Mira Sorvino Welcomes Son Holden Paul Terry

It’s a boy for Mira Sorvino! The actress welcomed son Holden Paul Terry Backus on Monday, June 22nd at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Weighing in at 8 lbs., 12 oz, Holden was born at 12:10 a.m. — but not without complication. Mira, 41, developed placenta previa along with a blood clot and was hospitalized for a total of nine weeks during the pregnancy.

Holden — who is named for his grandfathers — is the third child for Mira and husband Chris Backus, 28. He joins siblings Johnny Christopher King, 3, and Mattea Angel, 4 ½.

“We are overjoyed to bring our beautiful healthy son home to his brother and sister,” the couple said in a statement. “We are blessed to have a home filled with so much love.”

Source: PEOPLE

Click below for an in-depth Q&A with Mira on her pregnancy and the arrival of Holden.

Congratulations on Holden’s arrival! How was the birth for you? Were you apprehensive about it?

The birth was difficult and full of unanticipated, seemingly life-threatening complications, right up until the final stage, the part which is often the hardest. But for us, it lasted two counts of ten plus three more seconds, and we had a baby!

His full name is Holden Paul Terry Backus. The middle names are from both his grandfathers.

Holden was born on June 22nd at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles at 12:10 a.m. He weighed 8 lbs., 12 oz.

How was this pregnancy compared to your others?

It was extremely difficult. My first two pregnancies were problem-free, and this time I had a condition called placenta previa, which meant I had to be in the hospital from 22 to 27 weeks as it could have threatened my life and the life of the baby.

At the 30th week, I had another episode and I had to be rushed back to the hospital by ambulance. After another week of complete bedrest at the hospital, I developed a blood clot (DVT) due to all the inactivity and had to be anti-coagulated for months to prevent a pulmonary embolism.

I spent another two and a half weeks at the hospital, during which time, missing the children and my husband and knowing what the separation was doing to the kids became almost unbearable. Prior to this nine week hospital stay, I had only ever spent one night away from Johnny and Mattea.

Was it a difficult labor?

Yes, and long! The baby was very big and he came a couple of weeks early so it took longer than we thought.

During the day we had some scary difficulties with the epidural as I achieved almost no progress with the labor and then at night the placenta created problems again. Although it was not blocking the baby’s path as it had done for almost the entire pregnancy, it started causing me a substantial loss of blood.

Just as we began begging for a c-section, the situation turned around and the end of the birth was very easy.

Did you have Christopher there again?

Yes, I couldn’t have done it without him. He is my rock. We are a team!

What was it like when you saw your baby for the first time? Was it as emotional as you had anticipated?

It was amazing! As soon as they placed him in my arms I knew it had all been worth it.

He is my miracle baby; with everything that threatened this pregnancy and both of our lives, he came out of it completely unscathed: perfectly healthy, beautiful and wonderful!

How was it to bring Holden home for the first time? Do you feel like you have a complete family now?

It is fantastic for us to be reunited and bring our bundle of joy home for Mattea and Johnny to adore.

It is also wonderful to be able to tell the kids that Mommy is not sick anymore and that I am not going back to the hospital (despite how terrific and kind my doctors and nurses were).

We are so thrilled to have a family of five; our love keeps growing with each child!

How are you and Christopher managing with all three children? Who does what? Do you share the night shifts?

Chris (literally) does all the heavy lifting, managing all the sometimes cumbersome gear that travels with baby. He often plays with the older two while I feed and change the baby.

Nights are usually mine but if I’m too tired I’ll wake him; he has a magic way of getting Holden back to sleep walking him around.

And Chris was a true hero while I was in the hospital, taking care of every aspect of our lives and attending to all of the kids needs during a truly difficult time for all of us.

How is Holden sleeping/feeding? Does the baby have any aspects to his personality that you are seeing yet?

He eats very well and usually sleeps quite well too. He has a darling personality, very sweet and inquisitive and calm. He seems like an old soul, if one can say that of a baby!

Do you think Holden particularly resembles one of you?

I think he looks like Christopher, but also like some of the men on my side of the family. There’s a little of my Dad and my great grandfather, Anthony Renzi, in him.

How has the other children reacted to their new baby sibling?

Mattea and Johnny love Holden and make up songs to sing to him! My only challenge has been convincing them not to touch him and pet him while he’s sleeping, because they wake him up!

What are your hopes and dreams for your family?

That we grow and learn from and love each other more with every day.

This whole experience, however challenging it was at times, really strengthened my faith in God and I know we are so blessed to have each other in good health.

Because of my husband and my children, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world, and I just want to cherish every minute we have together.

And finally how are you capturing the first few weeks?

Well, in the traditional ways, like still photos and lots of flip video. But I’m also writing a book about my whole crazy year, and I find that putting pen to paper helps me remember more details about the experience and sort through my feelings and the way it has changed me, I believe, for the better.

Also, Holden might enjoy knowing about his journey into the world and these early, priceless days.

You forget how tiny they are; when I look at my son Johnny now, that is who he is to me. Watching Johnny lying next to Holden, in all his tall three-year-old cuteness, I suddenly flash back to him as a delicate, dark-haired little infant, just opening his eyes to the world and all its splendor.