Adam Drennan was born at 22h21 on 22 October 2015. 4.02kg and 52cm long, with a head circumference of 36cm.

The birth went wonderfully well and both Adam and Donné are healthy and well.

It all started while I was out at a parent-teacher meeting and the messages started to get more frequent….and then the phone call.

I got home and it seemed clear that Donné was in labour, with her contractions coming every 2 minutes, but not being too intense. We had decided on a home birth with a midwife, Natasha Stadler, so there was no need to get to hospital. We took a few laps around the pool chatting, with one half of the lap being a contraction, and the other half being in between.

Things seemed to be progressing, and from the past we expecting it all to go quite quickly, so we got hold of Natasha to let her know things were on the go and so that she could get ready. Donné had a bath and things started to move a bit more. In each birth there has been a point where Donné suddenly gets to a point of, “we have to get moving now,” and that’s when I know it’s time to get to the hospital, or in this case get the midwife to come.

Natasha and her assistant Sandrine (an apprentice mid-wife from Germany) arrived at about 21h30 and quickly got set up for the delivery.

At this point the labour was getting quite intense, with strong contractions and lots of deep breathing to get through things. From here on it moved pretty quickly. The one thing which was very funny was when Donné said to Natasha, “Last time they broke my waters and it was such a relief,” to which Natasha answered, “Do you want me to break your waters? You can break them.” On the next push Donné’s waters burst with dramatic effect and a midwife in the line of fire.

We had discussed this before and I had asked if I could catch the baby if everything was going well, and everything was going well. Donné pushed and did so well, and I got to catch Adam and be the first person to hold our little man, which was and is a wonderful privilege for me.

He is perfect, beautifully formed and wonderfully healthy.

A quick clean off with mom after birth – this is the first photo of him

Getting the good stuff

Post bath cuddles

The peaceful aftermath

Being born – it’s tiring work for mommy and baby