Warning True-life
I want everyone to know how important baby CPR is...
Dan Swales, 39, from the West Midlands
As our four children looked up at us, their faces quizzical, I grasped my partner’s hand. ‘We’ve got something to tell you...’ I began.
Back in December 2016, my partner Vicky and I had been together for two years.
We both had children from previous relationships – Ihad Ben, then 11, Faye, nine, and Eva, six, and Vicky had Hallie, then four.
With Vicky and I living with Hallie near Birmingham, where I worked as an RAF medic, we went back up to North Yorkshire to see my kids whenever we could.
And now, we’d gathered everyone together to tell them some exciting news.
‘In May next year, you’re going to be big siblings!’
Vicky beamed. Vicky and I were having a baby!
Telling our parents, too, everyone was so excited.
All the kids wanted a little brother, but while Vicky and I found out in January 2017 that we were having a son, we decided to keep it a surprise.
We started thinking about names and decorating his nursery – deciding on a white and grey theme, buying cute elephant toys. ‘I can’t wait to meet him,’ I smiled to Vicky as her bump grew.
On 18 May, a day before Vicky was due to be induced, I was at work at my last shift at Queen Elizabeth Hospital with my phone on vibrate, just in case.
As I tried to get everything finished, I quickly glanced at my phone – and saw three missed calls.
I hadn’t felt it buzz in my pocket.
Listening to my voicemails, my stomach dropped.
My waters have broken!
Oh my God, I thought, panicking.
Quickly letting my boss know I was leaving, I raced the 20 minutes back home.
Running through the door, Vicky was there with her bags packed and ready.
I quickly grabbed a few essentials as she waddled to the car.
‘You’re only 1cm dilated,’ a midwife told us when we arrived at Birmingham Women’s Hospital.
We were half expecting to be told to go home and wait.
But within five minutes, Vicky was 9cm.
‘He’s crowning now,’ the midwife shouted.
And within 15 minutes of arriving at the hospital, our little boy Noah Theodore was born, weighing 7lb 14oz.
Noah was perfect – he was feeding well, had a couple of wet nappies and got a green light from doctors, so we went home together at around 8pm that evening. Everyone was buzzing with excitement.
And at around 9am on Saturday 20 May, we set off on our threeand-a-half-hour journey to Guisborough, Yorkshire, so my kids could meet the little man.
Ben, Faye and Eva were all so excited, and it was lovely to have all five of the kids together for the first time.
Noah was up for a feed every four hours that evening, and at 3am he see
