BABIES ‘It’s amazing to have her in our life’

Baby’s name: Philippa Rae Harverson Date and place of birth: November 26 at 3am at the University Hospital of Wales. Weight: 8lb 13oz. Parents: Mum Josephine, 28, a steel industry procurer, and dad David Harverson, 29, a civil servant, both from Llandough. Mum’s story: “This is my first baby. I didn’t really have any morning sickness, I just felt really queasy in the evenings for the first trimester.

“We chose her first name after going through what felt like every other name in the world before my husband said he quite liked it.

“It was a very difficult decision as my husband didn’t like any I liked and vice versa, but I’m glad he vetoed all the others though as her name suits her perfectly.

“Her middle name Rae was after my grandfather who died when I was 14.

“I was in labour for 12 hours. My waters broke in the morning and then by the afternoon the contractions had kicked in.

“I went to hospital at 7pm and she was born at 3am.

“We were in hospital less than 24 hours from when we first arrived. I think it was about 5pm when we left. She was a forceps delivery after my contractions stopped.

“The first time we took her home is difficult to describe. I would probably say numb as I was sort of in a daze.

“She doesn’t have any brothers or sisters, but if you count her big sister Luna the dog then she reacted remarkably well, far better than anticipated and is very protective of her baby sister.

“It feels amazing to have her in our life, the love you have for them is unreal, which is cliched but true.

“I didn’t feel that initial rush of love that many people get and it took me a couple of months to adjust before I suddenly realised how much I loved her. I don’t want to butter it up and say I loved her straight away as many people don’t and it’s not talked about enough that it’s perfectly normal to feel that way.

“Life has changed quite a lot as everything revolves around her but, of course, it’s worth it.”