Christmas Day Baby Born

The News, Portsmouth

Emma and Stephen Collier from Wickham, welcomed their third child a baby girl called Iris who was born on Christmas Day at home arriving ten days late.

Transcript

00:00 So Stephen, tell me about little Iris.

00:05 Well, Iris was due on the 15th of December, however, we waited and waited for her.

00:13 Well, we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, so we waited and waited for the baby.

00:18 We're getting closer and closer to Christmas and then about 2 o'clock on Christmas morning,

00:24 I got woken up to be told that she was coming today.

00:30 She hung around, but she wanted to be special, so she was born on Christmas Day at 11am.

00:38 Tell me how mum and Iris are doing.

00:41 Amazing. Emma's, yeah, it's her third baby, our third baby.

00:46 She's super brave and really strong and we've been up and out and visited family

00:52 and we were doing really well and baby's doing really, really well.

00:57 So what has the reaction been like to having a Christmas baby from friends and family?

01:06 Yeah, she seems to be a bit of a celebrity, so everyone wants to see her

01:10 and we obviously naturally see a little family this time of year,

01:14 but everyone's just really been waiting for us to do the rounds and have a hold of a little baby.

01:20 Yeah, everyone's very excited.

01:23 So what was the weight of Iris?

01:25 8lbs 10.

01:28 And do you have a message for any of the staff and the midwives?

01:35 Just a big thank you to Becky and Amy who were here in the morning.

01:39 They were amazing. They couldn't have asked for anyone better.

01:45 They were really kind and caring and patient with me

01:50 and knew all the right things to say with me and Emma.

01:54 Yeah, it was really special having a home birth on Christmas Day

01:59 because obviously when baby came we had to still do Christmas Day.

02:05 It was nice to be here to be able to make the dinner, do the Christmas presents

02:09 and we wouldn't have been able to do that if they weren't available to be here to do the birth at home

02:15 and to have the resources available there for that to be possible.

02:21 So just thank you to them and thank you to the hospital.

02:25 And how did Iris' brothers take to her?

02:31 Really sweet, yeah. They have been doting and really sweet

02:36 and this is their favourite Christmas present.

02:39 They both really wanted a little sister.

02:43 So yeah, they've been really, really happy and they've been really, really caring towards her.

02:48 So were the boys around for the birth as well?

02:52 They went to their aunties, an uncle who just lived 10 minutes down the road in Fairham

03:00 and then they went to their uncles, another uncle, an auntie over in Waterloo, Phil.

03:07 So they had a surprise, those family members had a surprise visit on Christmas morning

03:13 as my in-laws, Emma's parents, stayed here for the night of Christmas Eve

03:17 so they were able to drive them around and visiting people until the baby was ready to meet them.

03:26 Yeah.

03:27 Well congratulations.

03:28 Thank you very much.

03:30 So I understand Iris was a home birth?

03:34 Yes, a home birth on Christmas Day which was particularly handy

03:38 because there was lots to do being Christmas Day.

03:41 Luckily we'd done a lot of prep work for the dinner the night before

03:44 but there was still the dishwasher to be done, potatoes to be peeled, parsnips

03:51 and I was able to do that whilst Emma was in labour because it's nice to keep busy

03:57 rather than feeling like a spare part whilst the wife's in labour.

04:00 So yeah, a lot of the preparation was done and the kitchen cleaned etc. during the labour

04:06 so that as soon as the midwives were happy the baby was healthy and safe and had left

04:11 we could do the presents for the boys and get the dinner going.

04:14 With my mother-in-law I didn't do it, I had a lot of help.

04:18 Oh wow, and then Emma after having a bit of rest came down and joined Iris for Christmas dinner?

04:23 Yes, she went and rested whilst dinner was being made and then was woken up to a full Christmas dinner

04:28 with crackers and pudding and so quite a strange set of events for one day.

04:35 Well well done to you.

04:37 Thank you.

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