My baby was born under the watchful eye of the cameras, an extraordinary experience

We had the chance to meet Sophie, a participant in the 8th season of the Baby Boom show currently broadcast every Saturday on TF1 at 4:10 pm. She tells us all about her adventure, the filming, her childbirth and her new life with Louise, her daughter and Christian, the father, 24 years her senior.

The adventure begin

I really hesitated before agreeing to be on the show

There were signs in the maternity ward and I wondered about possible participation but we weren't too hot at first. I was afraid it was voyeuristic, but Nathalie, the midwife who received me for the 9th month consultation had dealt with the film crew and she was able to reassure me. Then I called, we had a good chat and it convinced me.
What interested us most at the beginning was seeing pictures of Louise, from her birth. Images that we cannot normally have but that this kind of program can allow us to have and keep. Suddenly, we agreed to share this intimate moment on TV to then have this great memory for us.

I did not know the show before participating

Honestly, I didn't know the Baby Boom show. That's when I saw the call for entries, watched a few episodes and found the approach quite cool, it shows great moments, it's touching. Before birth, I understand that we want to watch this kind of program because it is reassuring, it is brought to light in a human way. It gives full place to the magic of those moments, without voyeurism, with a nice human and realistic approach. It is neither demonized nor embellished. We don't say it's easy. This is true to real life.

Giving birth with cameras in the room, an extraordinary experience

A childbirth surrounded and … expected

On D-Day, I was unlucky in the sense that the film crew arrived very late. They couldn't follow us from the start because there was a false start and when it rushed overnight, they were no longer in the maternity ward. So by the time they arrived from Paris, things were already quite advanced.
I admit that the installation of the cameras during work, that disturbed me a little at the time. They arrived at the very end of the work, my collar was open to the maximum, we were going to tackle the serious things and so it was not necessarily the best time but it was beyond their control and it did not spoil the everything, they were super professional.

At the time of the outbreaks, I was tired because between the epidural, the fatigue and the fact that we delayed the intervention of the medical staff and the push to wait for the film crews to arrive … I was ready for a while.
Fortunately, the words of the midwife and the assistant childcare worker, even if they were not necessarily tender, were very positive for me. They did everything to boost me, to wake me up because I couldn't take it anymore. In my head I said to myself "She's going out, that's fine, she's still on, that's okay." Nathalie and Manon have always been great and did the right thing. I didn't experience it as a violent moment, I needed this to give birth.

I would have liked to prolong this moment as much as possible

If I struggled with the push, I also think it was because there was something psychological that was causing I wanted to keep her with me a little longer. Even if the last 2 weeks it was starting to get complicated in terms of mobility, the more time went by, the more I felt like that. I had gotten used to having her in my stomach, feeling her moving… it could have gone on for a bit longer.
Maybe I was also dreading the arrival of my daughter because when she's in my womb, things are "under control". Afterwards, when she comes out, it's a baby … Was I going to know how to take care of it? … The daddy had more experience than me so it was reassuring too, but at birth, it becomes a full-fledged individual and I was in no rush actually.

A baby, a couple story

We both wanted this child. We said to each other "we try and see if it works" and it worked right away .. Daddy, Christian was very involved throughout the pregnancy. We did haptonomy together to create a contact, to create a trio. He appreciates it all the more since he has a different approach, he enjoys his last daughter differently. He is perhaps cooler, he has more perspective than when his elders were small (note: Christian has 3 older daughters from a previous union). Since birth, he participates a lot, gets up to change the diaper. I pumped my milk and he was able to bottle-feed … a real job sharing.

And if, during a medical appointment, the doctor asked Christian if he wanted to do the consultation at the same time as "his daughter" while talking about me … most of the time, despite some mistakes, we feel a lot of benevolence in the face of our age difference. We feel that mentalities are changing. Christian takes care of Louise a lot, he's a great dad and that's what people take away from our family.

A more than positive assessment

Today Louise has just turned 7 and a half months, she is a great baby, blooming, eating well and sleeping well. We're back from a week's vacation with her. She took the plane, swam in the sea, in the pool… she was the star of the hotel. She is sociable. She does require a lot of attention, sure, but it’s just happiness.

7 months after the shoot, I would like to thank the show team again because they were really professional and human and I even kept some contact with some members of the team who asked me for news and I found it cute.

And if I had to do it again I would do it again without hesitation … but not in the future because I will stop there at the babies level!