When a newborn comes into the world there’s a flurry of love and attention lavished upon them. Hospital staff, family and friends are all catching a whiff of that newborn magic.
One father, from Dallas in the US took a moment while that was happening to reflect on what his wife had just been through to bring his second son into the world. Putting those thoughts into words, he created a Facebook post that is going viral for all the right reasons.
“My wife is the real miracle.”
(Image: Facebook/WilliamTriceBattle)William and Lauren Battle welcomed their second son, Roman, a little brother to Kannon in late November. While it’s typical to call a new arrival ‘a miracle’, William thinks that title belongs solely to his beautiful wife.
Alongside a powerful black and white image that shows him supporting Lauren through her labour, William shared some words that are touching the hearts of people all over the world.
“I honestly don’t know how she did it,” he wrote. “The pain was so intense, so overwhelming, that even I felt it. Everyone in the room felt it.”
William and Lauren Battle with sons, Kannon and newborn son Roman.
(Image: Facebook/LaurenBattle)Honouring his wife’s journey, he went on to describe and admire her strength, saying: “Yet she pulled through. Her pain was gruesome. Her struggle seemed almost unbearable. I found myself gritting my teeth when she did, tensing my entire body when her contractions hit, and shedding tears along with her.”
And while the experience was certainly powerful for William, he acknowledges that it was not really about him.
“All while realising that I was merely a passenger, never to truly understand the excruciating pain she was experiencing.
“She gave her labour every ounce of life and energy she had in her. And then gave a little bit more. And through it all, at the end of it she selflessly gave all of us a glimpse into what she has been enjoying exclusively to herself for the past 9 months.
“We all finally get to love and hold the boy that she sacrificed her body, comfort, energy, and self for. My son is an absolute miracle. Babies are absolute miracles. But to me, the greater miracle is his mother, who has shown me what selfless sacrifice really is. What love really is.
“My wife is the real miracle.”
WATCH: Incredible Caesarean birth. Continues after video …
At the time of publishing William’s post has over 41k reactions, nearly 10k comments and 48k shares.
Following the viral success of his tribute, William has since said that he was inspired to write the post as he watched Lauren nursing their newborn son.
“She had barely slept a wink in almost two days, and I know she was exhausted and in pain,” he explains. “But you couldn’t tell. It’s as if holding our son took away all the pain, all the fear, all the anxiety. Nothing else at that moment mattered to her, and I knew just from looking at her that she would have gone through it all again for him. I’ve never seen such love, such strength, from anyone like that before.”
The father of two noticed that all of the attention from the people in the room seemed to be on newborn, Roman.
“All attention was on him, understandably, he’s gorgeous and needed medical supervision,” he explained. “But my attention was on her. She’d never looked more beautiful to me. My love and respect for her and what she went through for him was so great that the words in that post just overflowed from my heart. The post simply came from a desire to pay homage to the most incredible woman I know, and I’m so thankful that my words have touched so many lives because of it.”
“My love and respect for her and what she went through for him was so great that the words in that post just overflowed from my heart.”
(Image: Facebook/LaurenBattle)William says that he hopes his message inspires other dads to appreciate just how much their partners go through to bring them a child.
“Dive into your partner’s world,” he says. “Try everything you can to appreciate the sacrifices they make for your children. Compassion and empathy are necessary if you are to truly love your partner. So be present, be engaged, and be grateful. You might discover along the way that this was the missing ingredient you needed in order to truly have a joyful marriage that lasts a lifetime.”
