THERE was no problem for a Penrhos couple when it came to naming their bouncing baby girl - Rowan Manchand sort of named herself.

While mum and dad Emma and Kev had planned a home birth they certainly weren’t expecting it to be under a rowan tree in the garden.

It was a first for the midwives too, and they thought probably a first for Monmouthshire.

But then Rowan, who weighed in at 9lbs 8ozs and at three weeks is already wearing a baby grow for a six-month-old, had had a mind of her own right through the pregnancy.

“We already have two children, Hattie, aged two and Monty, five, but this pregnancy always felt different. All the way through she dictated things, so it was no surprise she chose where to be born!” said Emma.

“I’d done hypno-birthing with the other two, and Hattie was born at home so I was quite relaxed about everything.

“We knew she would be a big baby – although 9lbs 8ozs was a surprise. The other two were both under 7lbs.

“It was 9am on 25th September when things started happening, but progress after that was really slow and Kev and I decided to go upstairs for a nap.

“The midwives wanted to get things moving though so, as it was a lovely, sunny autumn day, they suggested I went outside into the garden.

“Once I was outside things happened very quickly and there was no way I could make it back inside. The baby arrived 20 minutes after my waters broke. Thankfully we didn’t have any visitors to the front door that day or they’d have had quite a shock!

“As I was going through contractions one of the midwives, Wendy, was suggesting I focused on the names of plants in the garden like lavender, honeysuckle and maple and I remember looking up at the rowan tree with its lovely autumn leaves and red berries.”

Emma, who has a degree in environmental management and once worked for the Environment Agency in Bristol, says that nature plays a really important part in her life.

By co-incidence the rowan tree in the front garden also features in the couple’s wedding photos.

“We didn’t know what sex the baby was going to be but we wanted a strong name and Rowan seems ideal,” said Emma. “She has a big personality already. She’s three weeks old today and couldn’t be more laid back.

“My dad did say, though, that it was a good job she wasn’t born under a banana tree!”