Alison, 33, from London, gave birth to her third child in her lounge.
When did you know you were in labour?
Anneliese was due on 24th September but was actually born on the 26th. I was anxious as both the boys were three days early - so I'd never been overdue before. The night before I went into labour, my husband and I had gone for a long walk around the lake and had a lovely dinner to try and relax.
We went to sleep - the boys were in their bedrooms next door. I woke up at 1am on Sunday morning as I felt something starting but I wasn't sure exactly. I thought it was best to get some rest as contractions usually take such a long time. However, at 2am I went downstairs as the contractions were coming very quickly. My husband could tell that things were happening so he got up and got dressed when I told him.
When did you ring the midwife?
When the contractions were about 4 minutes apart I phoned the labour ward. The midwife turned up at 3 o'clock, examined me and said I was seven centimetres dilated. That was brilliant as I thought she was going to tell me I was imagining it! The second midwife came at 3.30am and brought gas and air which was fantastic. I had a couple of gasps at that and the baby was born at 3.46am. It was really quick.
Did you intend to have the baby at home?
I had a home birth booked. I packed my home birth kit six weeks beforehand and everything else I might need just in case. When the midwife turned up at 3 o'clock we got everything out really quickly - we put out the shower curtains and put on the portable heater. We had blankets and towels ready. I got my birthing ball out but I just ended up leaning on it. I didn't do anything creative with it.
How big was the baby?
She was 9 pounds 0.5 ounces. I was only pushing for eight minutes - it had taken an hour with the boys. When they said it was a girl it was unbelievable. I totally expected to have another boy. When they cleaned her up and gave her to me it was lovely. My husband was overjoyed. They wrapped her in a towel and handed her to him and she weed all over him. That was a welcome present! Throughout the labour I was a lot quieter. I was breathing quite deeply and I only screamed a bit at the pushing stage. At the back of my head I was worried about one of my sons coming down and witnessing it!
So what happened next?
After I had Anneliese, the midwives sorted us out and put us on the sofa and my husband made them a cup of tea while they wrote up their notes. At 5am they took me upstairs and put me to bed. When we came up Noah was already in our bed and we introduced him to his new baby sister which was really sweet. We waited until Ollie woke up until we told anyone else - but he was totally uninterested! He's five and Noah is three and he won't leave her alone.
How long were the midwives with you?
The midwives left at 5.30am - they said I was fine. It was totally surreal having a baby on the living room floor then straight back to normal as if nothing had happened! The deal was if we had a home birth we would get rid of the nasty carpet but the midwives cleaned up so well there's no evidence and no excuse.
Did you have any problems with the pregnancy?
The only thing was the placenta was low-lying but I had a scan quite late on and it had moved so I was all set for a home delivery. There was no way I going to hospital unless I really had to. I was adamant about that. Apart from that I had no tearing, no stitches - nothing!
How did you choose the name Anneliese Violet Rosalind?
It's actually the name we chose for our second child as we were convinced Noah was going to be a girl. The baby's last middle name is Rosalind after my mum.
Are you planning to have any more?
Financially, no - but you never know!