Penny May Sally Young
Daughter of Louise Chappell and Jimmy Young
Born on the 30th of November 2010
At the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth
Weighing 8lb 5oz

Just two short months after they had got together Louise and Jimmy, who live in Southsea,  had already decided that they wanted to have children. “We visited some friends in London who have the cutest little girl, and it got us talking about our future and the idea of starting a family. Even though it was only a couple of months after we had become a couple, we knew that it was what we both wanted.”

It didn’t take long for them to get their wish. “We had just come back from a hectic ski trip, where I hadn't been feeling too well,” says Louise, “I was going to see the doctor, but instead I ended up buying a pregnancy test, just to eliminate the possibility. Jimmy was late home from work that day and when he walked through the door I immediately sat him down and showed him the test kit with the words ‘Pregnant 3 weeks +’ clearly visible. He was stunned. We just looked at each other in silence, words escaping us, and then we hugged each other and cried. It was a very special moment and we couldn't have been happier.”

Louise had a relatively trouble-free pregnancy, and she and Jimmy were able to enjoy the anticipation. “We loved watching our bump grow each day and we were fascinated by the weekly foetal development updates that we got. I didn’t have morning sickness or backache, but I did suffer from turbulent hormones which made me quite emotional at times.”

The pregnancy might have been trouble-free, but Penny’s birth was a little more dramatic. “I was out having coffee with a friend when my waters broke.” Says Louise, “It was around 3.30pm. I felt ok, so I walked home, and by about 6.30pm I was having regular contractions about every 5 minutes.”

Louise had planned to have a natural water birth, and when her contractions were coming every three to four minutes she called the maternity centre. “We were told to stay at home and update them in another two hours. But an hour and a half later, I was fully dilated and pushing with each contraction, so we had to call an ambulance! Once the paramedics and midwives turned up, we were told to prepare to give birth at home.”

After two hours of trying, but not succeeding, to give birth at home, Louise was exhausted, and was told that she would have to go into hospital after all. “Penny had twisted round and was lying back to back, making it difficult for me to progress the birth on my own. My heart sank when I was told we would have to go to the hospital for assistance – even getting down the stairs in established labour was nearly impossible.”

At Queen Alexandra, Louise was given an episiotomy and, with the help of a ventouse, Penny was born just after 2am. “Jimmy was with me throughout, helping me to relax, holding my hand and giving me endless support and encouragement. He was amazing, and I couldn't have done any of it without him.”

“Penny was placed on my chest straight after the birth and she was absolutely beautiful. To begin with we were in such an emotional daze that we didn't even check the sex. We both cried with joy and had an overwhelming feeling of love and protection for this precious stranger.”

After the birth, Louise and Jimmy were moved into a private room with Penny. “The room had a huge window and we had the most peaceful and magical time getting to know our new daughter while the snow fell silently outside. We'll never forget those precious first hours together.”

Two days later Louise and Jimmy were able to take their baby daughter home. “We were so proud, carrying Penny through the hospital corridors in her car seat and out to the car park. It was quite surreal to be taking her home. We had never driven so slowly and carefully before – we were acutely aware of how fragile and precious our little passenger was!”

“We’re all discovering a little bit more about each other every day. There are no strict routines – we’re generally led by her, and every day is a new adventure. It’s a wonderful, but steep, and, at times, exhausting, learning curve but we are loving every minute. It feels as if Penny has always been a part of our lives.”




 

Laura Felicity Roberts
Daughter of Sarah and Matt Roberts
Born on the 27th of September 2010
At home in Chandlers Ford
Weighing 7lb 12oz

Matt and Sarah met twelve years ago, at a bus stop in Leamington Spa, and they have been together ever since. “We were both waiting for the same bus back to Warwick University campus and we had an hour to wait. We got talking and discovered that we were both reading Maths and that we had a lot in common.”

After university, Matt moved back to Hampshire and Sarah followed. In 2007 the couple were married, and two years later, after eleven years together, they decided that the time was right to start a family. “We’re never ones to rush into anything!” Laughs Sarah.

When she first found out that she was pregnant Sarah managed to keep the news to herself for an entire week. “Matt was in Lithuania with work. I was so excited, but I wanted to tell him face to face, so I knew for a week without telling anyone. Then when he came home I took another test and showed it to him. It was all planned, so he wasn’t surprised, but he was a little in awe of the reality of it.”

