Welcome to the World, Little Flump!

Introducing Charlie Malcolm, born at 5.37pm on Saturday 16 June safely at home and at a healthy weight of 7lb 11oz. Labour was monitored at 13 hours.

I cannot recommend a homebirth enough for women with a good support network and a healthy pregnancy. I felt calm throughout the entire process and got through it using a TENS machine for one hour while waiting for the midwife to arrive, then by getting into my heaven-sent birth pool and going on the gas-and-air when things got more intense. I doubt the birth would have been the same had I not been in my own environment.

God bless my Bloke, my sister, my two fantastic midwives, my birth pool, the gas-and-air, and Charlie for being more than worth the whole experience (including the half an hour of late-stage contractions I got through without gas-and-air because the second canister had run out and the second midwife was still zipping round the local clinics trying to get more...).

Charlie's birthday featured a range of weather from heavy rain to bright sunshine to thunder and lightning to a shining rainbow right after he was born. It also coincided with the Trooping the Colour at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen's official birthday; while I was labouring in the pool in the afternoon there was an almighty roar outside as the Red Arrows flew over our house on their way back from the ceremonial fly-past.