I’ve been completely blown away by the amazing response I’ve had to posting the not-so-perfect birth story of Wilf. If you haven’t seen it, you can catch up here and here. It’s real and honest, it still feels raw to me and I had to push aside that silly part of me that only wants to share the rose-tinted bits of motherhood. As a result, lots of people got in touch through emails, comments and DMs on Instagram to say that the story had really helped them cope with their birth that didn’t go totally to plan, and made them feel a bit more OK knowing that they definitely weren’t alone in that, and also that it’s absolutely fine to have a little (or big) cry, shout or vent about not getting the birth experience that you hoped for.

Childbirth is arguably one of the hardest things a woman goes through in her whole life, and whilst even the most straightforward, complication-free birth may be physically demanding and painful, it’s the complicated births that come with emotional pain that is much harder to recover from and forget. And whilst some might feel that if they’ve required intervention or had a surgical delivery that they’ve ‘failed’ in some way, really the opposite is true. Whatever happened in your birth story, you are strong, amazing, and brilliant.

So without further ado, here is a vlog of Wilf’s birth and first few days – I hope you enjoy watching it.

I know that I say it all the time, but your comments and messages on my blog and Instagram posts are absolutely what this is all about for me, I love hearing your take on things and if anything I’ve written about has helped you in some way – so THANK YOU.

Hannah x

Last three images by Dominique Bader