Sarah had no major problems during her pregnancy, though she did find it difficult to hide her morning sickness at the sixth form college where she now works as a maths teacher. “I had to pretend to go and get more calculators for the students while I ran to the loo!”

Sarah had initially imagined herself having a hospital birth, but after a friend recommended that she consider hypnobirthing she changed her mind. “I looked into it, and read Marie Mongen’s book about hypnobirthing. It talks about birthing without fear, and I realised that was the type of birth I wanted.”

After deciding to go down the hypnobirthing route, Sarah went to weekly yoga classes and she and Matt attended hypnobirthing sessions at Andover Birth Centre, where they were also booked in for the birth. “I felt completely ready to give birth,” says Sarah, “and I was very excited about meeting the baby.”

However, two weeks before Sarah’s due date, their plans were thrown off course. “We received a letter to say that the birth centre was closing and that we needed to make alternative arrangements.” Matt and Sarah discussed going to hospital, but decided instead to opt for a home birth. “The midwives were supportive, and they dropped off a home birth kit the day before I went into labour.”

At 9.30pm on Sunday 26th September Sarah’s waters broke. “I called the hospital to let them know, and they told me to go to bed and get some sleep. But half an hour later I was having three contractions every ten minutes. It was very intense and I was concerned that if this was early labour then I was going to need pain relief!”

Matt called the hospital again and asked them to send a midwife. “I think she was expecting to find that we were being overly cautious and to able to send me to bed with painkillers but when she arrived at 11pm I was already 5cm dilated. She called for another midwife to come out, at which point I asked if the other midwife was bringing the gas and air – it turned out the first midwife had some but didn’t offer it as I was doing so well without it!”

“I’d been using the hypnobirthing breathing techniques and listening to my CD while Matt massaged my back and helped me to relax. I had an hour of gas and air while we waited for the other midwife, and then it was time to push. The midwives and Matt were incredibly supportive, both emotionally and physically, and in the end I gave birth squatting, with Matt holding me up while he sat on the sofa.”

“I had immediate skin to skin contact with Laura, and I had such an intense feeling of love that it made me cry. Because the labour was only 4½ hours, I was shaking from the shock, and I wasn’t sure if the baby was a boy or girl. They confirmed that she was a girl, which was lucky because we hadn’t talked about boys’ names.”

Despite the fact that she had just given birth, Sarah’s maths skills were then unexpectedly called upon. “The scales were only in kilos so the midwife asked me, as I’m a maths teacher, if I could convert Laura’s weight to pounds and ounces. Groggily, I managed it!”

By the time the midwives left at 4am, the new family were tucked up in bed. “We slept through until 8am, and then started calling people to let them know. During the first few days Laura and I mainly slept, and we had lots of visitors who brought round food. The aftercare from the midwives was amazing – a midwife came back out the same day and every few days after that to check on us and help with breastfeeding, which fortunately Laura really took to.”

A few months on, and Sarah is relishing her new role as a mother. “We’re hectically busy – going to different mother and baby groups each day. Laura has started to laugh and chatter, and I’m savouring every moment as it comes.”

Ethan Connor
Son of Tammy Baker and Robert Connor
Born on the 5th of January 2011
At the Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton
Weighing 8lb 14oz

Glamorous Marchwood mum, Tammy Baker, is no stranger to physical endurance: she used to be ‘Fox’ on TV’s Gladiators. “I thought that all my years of training would get me through labour with few problems, but I was proved wrong there!”

Tammy appeared on UK Gladiators for three years and then went to work on the South African version of the show. “I absolutely loved my time as a Gladiator – it was a dream come true. I had to keep incredibly fit and strong for the shows, though, and it was very physically demanding.” And, as if being a Gladiator wasn’t enough excitement, Tammy also worked as a personal trainer to celebrities including Robbie Williams.

After ten years of gladiatorial battling, Tammy returned to the UK and picked up her previous career, as a lecturer in the beauty industry. She liked to work out, though, and she was in the gym when she met her partner, Rob. “We hit it off straight away – everything clicked into place and it all just felt right.” So much so, that within five months Tammy and Rob were living together and two months later they decided to try for a baby. “Although I’m 38, I had never felt ready to start a family before, and I’d resigned myself to the fact that I would probably never get to experience pregnancy – it’s amazing how fast your life can change when it all slots into place.”

