Stormie’s a smiler
Name: Stormie Evie Southwood. Date and place of birth: Stormie was born at 1.45pm on August 28 at the University Hospital of Wales. Weights: 7lb, 8oz.
Parents: Natasha Carter, 25, operational services in the Heath Hospital, and dad, Matthew Southwood, 28, a warehouse worker. The family live in Cardiff.
Mum’s story: Natasha said: “I suffered horribly with morning sickness very early on and it then turned into hypermesis.
“I ended up having to be admitted to hospital three times to be put on a drip just so I could get back the fluids I had lost, the hypermesis lasted till I was about seven months.
“I constantly craved a block of cheese with Nando’s peri peri sauce every night.
“Also pepperamis, I was eating them non stop and even had them in scrambled egg.
“I was very anxious about the birth, I worried would I cope with the pain or would something happen, you can’t really plan for the birth because it can change instantly.
“I thought it was a boy until we found out at the 20-week scan we were having a baby girl.
“My partner and I chose our daughter’s name through joking around. I have a white streak through my hair like Storm’s from the film Xmen. I was born with it so he suggested we call her Storm in case she has it. I was against the name until I kept saying it out loud and it stuck.
“My labour wasn’t great but thankfully we had amazing midwifes and surgeons on hand.
“They had to induce me in the night, then at around 1.20am my contractions started.
“It was around 9am when everything started going downhill, they put the monitor on my stomach to check the contractions and it showed my daughter’s heart was dropping then going back to normal.
“They took us up to the delivery suite and within 10 minutes of being there and answering questions my waters had broken, they gave a drug to slow down the contractions so she could rest and they waited but she stayed in distress.
“Her heart kept going up and down so they thought it was best to get her out so I had to have a C-section.
“It was quite scary because you constantly get asked questions and to sign stuff but you are so high off the gas and air you don’t really know what’s going on.
“Thankfully they did do a C-section because they found the placenta was starting to come away from the walls and behind the placenta was a blood clot.
“It was exciting and scary at the same time.
“She is a very happy smiley baby. First thing she does in the morning is smile when she sees you.
“It feels like a missing piece that you never knew was empty is now filled. They become your whole world, the reason you wake up and get out of bed every day.
“I just feel so lucky and blessed to have her.”
How much has life changed?
My life has changed completely from having my own time and space going out whenever you want to now always having somebody by your side. And if you want to go out you have to take half your room with you – but I wouldn’t change any of it.