Television and radio presenter Matthew Wright and his wife Amelia have introduced their newborn baby daughter Cassady in an exclusive photoshoot and interview with HELLO! magazine.
The birth of Cassady came after the couple tried for eight years to have a child, enduring six failed IVF attempts and one life-threatening ectopic pregnancy.
"I have dreamt about this moment for so long, I keep pinching myself, thinking 'Is this real? Is this happening?'" Amelia told the magazine. "I feel like it's a rebirth for me. It's every cliché and everything you hear about but I feel complete and content."
Matthew and Amelia introduced their first child to HELLO!
READ: Matthew Wright reveals wife Amelia suffered birth complications and is still in hospital
"I can't get over how good she is and how gorgeous she is, I generally think babies are ugly things but it just happens that mine is the supermodel of the baby world," Matthew added.
Cassady arrived at London's Queen Charlotte's hospital nearly four weeks early, on January 25th, weighing just over 5lbs. But her entrance into the world wasn't without drama – as Matthew nearly missed the birth. He was only informed that Amelia was about to give birth when he received a text message from her as he came off air from his radio show. "There was a taxi drivers' strike, every road we went on was stuck and there was no more communication from her. It took 1hour 15 minutes to get from my offices in Waterloo to the hospital in Hammersmith - usually it would be 40 minutes - and I was having kittens" Amelia explained.
Amelia had a tricky birth
MORE: Matthew Wright opens up about baby joy with wife Amelia following years of heartache
"My blood pressure suddenly went sky high and they said 'This is dangerous, it has to happen now'. They said they would try and wait for Matthew to get there but otherwise they were going to have to start. He needed to get there no later than when he did, or he would have missed it."
After rushing into the hospital, he couldn't find his wife until he was ushered into the labour ward. "And she is there with the anaesthetist with a huge needle," he said. "They were waiting for me." Sony executive Amelia said: "My blood pressure suddenly went sky-high and they said: 'This is dangerous, it has to happen now.' They said they would try to wait for Matthew to get there, but otherwise they were going to have to start. He needed to get there when he did, or he would have missed it."
Their daughter is called Cassady
Thankfully, after the initial drama, Cassady’s Caesarean birth went smoothly. "Everything seemed like a dream," Amelia said. "When she came out she was crying, so that was very reassuring to us, and she looked like Matthew's double. What’s incredible is that Matthew managed to film the whole thing. It was like a professional movie. It was extraordinary what he did under those stressful circumstances." Matthew added: "I've got her first crying when she came out... it’s amazing." He also cut the cord – which he likened to being back in the I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! jungle. "I also made endless amusing comments to keep every one entertained. Really, it was a blur to me, as I didn’t know it was happening until I got there."
Their daughter is named after the couple's favourite Grateful Dead song, Cassidy, as well as famous Beat Generation author Neal Cassady, who was the inspiration for one of the main characters in Matthew's favourite book, On the Road by JackKerouac. Their friends are well aware of the couple’s love of music, sending baby clothes with band names emblazoned on the front. Cassady spent her first night in the special care unit, as she needed help with her breathing. One memory still strikes Amelia as she chatted to HELLO! two weeks later.
"I went up to the special care unit to see her with her breathing apparatus, which was very distressing, but then they let me hold her hand and she grabbed it really, really tight. It makes me cry thinking about it, but I knew she was okay. So I just sat there for an hour holding her hand." Mother and daughter came home after a week. "The care was incredible. I had been on this journey for nearly 12 years – to be a mum – and it had finally happened. I was crying tears of joy every day. After all that time, you can't believe you are finally holding your baby. It's so emotional, it hits you like a tidal wave." Both took to parenthood straight away. "I have really taken to it like a duck to water. I feel like I have fallen in love again, with her and with Matthew," said Amelia. "It's like a whole new life and we are loving it."
Matthew explains he is now "very domesticated"
"He is off work for two weeks and he has been cooking every day and we are just loving being parents. I look at him in a different way now; I love him so much more, it’s just another dimension that I wasn’t prepared for." Matthew, who cooks all the family meals, has also proved to be very much a hands-on father, despite initially tweeting that he had yet to take on nappy duty. "I have changed nappies and I help with the night feed or, if I am not giving her a bottle, I get up with them both and chat to them, put music on. The plan was that I would do all the cooking and cleaning. I am very domesticated."
Matthew will soon be back to work full time. But he plans to take early retirement before Cassady is four. "Three years is what I am aiming for," he said. "Everyone is so busy working, they don’t have any time to do anything with the family and I would much rather be at home." For now, this new family of three are just enjoying being in the baby bubble together – and shedding all the anxiety and stresses that came with their long road to parenthood.
READ MORE: Matthew Wright reveals reason behind departure from show after 18 years
"We are never going to have to do another round of IVF, we are never going to have to do another fertility injection; the stress of that has been unbearable," Amelia said. "And that's now lifted. I have ripped up the IVF file. I never have to look at that again, thank goodness." Matthew is just thankful that both his girls are safely at home. "The best bit so far of being a father is the look on Amelia's face when she looks at Cassady. You can see it's just the look of unquestionable love – it’s a wonderful thing to see."
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