A couple of months later Tammy was pregnant. “The first four months were quite stressful. We were so excited about our first scan, and getting to see the baby for the first time, but due to my age, and the results of the scan, I fell into the higher risk category for Down Syndrome, which left us really deflated. We decided to have an amnio, and we were relieved when the results came back clear – but it meant that we didn’t really relax into the pregnancy until the fifth month.”

Used to keeping herself in fantastic shape, Tammy was concerned about losing her figure. “It was difficult watching my body change in the early days. My waist thickened up in the first eight weeks, so a lot of my clothes became too small pretty early on. I was determined to not buy any maternity clothing, and I bought things in the next size up, but that all changed in month five when it became too uncomfortable!”

“I did constantly worry about how much weight I was putting on and I was surprised to have gained 3½ stone, despite still being fairly active throughout. I was horrified each time I stepped on the scales and all I could think of was how I was going to lose all the weight after the birth. Seeing my body shape deteriorate was quite hard to get used to, but as my bump grew I started to see that being pregnant is actually a beautiful thing, and I began to relax.”

Tammy had planned to have a water birth at the Ashurst Birth Centre, but, because there was meconium in her waters, she was moved to the Princess Anne Hospital. “At hospital the contractions became unbearable, and I opted for an epidural. The medical staff couldn’t work out which way Ethan’s head was facing, and they decided to take me in to theatre in case they needed to switch to a caesarean. I was then given a spinal injection to numb me from the waist down – so I had gone from wanting to have no pain killers, to having the two strongest ones. Both Rob and I felt very anxious about the change in plans, but I was so exhausted I was willing to go through anything to have our baby delivered safely.”

“Thankfully, they were able to pull Ethan out with forceps so I was fortunate enough to escape the caesarean. It was the most painful, and the most beautiful, experience ever! I’m still surprised that I struggled so much with the labour, given that my body has been used to a lot of gruelling pain over the years, but it just goes to show that we all have different experiences with it.”


Rob was by Tammy’s side throughout, and watched Ethan being delivered. “I could tell by the tone of Rob’s voice that he was overwhelmed. It was amazing watching him hold our baby boy for the first time: such an emotional experience.  We were both crying with happiness because he was safe and sound.”

Tammy and Ethan spent one night at the Princess Anne and then two nights at Ashurst, before returning home. “It took a few days to sink in that we were now a new family and that the nine months of anticipation were finally over. I felt quite anxious about the most simple things, like taking Ethan food shopping, or going out in the pram or car, but getting out and about made me feel better about myself and helped me to establish routines more easily – even if it did take three hours to get out of the door!”

Tammy was now keen to get her body back in shape. “I decided to breast feed because I realised it was best for Ethan, and also that it would give my body a better chance of returning to normal more quickly. I lost two stones within the first two weeks of giving birth, which was mainly water retention, so now I just have to work hard to get the rest off.”

“I started doing some gentle cardio sessions three weeks after giving birth, and five weeks post pregnancy I was back in the gym three times a week, doing low impact cardio and light resistance training, along with following a sensible eating plan – I’m determined to get my shape back but it’s not as easy as it used to be!”

Nevertheless, baby Ethan will soon be able to watch his super-fit mum in her gladiatorial prime. “I have lots of footage of myself, which, to my dismay, quite often gets shown to guests – because Rob knows it will embarrass me. So if I don’t show Ethan footage of his mummy in action you can rest assured that Rob or someone else in my family will do the honours for me!”

Despite having such an exciting career behind her, Tammy is very happy with the way things are right now. “I wouldn’t change anything for the world: I love every minute of it, sleep deprived or not! I’m happy and content with my life and my career – Rob and little Ethan make it all complete.”

Tess Rosina Elkington
Daughter of Daniel and Sarah Elkington
Born on the 29th June 2010
At the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth
Weighing 7lb 5oz

Fareham couple, Dan and Sarah, met through dancing – at a jive class where Dan was coaching. A year later they moved in together and in 2007 they got married. “After having been married for a couple of years we decided to start a family.” Says Sarah. “We both felt it was what we wanted, and were ready for. We were pleased when I found out I was pregnant, and pleasantly surprised, because it happened so soon after we'd started trying for a baby.”

