Stacey Solomon received “the best birthday present [she] could have wished for” when she gave birth to her first daughter on her own birthday.
But the delivery wasn’t all smooth sailing and the Loose Woman told followers that she “quickly regretted” her home birth.
Posting on her Instagram Stories, Stacey opened up about her home birth, writing, “I woke up feeling a little twingey so I went to check in on her. She seemed happy as Larry and the contractions weren’t too strong so I went home…
“But she decided she was ready to meet us immediately, so our community midwives came straight over with all of the gas and air.”
Sharing a video of herself in labour, she went on to say, “Quickly regretted not staying in hospital and getting an epidural…”.
CHECK OUT: Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon's relationship timeline
Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash relationship timeline
1 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: initially meeting
The pair first met in 2010 when Stacey Solomon became Queen of the Jungle - and it was Joe Swash that crowned her on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!. At the time Stacey was already in a relationship, but there were rumours of Joe liking her. It wasn't until 2015 that they fell in love. Stacey and Joe appeared on various TV shows together and Stacey even hosted on I'm A Celeb's Extra Camp alongside Joe.
2 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: their first appearance
In January 2016, the couple made their relationship official on Instagram where Stacey posted on her Story a picture of Joe with some flowers. They then made their first public appearance together in March 2016, at a Gala Screening of Game of Thrones.
3 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: TV appearances
Later on in 2016, Stacey and Joe appeared on Loose Women together where they spoke about their relationship. A couple of months later they appeared on Celebrity Juice where Joe pretended to propose and it had us all believing he had actually proposed until the episode aired on TV. They then went on to presenting I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here: Extra Camp together and we all fell in love with their relationship even more.
4 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: attend events together
In 2017, after their first holiday together in Amsterdam, Stacey and Joe started attending many events together. From the Childline Ball and a Cancer Research UK charity event, to the BRITs.
5 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: primark launch
Stacey and Joe went on their first holiday with Stacey's two eldest sons in 2018. Shortly after, Stacey released her range with Primark, where Joe supported her at the launch - alongside Vicky Pattison, Katie Piper and Ashley Roberts. Joe continued his support and took to Instagram to post a photo and captioned it, "There's nothing I love more than standing by your side and watching you kindly and gracefully smashing the sh-t out of life. I love you".
6 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: move in together
In October 2018, the couple got a house and moved in together, sharing a home with Stacey's two boys. They spent their first Christmas together in their new home, along with the rest of Stacey's family.
7 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: expecting their first child together
In February 2019, Stacey and Joe took to Instagram to announce that they were expecting their first child together. Joe posted, "Have been driving myself mad thinking that she's bored senseless of me and can't stand to be awake for longer than 10 minutes of my company... So you can imagine my delight to find out that she still loves me and my company very much she's just been growing a baby. "I can't begin to describe how happy we are to be able to share this wonderful news. We've been so blessed with 3 incredible children that we've had the privilege of raising and we are forever grateful to have the chance to become parents to another wonderful child. It's all very overwhelming and emotional and we couldn't be happier right now." Stacey then posted a photo of the baby scan and wrote, "Every time I go to write anything I sob so... what he said @realjoeswashy ud83dudc9c"
8 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: become parents again
By May 2019, they became parents again but with their first son together, Rex, joining Stacey's two sons and Joe's one son.It was announced on both their Instagram accounts, "This morning. A lot earlier than planned I watched the love of my life, bring a new life into the world. We are overwhelmed, overjoyed and apprehensive of what's to come. "Mummy and baby are well and resting. We are so grateful for all of the love, support and positivity we've received over the last 8 months. I'm lost for words to describe how I'm feeling."He added, "So for now, I'm going to spend the next few days and the rest of my life falling more in love with these two humans. "I didn't think it possible but, today I witnessed the impossible. My partner, My love, my life, you are a super human. I am forever in awe. Joe X".
9 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: engagement
Stacey and Joe got engaged on Christmas Eve 2020. Joe surprised Stacey on a walk that was special to them. The perfect end to the year.
10 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: dream home
Stacey and Joe moved into their dream home, called Pickle Cottage, with her eldest sons Zachary and Levi and their two-year-old son Rex in March 2021. "We feel so lucky and are so grateful to have found this hidden treasure closer to our family and further out. We can't wait to fill it with love and give it our everything. To raise our family here. And to just start a fresh. I'm very emotional for some reason. It still hasn't sunk in and doesn't quite feel real. Thank you for all of your supportive, kind, loving messages. We love you to the moon and back and I can't wait to show you around...," she wrote on Instagram at the time.
11 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: baby number two
In June 2021, Stacey announced she was expecting her second child with Joe. The baby would be her fourth child overall and his third. She wrote on Instagram, "We are growing another pickle ud83dudc76ud83cudffb We've never felt so grateful... I have no words. We didn't think we would get the chance. We love you all to the moon and back. Lots of love From Me, Joe, Harry, Zach, Leighton, Rex, and our little pickle ud83eudd7a."
12 of 12Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash: their daughter is born
Stacey gave birth to a daughter named Rose on her birthday surrounded by Joe at their home. The secret meaning behind Rose's middle name was later revealed - it's Stacey's (and now her daughter's) birth stone, plus Stacey has two Australian opals in her engagement ring from Joe. Aww!
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But the tale has the happiest ending, as she shared the first moments from her newborn daughter’s life and wrote, “And then… she was in our arms in real life.”
Congrats to Stacey and her fiancé Joe Swash!
This is their second child together after welcoming Rex in late 2019, with Stacey already mum to Leighton and Zach from a previous relationship and Joe sharing son Harry with his ex.
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Back in August, a source told Closer that Stacey was stepping back from work commitments earlier than she normally would to help reduce stress and her chances of developing post-natal depression – something she’s struggled with openly in the past.
“Stacey’s decided to take an extended break after she gives birth to ensure she gives herself a proper amount of time to bond with her new daughter,” they said.
“Given her history of postnatal depression, Stacey says she wants to prioritise her mental health and is very conscious about taking all the preventative steps she can in a bid to lessen her chances of suffering again.”