An Angus joiner became an emergency midwife for his partner after their son made a whirlwind entrance into the world in their living room.
Katarina Robertson, known as Kat, had planned to have her son Alexander at their home just outside Brechin in a birthing pool — assisted by midwives.
As he was three days overdue, she tried acupuncture and other traditional remedies to induce labour on December 14.
However, while he may have been late in arriving, once he was on his way, his journey into this world was almost instant.
“There were no signs of labour,” said Kat, who works as a bookkeeper for Aaron in their family joinery business.
“Then, all of a sudden, at 4pm, we were watching a bit of TV and [we heard] an almighty noise…it’s so odd I can’t describe the sound of it, but that was my waters breaking.
“There was no pain; it was bizarre. Then the contractions got stronger. It was rapid.
“I’d gone from breathing through the contractions to howling like a dog, because of the pain. I told Aaron he had better get the pool filled up, and call the midwives again.
‘I told my mum he was coming’
“I thought I was going to have a heart attack, and I only had six contractions, well, six really intense ones.
“I could have pushed him out two contractions before I did, after the fourth one.
“I said to my mum Christina, ‘he’s coming’. She was on one side of the sofa holding a leg, Aaron was at the back holding the other.
“One push — me actually consciously pushing — and Alex’s head came out. I got about 60 seconds of respite before the next contraction, and then he was out. Aaron caught him.
“I was dazed, but Aaron brought Alexander up onto my chest and the (umbilical) cord stretched that far, thankfully.
‘Aaron was incredible’
“Then, the midwives phoned to say they were stuck in traffic, and I told them, ‘Well, he’s already here’.
“Aaron absolutely stepped up to the plate, he was incredible.”
Alexander was born in perfect health, weighing 7lbs 6 ounces.
The whole process, from Kat’s water breaking to holding her son in her arms, lasted just 35 minutes.
“It’s certainly the most memorable 35 minutes of my life,” said Kat.
“Having my mother and Aaron there, I couldn’t have done it without them because with them there, I felt safe and had the strength to proceed.
“It could have been I was on my own. If Aaron had popped out, Alex could have ‘popped out’.
“If Aaron was at the shop, I would have had to have done it on my own. So thank god he was here.”
I just had to take the weight of his head as he was coming out and then grab the rest of his body.
Proud new dad Aaron
Aaron, 46, a self-employed joiner, said: “I can just really remember Kat saying, ‘he’s coming’, and I said, ‘no, he can’t be’.
“I was a wee bit taken aback by it all. But there was no time to discuss being shocked or anything.
“I didn’t need to help him come out. I just had to take the weight of his head as he was coming out and then grab the rest of his body.
“It was surreal. It felt really good — amazing — to hold him as he arrived. It was a wonderful feeling and there was a bit of a bounce in my step later that evening.
“My son had been born but I also felt pretty chuffed with myself, and with Kat, of course, for how we’d handled the situation I guess.
“It just seemed automatic. Not too much thinking involved, we just seemed to know what we had to do.”
The pair married in 2013, and agreed that Kat having already given birth to their older son Ruaridh, five, helped them to cope with Alexander’s sudden arrival into the world.
Kat said: “My mum was quite teary, but very much on-the-ball and matronly. She was really good, I’m really pleased she was on hand as well, because she’s practical, sensible, helpful and kind.
“She and Aaron did so well together given the situation.”
Kat said that Ruaridh being at his other grandmother’s house in Brechin at the time was a happy coincidence, as the screaming from her intense contractions may have upset him.
The news that Aaron had helped to deliver his son at home has been “the talk of the town” the couple said. They lived in Brechin before moving to Findowrie, around three miles away, two years ago.
‘Delivering one baby was enough!’
“Yeah a lot of folk are talking about it,” said Aaron. “I was amazed to be honest.”
He jokingly added: “I’ve no plans to give up joinery though. I think delivering one baby was enough! Midwifery doesn’t really appeal to me.
“I thought I would be involved, but it would be moral support, cups of tea, holding Kat’s hand. Not quite what happened.”
Aaron added: “Thankfully we did go for a home birth, because otherwise we would have jumped in the car on the way to hospital and had to pull into a lay-by or something.
“He could have been born in the car. How would you cope with that?”
Kat added, jokingly: “And what would they have put on the birth certificate? Volvo?”
“It’s definitely the most extraordinary thing that’s happened to me and slightly bizarre as well,” said Aaron while Kat described it as a “special” story.