Sarah sailed through her pregnancy with no complications, aside from the usual morning sickness. “I think that whoever coined the term 'morning sickness' must have been a man, though, because I had it all day! It lasted for the first couple of months, and after that I was fine – apart from heartburn and feeling like a life-sized weeble!”

Dan and Sarah decided not to find out the sex of their baby. “We wanted to retain the element of surprise – though everybody we knew was convinced I was going to have a boy.”

Everyone also told Sarah that first babies are always late – something she disproved by going into labour a week early. “I sat through my last antenatal class attached to a tens machine. My contractions had started the night before, but I hadn't been sure whether they were practice ones or not, and didn't want to start an unnecessary panic. I hadn't had any kind of show and my waters hadn't broken, so I wasn't sure what was actually happening. As it was, the midwife at the antenatal class said that practice ones shouldn't hurt as much as mine were, examined me, and suggested getting to the hospital. She was right!”

“The birth didn't go without a few complications, but having the support of Dan and all the midwives certainly helped.” Sarah progressed from gas and air to an epidural, when, after 12 hours, the pain became too much. However, things started to get really tricky when Tess moved into a spine-to-spine position. “Despite being fully dilated, any attempts at pushing proved fruitless. I couldn't believe it when I was told they needed to take me into theatre, but I was keen for the ordeal to be brought to an end so was happy for the doctors to do whatever was best for me and the baby.”

“Dan was visibly distressed and worried at what was happening, but the midwives did what they could to reassure him. We soon discovered there was no hope of ventouse or forceps working either, because Tess had tilted her head backwards, and I was told I would have to have a caesarean.”

“The surgeon whipped her out of me in about five minutes – she was apparently fine throughout everything, and experienced no distress, which was very good to hear.”

Dan and Sarah were told that they had a baby daughter and Dan was able to cut the cord. “It was the only thing on my birthing plan the went as it should have! Dan then brought Tess over to me because I wasn't able to hold her, and I looked over at her while I was being sewn up. I felt so happy and relieved that she was okay, after everything we'd gone through. Dan was smiling and we even agreed to a photo in our scrubs!”

The proud parents were delighted to get their new baby home. “We felt like a proper little family – we were where we wanted to be, and we felt so happy.” Though, despite this, Sarah still found the first weeks of motherhood hard going. “I struggled emotionally at first, frequently worrying and bursting into tears, and just feeling very down in general. I put it all down to my hormones and chronic lack of energy. We were finally finding out all the things that the books and the classes can't prepare you for, and everything was upside-down for a while, but we had lots of help from family, for which we were extremely thankful. Being a new parent is so hard, but so rewarding in the end.”

“Now we’re happier than ever. I've recovered enough from the c-section to be able to do everything I did before, Dan has come into his own as a dad and absolutely loves it. Tess is a beautiful and extremely contented baby, and we would do it all again tomorrow.”

Benjamin Paul Hughes
Son of Katherine and Dave Hughes
Born on the 29th August 2010
At the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth
Weighing 6lb 3oz
 

Katherine and Dave were teenage sweethearts, introduced by their mothers when they were just 15 and 17.  “He didn’t exactly sweep me off my feet,” laughs Katherine, “on our second date he challenged me to a game of ping pong and showed me photos of himself as a baby, but what can I say? The rest is history!”

Eight years later the couple were married, and, after one last big trip to Australia, they decided to start a family. “It was January 2010 and Portsmouth was covered in snow.” Remembers Katherine. “I was feeling strangely tired, but thought it might be from trekking to work through the snow. I went up to bed and then thought ‘I wonder...’ I did a cheap pregnancy test, but the line was broken and blurry so I couldn't be sure what the result was. By then it was midnight, but we were so excited we jumped in the car and drove at 10mph through the snow to the 24 hour Tesco to buy another test. There were no other cars on the road, but it took ages to get home and it felt like forever waiting for the result. We were over the moon when it was positive.”

The couple’s friends and family were excited too, including their young nephews Toby and Joshua – who decided that the baby was going to be called Indiana Jones.

