For Nikki Reed, giving birth to her baby boy marked a new dawn.
The Twilight alum recalled her son's birth at home, sharing that she was accompanied by midwives Abby Vidikan and Johanna L. Storey, as well as husband Ian Somerhalder, throughout the labor in June.
While sharing intimate Instagram photos from the delivery, which featured Nikki holding onto her midwives for support, the actress described the experience as "one of the most transformative nights of my life."
The labor began around midnight, with Nikki telling the Mother Daze podcast in an Aug. 24 episode, "This little boy—my water never broke. He kicked and broke my water."
The movement prompted Nikki jolt awake and tell Ian the news. The Vampire Diaries actor's reaction? Pure chaos, according to Nikki.
"I've never seen anything like it," recalled Nikki, who also shares daughter Bodhi, 5, with Ian. "He shoots up like a cartoon character and starts screaming at the top of his lungs. It must have caught him in a moment where it was like a bad dream or something, 'cause he shoots up and he starts running, races to the door and yells, 'YOUR WATER BROKE!' as he slams on all the lights."
After calling her midwife, Nikki was informed to get ready for the birth, though she didn't feel like she was yet in labor. However, her midwife explained that her contractions would soon start coming in very soon, setting in motion the birth of her son, which Nikki announced on June 29.
"A few weeks ago we welcomed our son," Nikki wrote on her Instagram Story at the time, "on what can only be described as one of the most beautiful days of my life."
Looking back on the experience, the 35-year-old said that she was grateful for the support of her midwives.
"When I think back at my birth, I cannot help but feel an almost indescribable love for the care I was given," she wrote in an Instagram post Aug. 24. "They quite literally held me up when my body needed support, and have held me in every moment of uncertainty since. My goodness, birth is just so damn beautiful, and I am eternally grateful for the incredible birth workers out there who hold the hands and hearts of women as they bring their babies into the world."
Keep reading for a closer look into Nikki's family life with Ian.