Born in the Asda car park in Huntly, baby William brings a whole new meaning to express deliveries.
Smiling away as his mum Dinara cradles him in her arms, little William’s serene demeanour belies his extraordinary arrival into the world.
Safely delivered by his dad Mike in the front passenger seat of their car, baby William has to be the most precious unexpected item yet at the supermarket.
“We’ve called him William but we did consider calling him George because he’s an Asda ‘Click and Collect’ baby”, laughs Mike, who lives with Dinara and their three-year-old daughter Beth near Portsoy.
‘I wasn’t panicking as I thought we had plenty of time’
Beautiful William’s dramatic entrance kicked off in the early hours Monday January 6 when Dinara’s waters suddenly broke 11 days before her due date.
At the time, Mike was staying in Fraserburgh due to work commitments, but he wasted no time as he jumped in the car to make the snowy drive home.
“Dinara phoned me at about 1am on the Monday to say her waters had broken,” says Mike.
“The conditions were quite wintry so it took me about two hours to get from Fraserburgh to home.
“But I wasn’t panicking as I thought we had plenty of time.”
Race against time…
By the time Mike got home, Dinara’s contractions had increased.
“When I got home and Dinara kept saying ‘he’s coming’ and I kept saying ‘no he’s not’,” says Mike.
“So my mum came over to look after our daughter Beth and we got in the car and headed to the Maternity Hospital in Aberdeen.
“While I was driving, Dinara kept saying ‘he’s coming’ so I phoned the hospital for some advice.
“When I told them Dinara’s contractions were a minute apart they told me we should stop and call 999.”
Preparing to give birth in the Asda car park…
Spotting the bright lights coming from the Asda car park in Huntly, instinct told Mike it would be a good place to stop.
“I picked that spot as it was light,” explains Mike.
“Then I phoned 999 and the call handler was absolutely brilliant as he talked me through everything.
“I couldn’t have done it without him.”
Despite having no pain relief and preparing to give birth in the reclined front passenger seat of the car, Dinara remained remarkably calm as did Mike.
“Dinara was brilliant, she remained calm throughout which is amazing as obviously she had no pain relief,” says Mike.
“I was OK as I’m quite a calm person, neither of us do stress.”
‘Watch you don’t drop him’
Listening carefully to the instructors from the 999 call handler, Mike says he switched off and went into autopilot mode.
“At the time, not a lot was going through my head, I was just listening to the guy and following his instructions – I just switched off,” says Mike.
“He was telling me what to do, what to look out for, when to push – he was great.
“Because I had come from work I happened to have a really bright torch in my pocket so that helped.
“I can remember him telling me to keep a hold of the head, to keep him straight and to watch as he’ll be really slippery so don’t drop him.”
‘It was cold and we kept the car running for heat’
Little William was born at 4.30am on Monday January 6.
“We used Dinara’s jumper to wrap him up,” says Mike.
“Dinara was absolutely amazing throughout it all.
“It was cold and the snow was quite bad but we kept the car running for some heat but obviously wasn’t the best place to have a baby.”
Luckily, the ambulance turned up shortly after.
“Three to five minutes later the ambulance turned up and the paramedics cut the cord,” says Mike.
“Dinara and William were then blue lighted to the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital and I followed them in the car.”
William is a little warrior…
Weighing in at a healthy 9lbs and 2oz, William spent a couple of days being cared for at the Intensive Care Neonatal Unit at the hospital before being allowed home.
“William was in the intensive care unit for a couple of days,” says Mike.
“Because he arrived quickly, he had a lot of fluid in his lungs so he got a wee infection in his lungs.
“But after a few days he was transferred to a normal ward before being allowed home.”
William is thriving…
Back home, little William is being doted on by Mike, Dinara and their daughter Beth plus Mike’s daughters Morgan and Tamsin.
“When we told our family and friends what happened, nobody believed us to begin with,” says Mike.
Settling back into life at home, Mike and Dinara are keen to thank the male 999 call handler who talked them through the birth.
“The 999 call handler needs a shout out,” says Mike.
“They don’t often get credit but they do a great job.”
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