Katherine had a healthy pregnancy, and both she and Dave felt that the time went quickly. “At first I felt that nine months was a long time to wait,” says Dave, “but it flew by.” The only hitch was at six months, when Katherine found a rash on her back and the doctor suspected measles. “I wasn't immune, after missing the MMR jab at school, and measles can cause miscarriage, low birth weight and birth defects. We waited over a week to get the test results back, and we were terrified. The internet is great for information during pregnancy but it can be terrifying reading all the horror stories! I was scared to call and get my results, but very relieved to be told it wasn't measles.”
Two weeks before her due date, Katherine went into labour. “After the first three hours of contractions I said ‘Wow, I'm really surprised. I'm finding labour much easier than I imagined.’ How naive I was!”
 
In total, Katherine’s labour lasted 37 hours. She’d been hoping for a natural water birth, but discovered that she had Strep B, which meant that a birthing pool was not an option. In the end, with Benjamin in a tricky back-to-back position, she decided to go for an epidural. “If I could give any advice to expectant mothers it would be not to get to worked up about a birth plan, and not to be upset if things don't go the way you imagined. The most important thing is to do what's best for you and your baby at the time, and to deliver the baby as safely as possible.”

At 6.22 on the 29th of August, Benjamin was born. “I'll never forget the look on Dave's face – so pleased and proud to have a baby and be a daddy. I wanted Dave to be the one to tell me the sex of the baby, but he was so overwhelmed that he was speechless. The midwives and I kept saying ‘Dave – boy or girl?’ After about 30 seconds he snapped out of it and grinned ‘a boy’.”

It was the following evening before Katherine and Dave decided on a name for their new baby boy. “It sounds crazy, but we just didn't have chance to talk about it. It was pretty busy that first day - baby checks, checking me, visitors, the hospital photographer, the doctor, and we just didn't get round to it.”

Unfortunately for Joshua they decided, in the end, not to go for Indiana Jones. “My sister explained to him that we didn't think the baby looked like an Indiana Jones and we wanted other suggestions. One of the names he came up with was Ben 10, so he was quite happy when we decided on Benjamin.”

Back home, Benjamin suffered from colic, and was diagnosed with a milk intolerance. He was prescribed lactose free milk, and at three months his colic disappeared. It had been a tough time for Katherine, though. “I felt like the colic was never going to end, and I was exhausted. In hindsight, I think I tried to do to much. My advice to new mums would be: don’t try and be a superwoman. It really doesn't matter if your kitchen is a mess, the ironing pile is huge or your husband yet again has to have takeaway for tea!”

Fortunately Katherine’s mum was on hand to help out in those difficult first few weeks. “She’s been amazing. I wasn't very mobile in the beginning, and because of stitches and an infection I couldn't even sit properly for the first two weeks. Every movement was painful and walking was difficult too. Mum would come round first thing in the morning and stay until Dave came home from work. Having someone there to help with the everyday things, like making drinks for visitors, organising dinner and washing up meant that I could just focus on Benjamin without worrying about everything else. I don't know what I would have done without Mum.”

Katherine is also full of praise for husband Dave, who, despite working long shifts as a police officer, still finds plenty time for his family. “Dave’s a brilliant dad, he's a real natural. He always comes home with a smile on his face, ready to play with Benjamin. When Benjamin had colic, he was forever researching on the net and even using the netmums website to source new ideas.”

“Benjamin is such a happy baby now and he smiles and laughs all the time. He’s more than I could’ve ever hoped for. I don't know what I've done to deserve such a wonderful husband and son – life is truly perfect!”

Saffi Simran Kaur Nijhar Raj
Daughter of Inderjeet and Chandeep Raj
Born on the 11th October 2010
At home in Hartley Wintney
Weighing 7lb 5oz

Hampshire mum, Chandeep Raj, had not planned to have a home birth – so it came as something of a shock when she found herself giving birth to her daughter Saffi, in the family bathroom.

Chandeep’s first child, Ruben, had been two weeks late and had needed to be induced, and Chandeep was expecting a similar experience second time round. She finished work a week before her due date, anticipating at least a couple of weeks to relax at home and finish the preparations for Saffi’s arrival.

Never mind two weeks, she barely made it through the first weekend. On Sunday 10th October Chandeep went to bed, having been tired all day. In the early hours of Monday morning she woke up feeling uncomfortable. At 5.30 her husband Inderjeet, who is a GP, got up to go to work. Still feeling uncomfortable, Chandeep got up too and started walking around the house.

