Real Life: The day my son delivered his baby brother

Jun 1 2011 by Zoe Chamberlain, Sunday Mercury

I WAS just getting ready to take Connor to school when my labour pains started.

It was nine days before my due date, so I thought we had plenty of time left.

But then my waters broke.

My husband Paul had already gone to work so it was just me and Connor in the house on our own.

I phoned Paul to let him know what was happening and then I asked Connor to go to his room because I didn’t want him to see what was happening.

But things progressed so quickly that I had to call up for his help.

Connor phoned an ambulance and the lady at the call centre talked him through exactly what to do.

He was a little upset but he was really good and listened very carefully.

She told him to fetch me some warm blankets, so he went and got his teddy blanket as he said it was the only one he could reach.

At 9.05am, just 20 minutes after my waters broke, I gave one push and the baby’s head came out.

Another push and he was completely out.

But the baby didn’t cry straight away, which was very scary.

The lady at the 999 call centre told us to wrap him up and rub him hard on the back.

He started crying then, thank goodness.

We wrapped baby Thomas in Connor’s teddy blanket and waited and Paul got back 10 minutes later, just after the ambulance arrived.

He was really worried when he arrived because there was an ambulance, and three paramedic cars outside.

Also Connor was crying by the front door. He naturally thought the worst, and so did I to be honest.

Thomas had DCT problems due to my blood and his blood mixing together, and our bloods being negative and positive.

It affected his antibodies at the time but, thankfully, hasn’t affected him long-term.

I didn’t really want Connor to have to go through delivering his own brother, I was hoping Paul would be back in time – but Connor did really well.