Lisa Shentall-Lee and husband Johnny introduce their first child - Jaden Shentell-Lee in the latest issue of Hello! magazine.Little Jaden was born on Feburary 23rd at 2:29pm - weighing in at 6lbs 10oz
Here is the interview and pictures
On getting pregnant
L: Johnny and I had always wanted children, but decided to enjoy time together for a few years before trying. We'd both done a lot in our careers and felt the time was right after I'd competed on Dancing On Ice [last year]. I was the fittest I'd ever been thanks to the show, which I believe made me more fertile.
On the labour
L: I woke up at 7am with contractions. I let them continue for about an hour before I knew instinctively that I was actually in labour. When I first found out I was pregnant, I'd woken up Johnny with the words: 'Wake up, sweetheart. It's going to be a special day. We're having a baby.' So at 8am when I went in to labour, I woke up Johnny and said: 'Sweetheart, I think it's going to be another special day!'"
J: I leapt out of bed, ran Lisa a warm bath and put candles all around it. I thought the warm water would ease the pain. Then I tidied the house in a mad rampage.
L: Johnny was 'nesting.' By 11am, my contractions were irregular but very strong. 'This is it,' I told him. 'But you've got days to go yet,'[Jaden was two weeks early] he replied. 'Oh no I haven't,' I said. 'I'm having the baby today.'"
J: By this stage Lisa was out of the bath and was wearing a TENS machine to relieve the pain. During her contractions, Lisa could hardly speak. She had to communicate with me by putting her thumbs up for a mild contraction and down for a really bad one. When I phoned the birthing centre, at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, the midwife told me that if Lisa had reached the stage where she couldn't speak, it was time to bring her in.
On the drive to the hospital
L:It was longest 15 minutes of my life. We kept getting stuck behind slow vehicles and the came up against a police check of cars being randomly stopped. To top it all, my waters broke in Johnny's brand new car.
J: I'm just relieved we picked a hospital that was close to home. If we'd opted for a hospital in the centre of London, as we'd considered in the beginning, Lisa would have been giving birth in the car on the hard shoulder of the M4.
On the birth
L: It was a beautiful experience. The lovely big white birthing pool was in a relaxing room with a mirror ball on the ceiling. I wanted a water birth because I've always been drawn to water. I grew up by the sea and feel relaxed whenever I'm near it. Once I was in labour, a feeling of calm came over me. I think the water acted as a form of pain relief, too, I couldn't have had an epidural anyway as there is a low platelet level in my blood.
"I must have been in labour for only seven hours and it was the most extraordinary experience. Although it was painful, I felt as if I was on a natural high. I held on to Johnny quite a bit, and dug my nails in to his arm. My mum, who had four children, lives locally so she was able to be there with me, too. She'd advised me to file my nails before I gave birth as she knew this would happen, but Jaden came so unexpectedly that I didn't have time.
J: I hardly noticed Lisa digging her nails in to me. I just wanted to do everything I could to help. I mopped her brow and whispered to her reassuringly to help keep her calm. When it was happening, I recalled Myleene Klass's fiance, Graham Quinn, telling me how he felt when he watched Myleene give birth to their baby girl Ava last August. 'You'll do anything in your power to make sure your partner and the baby are ok,' he said.
"When Jaden arrived, Lisa and I were so overcome with emotion that we didn't even ask if it was a girl or boy. It was only when Lisa's mum asked. 'What is it?' that we even looked. We didn't mind as long as our baby was healthy."
On who held Jaden first
L: When he popped out, the midwife placed him straight on my chest. He latched on to feed straight away. Johnny and I both had tears in our eyes. It was such a wonderful moment and I'll never forget it. Putting a face to the little person I'd been carrying for nine months was amazing. He had dark brown hair and the most beautiful lips.
J: I cut Jaden's umbilical cord. It was an amazing feeling, to see our baby come out and be put on my wife's chest. A powerful sense of love swept through me and took everything to the next level for us in terms of our love for each other and our baby.
On bringing Jaden home for the first time
L: It was fantastic. Our families were waiting for us at home to meet him, which was an emotional time for us all. Although we didn't get much sleep that night, Jaden settled in to a routine straight away.
"The day we brought him home, Johnny was so romantic. He presented me with 24 red roses and a diamond eternity ring placed in the middle of one of them.
On choosing Jaden's name
L: My nickname for Johnny is 'J' and my grandfather Jason, who I was very close to, was also called 'J' for short. So Johnny and I had planned to name him Jay, until we watched the Will Smith film The Pursuit of Happiness the night before I went in to labour. The film had a little boy called Jaden in it, which really appealed to us. It seemed particularly appropriate because I gave birth the next day.
On the pregnancy and cravings
L: After the nausea subsided, I had a lovely pregnancy. Sometimes I felt strange about my body changing and had to adjust. Having trained as a dancer, I felt self-conscious about my bump. I'd ask Johnny: 'Does my bump look big in this?'
J: It suited Lisa being pregnant. I thought she looked sexy and gorgeous.
L: My only craving was cake. We had lots of birthdays in September, Johnny's, my mum's, and my dad's and Johnny's mum's, so there was loads of cake for me. For the first three months, though, I went off food in general because I felt nauseous.
J: It was hard for me because it reached a stage where I told her: 'Lisa, you've got to eat.'
On Jaden's routine
L: Jaden slipped in to one as soon as he came home. I feed him every three hours throughout the day, then every four hours at night. He turns in to a gremlin at night, making all these strange noises. He only wakes up for his feeds so he's a dream baby. Johnny and I are very much a team. He does all the cooking and cleaning, then brings me breakfast in bed in the morning while he looks after Jaden to give me a rest. I crave [soft] boiled eggs as I couldn't have them for nine months.
On who Jaden resembles
L: Jaden has the same expressions as his dad. When he yawns he looks exactly like him.
On which celebrity friends have come to visit Jaden
L: Andy [Scott-Lee, Lisa's brother]was the first person to visit at the hospital. He and Michelle [Andy's wife] bought Jaden a beautiful soft play mat and some lovely clothes. Claire [Richards] and Faye [Tozer] from Steps also came to see Jaden at home.
On Jaden's christening and godparents
L: We plan to organise it the week of our fourth wedding anniversary, and have a big garden party here [This summer].
"We have lots of celebrity friends, but have chosen seven of our closest non-celebrity friends for this special job" [of being Jaden's godparents]
On how parenthood has changed them
L: I used to get bogged down by all the knocks in the music industry. Now none of it bothers me. Taking time out to be with Jaden and Johnny is all that matters."
J: It's made the world of difference to me. I went for a game of snooker recently but couldn't wait to get back to Jaden and Lisa."
On wanting more children
L: Definitely. We moved to this house to start a family and now we'd like to fill up these empty rooms.
Source: Hello! Magazine
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