“I didn’t want Inderjeet to go to work. He was supposed to be doing a morning surgery, but eventually he managed to rearrange it so that he could stay at home.”

Although she now felt that her baby was definitely on the way, Chandeep didn’t think that there was any rush. “We got Ruben up and Inderjeet took him to school. I had a show, so I called the midwife who said that I sounded as though I had everything under control. I’m a very calm person, and I thought I had ages to go.”

Chandeep was still experiencing discomfort, but she wasn’t sure whether she was actually having contractions. “I had nothing to compare it to – the previous time I’d been induced and it was totally artificial. This time I thought the pain was going to get much worse – I think I must have a very high pain threshold!”

At 10am, and still not sure whether she was in labour or not, Chandeep popped to the loo. “I felt that something was happening and called to Inderjeet. He took one look and said ‘oh my God, I think that’s the head!’”

Although Inderjeet is a doctor and had delivered babies before, he started to panic. “His mind went blank,” says Chandeep, “he couldn’t remember where we kept the towels, let alone delivering babies during his medical training!”

It was clear that they weren’t going to have time to get to the hospital. Inderjeet called for an ambulance while Chandeep braced herself against the bathroom sink.

The ambulance had problems finding the family’s house, because it’s a new build and the postcode didn’t come up on the ambulance sat nav. In the end, Chandeep couldn’t wait. “I heard a squeak, and I was worried because we have a marble floor! In the end, I pretty much gave birth while Inderjeet was on the phone to the paramedics.”

Saffi was born at 11am, and at 11.15 the paramedics took Chandeep and Saffi into hospital. Ever calm in a crisis, Chandeep called in to work at 12.30 because she’d been due to have a catch up with a colleague who was just back from honeymoon. “They were very surprised to hear that I’d already had my baby!”

Chandeep was anaemic, and was kept in hospital overnight while her blood count was monitored, but the following day she and Saffi were allowed to go home. “It was funny when we got back, because we were saying to her ‘this is where you live’ – but, of course, she’d already seen it.”

After such a dramatic birth, everyday life continues to be good fun in the Raj household. “There’s never a dull minute! Ruben is a very good big brother, and Saffi adores him - her face lights up whenever she sees him.”

Jemima Louisa Nottingham
Daughter of Paul and Lindsey Nottingham
Born on the 18th of November 2009
At the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth
Weighing 9lb 7oz
Sister to Jeremy, 4

Lindsey Nottingham was concerned, when, at 37 weeks, her midwife thought that her baby seemed unusually large. “I was given a scan at 38 weeks, and it showed the baby at 9lb 7oz – with 2 weeks left to grow. The head circumference was off the chart. I saw the consultant and they agreed to induce me on my due date. I was very worried about not making it to the hospital and having to deliver an enormous baby in the car.  My first baby was quick and I had a rough time – and he was only 7lb 14oz.”

After an otherwise trouble-free pregnancy, Lindsey went into hospital on the afternoon of her due date. “The midwife gave me a pessary and said they would examine me again for progress in 8 hours.  I went down to the antenatal ward to wait, and at 9pm, when all the dads had to leave, I said goodbye to Paul.”

“At 9:30 I had my first contraction. I got to the labour ward at around 10:15, and the pain was incredible.  I then had my first breath of gas and air, which helped, and I asked if I could have an epidural.  When the midwife examined me she saw that I was 8cm dilated and said ring your husband now! She asked where he was coming from and when I said Gosport she sent the other midwife to ask everyone to tell Mr Nottingham to run. She told me he’d got 20 minutes to get there.”

Lindsey then asked again for an epidural, and was distressed to be told that it was too late. “The midwife said there was no time. I was horrified. It sent me into a panic – an epidural was the sum total of my birth plan!”

“The midwife was great. She said ‘just do what I tell you and it’ll be fine’, so I did, and she was right.  At 10.50 she said ‘dad’s had his 20 minutes, you need to push’. Right at that moment the door burst open and Paul ran in.”

After just ten minutes of pushing, baby Jemima was placed on Lindsey’s chest. “I think I went into shock – a girl, and a ninety minute labour with only gas and air. We’d expected a boy when we knew the birth weight would be high. But she was perfect in every way.”

