing job with the photos, Heath. They’re beautiful. Congrats to Leah and Ted. Liam is a lucky boy to be born into such a wonderful family. Love you all.
Katrina says:
You’d think I’d be tired of birth stories after having ten of my own….but wow, this made me tear up. So beautiful. And what a big, healthy baby boy! Liam is a fitting name for a little guy born on St. Patty’s Day!! Such a FUN birthday to have!
Annalien says:
That is so amazing! Congratulations to Leah and Ted on a beautiful baby!!
Shelley says:
I wish you had put the more graphic images behind another link so we could read the story without having to scroll through them. (Yeah, yeah, miracle of birth, it’s natural, blah blah.) You could’ve gotten more clicks, too!
Heather says:
I didn’t include any graphic images in this post. There were plenty, believe me
Jana L Frerichs says:
This post was beautiful just the way it is. The photos are definitely a part of this story. When Heather talked about Ted’s awe, it was right there for all of us to see. It brought tears to my eyes. The story is beautiful and so are the photos. And for the record, the birth of a child is a miracle, there is no yeah, yeah, or blah, blah about it. Thank you Heather for sharing them.
Lindsay says:
Thank you for that, Jana. The “yeah, yeah, miracle of birth, blah, blah” comment filled me with such anger. I do know why that is – because I have a dear, dear friend who is going through a horrible pregnancy that cannot end well. It IS a miracle to bring a baby into the world. A total miracle. It’s not something to brush off. It’s beautiful.
Congratulations, Leah and Ted!!
Heather says:
My heart goes out to your friend, Lindsay!
I never got to experience any of this – my births were all c-sections (two were emergency), and they were scary and blurry because of my weird heart issues and fainting. It was so amazing for me to see them become first-time parents, and to actually be awake and in the moment when another member of our family joined the world. This was one of the best days of my life!
But I can link out pictures to the placenta if you want some graphic images, LOL.
Katrina says:
I have had nine vaginal births and my 10th one was a c-section. I know what you mean about them being scary and blurry (mine was an emergency, too, due to my high blood pressure and baby’s heart rate dropping, and I had zero time to prepare mentally or emotionally) — I have never been in the room when another woman has labored and given birth but I can imagine I would cry, because it truly is a beautiful experience. Your are so lucky to get to see Liam enter the world! You can always tell him, “I was there the moment you were born.” How awesome is that?
Lindsay says:
HA! We’ll leave something to the imagination.
I don’t comment much anymore but I’ve been a reader for many years and know how you’ve struggled in your pregnancies and C-sections. I’m so so thrilled you had this moment with your family.
Such a lovely and happy and joyful post! Yay Liam!
Shelley says:
My sincere apologies. I wasn’t trying to be dismissive. I wrote “miracle of birth blah blah” because I simply didn’t want to type out the entire argument that’s used against people who express contrary opinions about natural events. We all know the argument, so why waste everyone’s time, was my thinking.
Your friend’s situation is tragic. I’m sorry she has to go through it, and I wish you the strength to help her best you can.
Heather, obviously your opinion of graphic is different than mine. I appreciate you mocking me, though.
Heather says:
What?! How did I mock you?
Nellie says:
Congratulations!! Thank you too for capturing such a precious event and to your cousin Leah and her husband for letting us be a part of it through your words and photos.
Liam John is such a strong, beautiful name – just like his parents and his entire family!!
Love and Blessings…Always!!
Kate says:
Cried through this whole post. What a beautiful experience, and you got some AMAZING photos that they will cherish! I loved Dad’s faces the most. Thank you (and Leah) for sharing!
Mel G says:
Someone to pass James’ hand-me-downs to! Congrats to everyone xx
Madeleine says:
Congratulations!! Welcome to the world Liam John!!!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!
Johanna says:
Congratulations to Leah & Ted and welcome baby Liam. What a special experience to be a part of the birth. I love the picture of Liam holding on to each of his parents fingers. So precious!
Kelly says:
Congratulations Leah and Ted! Welcome to the world Liam! I am totally crying too, and I don’t even know any of you personally! I feel like I do… My first thought when you said Leah hoped he would be born on the 17th was – “Heather is gonna have a blast planning his birthday parties!”
Heather says:
From one St. Patrick’s baby to another, welcome to the world little Liam! Having a St. Patty’s birthday is the very best because everyone gets to party along with you! Congratulations, Ted & Leah!
Marjorie Steele says:
Wow what amazing pictures. Thank you Leah and Ted for allowing us to be a part of your special time! I too am crying from the pics. I love the emotion caught on Ted’s face just as the baby is delivered! And I enjoyed reading the little captions when I hover over each pic! Great job with the camera Heather. Congrats to you all. xoxo
Glenda says:
Congratulations to all of you!!! Awesome pictures!!!
Brenn says:
Congrats to the whole family! He’s perfect! Those are GREAT photos Heather! But I wouldn’t call him ‘giant’– 9 lb/11 oz and 9 lb/15 oz….those were my ponies, er baby boys at birth. They’re now both over 6’2″ and all grown. Enjoy the little guy! I bet Annie and James are thrilled!
Heather says:
YIKES! Those are huge! Liam feels enormous to me because my babies were all tiny – 3lbs, 6lbs, and 6lbs 15oz!
brenn says:
Yep– and barely made it to the hospital, no time for drugs. Still hurts to this day- let’s change the subject– Liam is a GREAT name!!! Congrats again!
Meg says:
Hooray and congrats to the whole family! What a beautiful little sprite, and what wonderful pictures! I totally cried looking at them – you really captured the moment beautifully.
Katie says:
Thank you for this! It was just beautiful. As someone who is a few weeks away from delivering my first baby these pictures made me feel calm and confident. Thank you for that too.
Gina says:
St. Patrick’s Day is my birthday too. It’s seriously the best birthday. Everyone remembers it cause it’s a holiday, but not a holiday where everyone is busy with family. Plus, There’s always a party. Although I did get tired of green cakes and birthday outfits when I was little.
Lisa says:
I am waaay behind! Congratulations to all of you and of course to Leah and Ted. May nights of sleep be theirs soon again.
Ali says:
These pictures are amazing! And so lucky for you and your mom to be there to witness it. Thank you for sharing with us as well, I LOVE the pictures of Ted’s face – right when Liam had arrived and he looked at Leah, and when they are looking at him and laughing with pure joy – there’s nothing like meeting, and falling in love, with your new little baby!!