Gemma Atkinson's biggest parenting confessions: Mia's 'horrendous' Croup scare, Thiago's 'painful' breastfeeding & more

On Sunday, she told her followers: "I've still got a monitor in Mia's room with it next to my side of the bed." While she admitted she's thinking about removing it to improve hers and Thiago's quality of sleep, she added that she saw its worth a few months ago when she was awoken by Mia's breathing difficulties.

"Also with the monitor, when I was pregnant Mia had an attack in the night of croup, it was frigging horrendous. She wasn't breathing properly, on the monitor I heard this [imitates breathing difficulties.] So I bolted up, went into her room and she was all floppy and pale, it was horrendous. 

"I rang an ambulance, thank god Gorka was here, cool and calm as anything. He picked her up, brought her downstairs and opened the freezer – she was inhaling the freezer air. He was going, 'Deep breath, Mia, deep breath.'"

Gemma explained the professional Strictly dancer knew about this hack as he used it to alleviate his asthma symptoms as a child. "That's what they used to do to him when he had an asthma attack in Spain. And it worked!" Gemma said.

"Since then I've said to Gorka, if that monitor wasn't on, I wouldn't have heard her."

Gemma and Gorka have been open about the fact that both of their children were born shortly before he had to spend time away from home amid his Strictly work commitments. 

After Mia’s birth in 2019, the dancer returned to work three days later, which he said was difficult considering Gemma was still recovering from her "emergency C-section."

Speaking about their second baby, Gorka said: "This time around, we have a full week together and it feels like a blessing. When I leave now, I'm thinking: 'Okay, Gemma is safe, she can move, she can be independent.' 

"When Mia was born and I had to leave, I was crying because Gemma was in bed – she couldn’t even lift herself up – and I thought: 'Why am I leaving?' I just felt so guilty."

The Emmerdale actress discussed her decision to breastfeed for five weeks, which she received backlash for among some of her followers. 

"I personally only wanted to do 5 [weeks] BF. That's what I did with Mia so I set myself that target. I was fortunate enough to be able to express a lot so he ended up having about 6 weeks," she explained on Instagram.

She continued: “My choice to stop was because it was exhausting on my own. My boobs and back were quite sore and knowing I had school coming up for Mia and knowing Gorka would be away in London I knew it would be easier and less stressful on the bottle and I've always said that's how feeding should be."

She also described breastfeeding as "quite difficult and sometimes painful."

Bullies have been on Gemma's mind on several occasions as her daughter Mia starts school. She told her followers the idea of her kids being the victim of bullying is "my worst fear as a parent."

She continued: "Jokes aside though genuinely I think about it most days [especially] with Mia as she's so sensitive. When I found out we were having a boy one of my first thoughts was, well at least lads when they fall out usually just have a scrap then it's all forgotten about.

"Girls can be manipulative can't they in that they say horrible things to each other.

"In my experience, typical bullies are usually having a hard time at home so half of you feels for them. Christ it's a [mine] field, isn't it? No one warns you of this before being a parent," the Steph's Packed Lunch star wrote.

While the couple have ruled out expanding their family, Gorka opened up about how he's going through a new learning experience with his second child. 

He said on the Show on the Road podcast: "Now it's baby number two, everything is going to be double. But yeah, excited, but also a bit discovery, you know? Because I know how to do everything for a girl. Not for a boy, even if I'm a boy, you know?"

The couple were keen to ensure that Mia felt supported and loved as they welcomed a new member of the family. In an interview with HELLO!, she said her fears over Mia feeling "pushed out" were unnecessary as she gushed about her daughter being "like mother hen."

She continued: "I said to her, 'Are you happy? Is everything ok?' and she says, 'Yeah, I love having Thiago, I love our little family.'

"It goes through your mind: 'I hope they don't feel pushed out or like they've been replaced or anything like that', and thankfully she's taking it all in her stride, bless her.

"I think a lot of people think your love has to be split [between kids] but for me it's not, it's doubled. It's not like cut in half, it's doubled."

As a doting mother-of-two, Gemma discussed juggling work commitments and home life. However, she has said she plans to make the most of her maternity leave.

"I mean it's never easy, it's always juggling. I know it seems like I'm doing loads, but I've had to turn down a lot more since having Thiago, primarily because I want to be at home with him on my maternity leave. It goes so quickly. I learnt the first time around with Mia how fast that time goes, and I just don't want to miss any of it," she told HELLO!.

"It's picking and choosing what's worthwhile for me to do and what can be put on the back burner until I officially go back to work in April."

While Gorka has not been able to spend as much time on paternity leave due to Strictly rehearsals, they still continue to try and balance parenting duties as much as possible. Gemma admitted she thrived on taking control of Mia's baby bag for the first six months, but she learnt to trust Gorka to get involved.

Moving away from the old-fashioned, traditional roles of mothers taking on more work at home while men are the breadwinners away from the house, she said they have ensured they split tasks such as cleaning and food shopping.

"We sit down and think, ‘We need to do a big shop, we need to get the ironing done, we need to hoover the stairs – so we’ll say, ‘Well, if you go to the supermarket, I’ll do this, this and this at home,'" Gemma told The Independent. Even Mia mucks in with the work!

"Once she’s had her breakfast, I ask her to bring me her plate. If the dogs finish their food, she gives me their bowls."