“I was able to ring my family from the bed which was great, as no one expected a call that night. She’s the first, and last, granddaughter on both sides, with two doting aunties. The birth was much better than my first, and the recovery was so much faster.  I’m glad I didn’t have the epidural now, although I begged for it at the time! It was so much nicer to not have a drip in, and to be able to have a shower straight after the birth.”

“I spent the rest of the night at the Queen Alexandra, and then went to the Blake Birth Centre for two nights. When we got home it was hectic, but fun. There were loads of family members there to welcome us, and the second time around you know what to expect and what to do. Jemima’s so easy going - no colic, sleeping through at three weeks and happy all day. She’s the perfect baby. Jerry adores her and the feeling is mutual – they spend most of the day giggling with each other.”

Maisie Kendall O’Neill
Daughter of Dan and Claire O’Neill
Born on the 2nd of June 2010
At the Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton
Weighing 8lb 14oz

Although Dan and Claire had been trying for a baby for a while, Claire mistook the initial signs of her pregnancy for tonsillitis.  “We'd just been on holiday with my family, and I thought I’d picked it up from my sister in law. Two weeks and two pregnancy tests later I realised I was expecting!”

“We were absolutely thrilled. I was starting to panic that we’d left it too late, and after six months I was thinking that maybe everything wasn't ok. To see that little blue cross was amazing.”

Although Claire was delighted that it was caused by a baby rather than a throat infection, she continued to feel unwell. “I was really sick right up to five months – I looked back on the first few weeks of feeling nauseous as the honeymoon period. Everyone kept saying I would have a stage where I would have energy but it didn't really happen.”

Claire went twelve days past her due date, before going in to the Princess Anne Hospital for an induction. After two sweeps, a pessary and her waters being broken, the labour still wasn’t progressing to the doctors’ satisfaction. “My contractions were coming every 3-4 minutes and lasting one minute or so in length, but Maisie's heartbeat was accelerating so they decided to put me on a hormone drip to move things along.”

“By 8pm the contractions were really intense, so I was given pethidine, but I found it didn't really work for me. I had an epidural at 10.30pm, but it only worked on my left leg and part of my right. I could still feel my contractions, but it took the edge off them, which meant that I felt I could cope. At around midnight I had an overwhelming urge to push and Maisie was born naturally at 1am.”

“I was really pleased that the epidural hadn’t taken away all the sensation, and I’d been able to feel everything. It also meant that I recovered well afterwards - though I couldn’t feel my left leg for hours.”
“Overall, I felt I had a really positive birth experience. The midwife on the last shift was amazing and really listened to what I was saying. Dan was there throughout and was very supportive – timing  the contractions and leaping out of his seat to stroke my shoulder and hold my hand every time one happened. He also communicated with the midwives really well when I didn't have the energy to get across what I wanted.”

“Maisie was put straight on my chest and she fed within 20 minutes. I cuddled her for an hour and then Dan had quality time with her while I was stitched.”

Back home in Sholing, Claire struggled with breastfeeding. “I was having real difficulty getting her to latch on correctly, and I was getting really sore as a result. We went back to the hospital, where we discovered that Maisie was 60% tongue tied. We got it sorted out, but she had lost a bit too much weight so I had to go back into hospital to get her weight back up with a mixture of expressing, breast feeding and top up formula feeding. After three days, we came home for a second time, and after much perseverance we are now back to just breast feeding. It’s taking a lot of time and we’re not getting much sleep, but Maisie is healthy and happy.”

Madeleine Clara Hogg
Daughter of Karl and Ali Hogg
Born on the 5th of January 2010
At Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth
Weighing 7lb 8oz
Sister to Trinity, 4
 
“The close was lit by an eerie blue light. It bounced off the snow, which continued to fall. Friends were texting to offer help and support, one was even out directing the ambulance, others were sending messages saying ‘I can hear sirens, I hope it's not for you.’”
 

When Ali was given a due date of New Year’s Eve for her second baby, she might have anticipated giving birth in a ward decorated with tinsel, helped by staff who had been dragged away from the festivities. It would have been hard to predict the real drama that was in store.

Ali’s pregnancy had progressed smoothly, up to, and beyond, her due date. Her only concern before going into labour was that this baby would the same size as her older sister. “Trinity was unexpectedly big when she was born - 9lb 7oz - and I had a third degree tear. I blame M&S Yum Yums – I tried my best to avoid them second time around!” 

On Tuesday 5th January 2010, Ali heard that snow was forecast for the area around her home in Whiteley. “I collected my daughter from preschool early, and at about 5pm it started to snow – not just the usual sprinkling, but huge flakes which were settling immediately. I had about four texts from friends saying ‘don't go into labour tonight’, then my neighbour Debbi popped round to say that she was in and could have Trinity for me if necessary. I closed the door to Debbi and my waters broke.”

Ali phoned her father, who was on call to look after Trinity along with her step-mother Pat. “Pat was on her way, but it was becoming increasingly clear that the snow was causing chaos and it was impossible to get out of Whiteley. I had a few texts from people who were stuck in traffic, and we were concerned about getting to the hospital.”

Ali also called her friend Sarah, who, along with Karl, was due to be her birthing partner. Sarah was also driving through the snow, on her way back from work in Staines.

By six Ali was starting to feel uncomfortable. “The contractions were building, so we dropped Trinity off next door and called  the hospital, who advised me to come in as soon as I could. We then rang the Hampshire 101 service, to see what the roads were like and whether it was worth setting off.”

“Hampshire 101 strongly advised us to call an ambulance. Initially I was reluctant – I thought I didn't really need an ambulance, just to find a way out of Whiteley. But by this time the roads were completely jammed with snow and abandoned cars, so we made the call. Half an hour later, they called back to say the first ambulance was stuck on the motorway in the snow and that they were sending a specialist four wheel drive ambulance and would keep us updated.”

“By 7pm we hadn’t heard anything, and my contractions were about three minutes apart. I wasn’t too worried, as they weren’t very painful, but Karl was looking increasingly concerned. We called Queen Alexandra again to give them an update and they suggested forming a back up plan.” 

“Our friend Haanagh is a midwife and lives nearby, but she was on maternity leave herself after having beautiful twin boys, so we didn't want to disturb her. We knew of a second midwife locally, but we didn’t have her number, so we contacted Haanagh to ask for it. Haanagh was fantastic and immediately dashed round to help,  for which we are eternally grateful.”

“I opened the front door, and was greeted by a drive full of people – Haanagh,  her husband, two paramedics and about four fireman. Hampshire Fire and Rescue had accompanied the ambulance, in case they needed cars moving out of the way. It was a very welcome sight,  particularly for Karl who had been getting slightly worried at the thought of delivering the baby.”
 
“I wouldn’t have been able to deliver in the ambulance,  because it was a four wheel drive with no space inside. So the plan was to identify how far dilated I was, and if it was more than 5cm I would have a home birth – to avoid having to deliver in the snow on the hard shoulder of the M27. Luckily I was just under 5cm, so off we went, with Karl, two paramedics and me squeezed into the ambulance, and all my neighbours waving me off.”
 
“We arrived at Queen Alexandra at 8.30pm, after an unforgettable journey – I even got stuck on the stretcher in the revolving door at the hospital. I was handed over to the staff there and Lee and Jack, the ambulance drivers, went off for a well-earned cup of tea.”

After the dramatic struggle to get to hospital, things calmed down for Ali and Karl. “The birth was very relaxed,  the room at QA was very tranquil and Abigail the midwife was fantastic. Madeleine was born at 10.25pm, two hours after arriving at the hospital. She was handed straight to me, and Karl cut the cord.”
 
“We phoned round the family to let them know the good news. Trinity was sound asleep. It had taken Pat five hours to get from Hedge End to Whiteley, and everyone was safe and sound.”
 
“We had tea and toast and tried to sleep. Karl slept on the floor - the hospital was full of Dads and stranded staff who couldn’t make it home.”

The snow had forced birthing-partner Sarah to miss the birth, but she arrived at the hospital the next day to help get Ali and Madeleine home. “The roads were pretty tricky to drive on but she made it, and as we turned into our close it was full of the neighbours playing in the snow and building snowmen.”

“The first few days were very quiet – we couldn't go out because of the snow and not many people were able to visit. But it was lovely to be able to relax and enjoy the time together as a family.”

“It was certainly a night we'll never forget and we’re very grateful to all the family, friends, neighbours and services involved in Madeleine's birth.”